For Love and Honor by Jody Hedlund

For Love and Honor by Jody Hedlund ISBN-13: 9780310749301 Paperback: 239 pages Publisher: Zondervan Released: March 7, 2017

Source: ebook review copy from the publisher.

Book Description from Goodreads:
Lady Sabine is harboring a skin blemish, one, that if revealed, could cause her to be branded as a witch, put her life in danger, and damage her chances of making a good marriage. After all, what nobleman would want to marry a woman so flawed?

Sir Bennet is returning home to protect his family from an imminent attack by neighboring lords who seek repayment of debts. Without fortune or means to pay those debts, Sir Bennet realizes his only option is to make a marriage match with a wealthy noblewoman. As a man of honor, he loathes the idea of courting a woman for her money, but with time running out for his family’s safety, what other choice does he have?

As Lady Sabine and Sir Bennet are thrust together under dangerous circumstances, will they both be able to learn to trust each other enough to share their deepest secrets? Or will those secrets ultimately lead to their demise?


My Review:
For Love and Honor is a young adult romance set in a fantasy land at the time of knights in shining armor. While the main characters follow the Christian religion (and collect relics and religious art), the country is only vaguely based on the European Middle Ages. This is the third book in a series, but you don't need to read the previous ones to understand this one, and the previous novels were not spoiled.

Having read some of the author's highly historical adult novels, I was surprised by the lack of realism in this story. The heroic characters defy physics on a regular basis. I suppose the author thought that teens wouldn't know or care. The first half of the story involved bantering and falling in love. The second half involved secrets coming out and the knight repeatedly rescuing his girl from death.

Sabine and Bennet are manipulated into meeting under false pretenses and start to fall in love over their shared interests, but each has a secret. Lady Sabine has wealth but also a blemish that makes superstitious people assume she's a witch and want to kill her. Bennet's brother has put his family deeply in debt, so it's up to Bennet to marry for money so they can pay off their debts. If he doesn't raise the money in time, the neighbors will attack.

Sir Bennet has some pride issues and will only accept help on his own terms. Meanwhile, Sabine notices that everyone carries some sort of physical imperfection. When she realizes that someone (a human, not God) loves her unconditionally, she decides she should love herself, too. There was no bad language or sex, but there was a lot of kissing. Including one time when Sabine was still tied up (kiss her or free her? Hmmm).


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.