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A Choice of Secrets
Dark Glass #4
Author: Barb Hendee
Genre: Sci-Fi, Fantasy
Pub Date: Nov 13, 2018
Synopsis
Ever since raiders from the north began attacking villages, Lady Nicole Montagna has known that defending her people would come at a cost. The betrothal of her sister Chloe to a neighboring lord seems the perfect solution, forging a powerful alliance. But shortly before the wedding, Nicole is shocked to discover that her sister is with child—and not by her husband-to-be. Now she must make a choice. She has just hours to decide . . .
~Should she tell her soldier brother—who will take swift, ruthless action to ensure the family’s safety?
~Should she hold her tongue, let her sister deceive her husband into believing the child is his—and then hope Chloe can get away with the lie?
~Should she tell her family, hoping they will know the right thing to do?
With the help of a magic mirror, Nicole lives out each path, fighting to protect herself and those she loves with the weapons she has: wits, herbs, and fortitude. But no matter her cleverness, neither she nor her family can escape unscathed—for there are repercussions she could never have foreseen, involving her own heart . . .
MY REVIEW
A Choice of Secrets by Barb Hendee was an engaging read.
It plays out like an intriguing choose your own adventure but, you get to experience all three separate adventures in one story.
At the age of seventeen, Lady Nicole overhears a conversation that pits her loyalty between her most beloved sister, and the man she loves.
Not knowing where to turn or who to ask for help or even if she should, she is left at an impass.
Cue our magic mirror and Nicole’s journey into her potential futures begins. Who will she choose and what decisions will she be able to live the rest of her life with?
Barb Hendee is a wonderful story teller and knows how to pen an exciting tale. Twists and turns abound as Nicole lives through each choice.
This was a page turning read for me. It is not the first book I read in this series and it will not be the last. The premise never gets old. I love living through each decision with our main character while simultaneously trying to guess which outcome she will choose.
There is minor repetition at the beginning of each choice as the scene is set but doesn’t detract from the overall enjoyment of the book.
Although this is a series, in my opinion, they do not need to be read in order but, I must admit that each one MUST be read!
I received an ARC via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
EXCERPT
I’ve
heard it said the most important moments in one’s life pass more swiftly than
others. Perhaps it’s true.
I only know that all my senses were on alert
as soon as my father sent for me, asking me to come to his private rooms.
Eighteen years old, I’d never once been invited to his rooms. In the past several
weeks, he’d been closeted away much of the time, sending and receiving
messages, but I had no idea what this was about—as he didn’t see fit to share
such intelligence with me.
Now…he wanted to see me, in his rooms?
I could hardly refuse, nor in fact did I want
to. I was curious.
Gathering my long green skirt, I nodded curtly
to the servant who’d delivered the message and made my way to the base of the
east tower of our family keep. I knew exactly where his rooms were located,
even if I’d never been inside.
Upon arriving, I stood with my back straight
and knocked on the door.
“Father? You sent for me.”
“Come,” he said from the other side.
With my hand shaking only slightly, I opened
the door. Inside, I found a somewhat austere main room that appeared to be a
study, with a large desk and chair. There were tapestries of forest scenes on
the walls, and an interior door led to a bedroom.
My father, Hugh Géroux, sat behind his desk
working on what appeared to be a letter, but he stood as I entered. In his
early fifties, he still cut a striking figure, with a smooth-shaven face, dark
hair with a sprinkling of gray, and dark eyes.
“Olivia,” he said, as if meeting me for the
first time.
We didn’t know each other well, as I was the
fifth and youngest of his children. I had two older brothers and two older
sisters, and my father had used all four of them carefully to enhance his own
wealth and prestige. My mother died of a fever when I was only seven, so my
father raised us alone in a manner that was both distant and overbearing at the
same time.
My family, the line of Géroux, was among the
old nobility of the kingdom. While past famines and civil wars had destroyed
several of the ancient families, ours survived. We were survivors. My father
respected strength and nothing else.
His eyes moved dispassionately from my feet to
my face, as if assessing me. I knew only too well what he saw. I was tall for a
woman. He was tall, and I could almost look him directly in the eyes.
Unfortunately, the current fashion for women was petite and fragile. My hair
was long and thick, but it was a shade of burnished red, and again, red hair
was not currently in fashion.
Still, I’d been raised to remain sharply aware
of everything going on around me, and it was no secret that most men found me
desirable. My face had often been called pretty, with clear skin and slanted
eyes of green. I looked best in green velvet.
Though I was not vain, I had also been raised
to understand that survival was based on value, and at some point, I’d be given
a chance to prove myself valuable. Had that chance finally come?
“You’ll need to pack tonight,” he said. “You
leave for Partheney in the morning.”
In spite of my careful awareness of
self-control, I nearly gasped. “Partheney?”
This was the king’s city. My family’s lands
were in the southeast corner of the kingdom. Partheney was in the northwest,
near the coast of the sea. I had never been there.
“You’re to marry King Rowan,” my father said
flatly. “His mother, the dowager queen, and I have arranged it.”
I stood still as his words began to sink in,
but I still couldn’t quite follow what he was trying to convey. “King Rowan…the
dowager queen…is this why you’ve been receiving so many messages?”
His eyes flashed, and I dropped my gaze,
cursing myself. Father did not brook questions from his children. He expected only
two things from us: strength and obedience. But the slight shaking in my hands
grew to a tremble. Had I heard him correctly? I was to marry the king?
Stepping around the desk, he approached me.
“Do you know anything of the rumors surrounding King Rowan?”
Unfortunately, I did, hence the reason my
hands trembled. Even here, in the isolated southeast, rumors still reached us.
In his late twenties, Rowan de Blaise was a young king and had held the throne
for only two years. But over those two years, four betrothals with foreign
princesses had been arranged via proxy. Envoys had been sent to Partheney to
finalize negotiations. In all four cases, when the envoys arrived, Rowan
refused to even see them. He’d sent them away.
“I know some of the stories,” I answered my
father. “I know betrothals have been arranged, and he’s sent the envoys
packing.”
“Yes.” My father nodded. “His mother, the
dowager, was the one who arranged the betrothals. She is anxious to see him
married and founding a line of heirs.”
“Why
will he not marry?”
My father waved one hand in the air. “That is
of no matter. What matters is, the dowager has decided to stop seeking a
foreign princess and marry him into one of our own noble families. She’s wise
and has chosen the line of Géroux. We’ll be linked to royalty, and I’ll be the
grandfather of kings.”
The truth of all this hit me, and my hands
ceased trembling. I would be queen.
Clearly there were obstacles, but I allowed my
initial worries to vanish and let my mind flow. Father expected complete
success from himself and would expect nothing less of me. This thought made me
brave. “If Rowan has refused to even see the envoys,” I began, “what makes you
and the dowager think he will agree to entertain negotiations this time?”
My question was bold, but instead of growing
angry, Father only looked at me as if I were simple—which I was not.
“Because as I said, you will leave in the
morning,” he answered. “I’m not sending envoys. I have no faith in envoys. I’m
sending you. You’ll go to the castle, meet the king, and handle negotiations
yourself. You are a daughter of the Géroux. He cannot turn you away.”
“You’ll not come with me?”
“No. That was my first instinct, but the
dowager believes it best if the king is given no choice in facing you directly.
It will force him to be…polite.” His expression darkened. “And you will not
fail to secure him. Do you understand? You will not fail.”
I met his eyes without flinching.
“I understand.”
ALSO AVAILABLE
Kara, as a ward with no parentage and no future, has been
raised knowing nothing outside her lady’s chambers. Until Royce Capello, a visiting
nobleman, is struck by her ice-pale looks, and demands her as payment for the
land the family needs.
With barely time to protest, Kara is sold and packed off
for a life as a concubine—until a raiding party descends on Royce’s company and
she’s kidnapped for the second time in as many days.
Whatever happens, Kara will be alone in the world,
inexperienced and fearing even the vast unfamiliar sky. But one raider gives
her a choice—and a magic mirror appears to show her where each path will lead…
She can leave with her protector Raven and journey with his
performing troupe, competing for his mercurial affections.
She can flee the raiders’ settlement, and return to Royce’s
manor, chattel among devious nobility.
Or she can stay in the settlement, bound to firm, silent
Caine, who is as gentle as he is staid and inscrutable.
Her fates twist and turn to affect far more than she could
have guessed, tangling the bitter with the sweet—and Kara must choose which consequences
she can live with…
PURCHASE LINKS
Olivia Geroux knew her king was reluctant to marry her,
whatever the negotiations had arranged. But she never expected to find
handsome, arrogant King Rowan obsessed with his stepsister instead. And before she
can determine what course to take, she overhears her greatest ally plotting to
murder the princess.
Olivia must act quickly—and live with whatever chaos
results. As the assassin hunts his prey, a magic mirror appears to show Olivia
the three paths that open before her . . .
If she hesitates only a moment, the princess will die—and
she will become queen.
If she calls for help, she will gain great power—but she
must also thrust away her own happiness.
If she runs to stop the murder herself, she will know love
and contentment—but her whole country will suffer.
As she lives out each path, her wits and courage will be
tested as she fights to protect her people, her friends, and her heart. And deciding
which to follow will be far from easy . . .
PURCHASE
LINKS
On her seventeenth birthday, Megan of Chaumont discovers
she’ll be sold as a bride to the brutish Volodane family—within hours. Her father
grants only that she may choose which one of the ruthless, grasping lord's
three sons she weds:
Rolf, the eldest: stern, ambitious, and loyal?
Sebastian, the second son: sympathetic, sly, and
rebellious?
Or Kai, the youngest: bitter, brooding, and proud?
As shy, horrified Megan flees the welcome dinner for her
in-laws-to-be, she finds an enchanted mirror that will display how her life
unrolls with each man, as if she were living it out in a breath. But there is no
smooth “happily ever after” in her choices.
Deaths and honors, joys and agonies, intrigues and escapes
await her in a remote, ramshackle keep, where these rough but complex men
reveal one side and then another of their jagged characters—and bring forth new
aspects of Megan, too. But the decisions of one teenaged marriage-pawn
reverberate much farther than any of them have guessed
. . .
PURCHASE
LINKS
ABOUT BARB HENDEE
Barb Hendee
is the New York Times bestselling author of The Mist-Torn Witches series. She
is the co-author (with husband J.C.) of the Noble Dead Saga. She holds a
master’s degree in composition/rhetoric from the University of Idaho and
currently teaches writing for Umpqua Community College. She and J.C. live in a quirky
two-level townhouse just south of Portland, Oregon.
connect with barb
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