Bookshelf Friday - Captured by Love by Jody Hedlund (and my monthly giveaway)

I love when I go to the mailbox and a book is waiting. It's such a treat:) And last week I had the treat of Jody Hedlund's Captured by Love showing up. I took Sunday afternoon to sit on my back deck and read it--another treat; one that was so good I devoured it in one sitting! Here's the blurb and we'll chat on the other side:

The British Army has taken control of Michilimackinac Island and its fort, forcing the Americans to swear an oath of loyalty to the crown in order to retain their land. Pierre Durant is a fur trader who returns after being away from the island for years, only to find the family farm a shambles and those he cares about starving and at the mercy of British invaders.

Torn between the adventurous life of fur trading and guilt over neglecting his defenseless mother, Pierre is drawn deeper into the fight against the British--and into a relationship with Angelique MacKenzie, a childhood friend who's grown into a beautiful woman. She now finds herself trapped by the circumstances of war and poverty, and the cruelty of her guardian, Ebenezer Whiley.

As tensions mount and the violence rages on, Pierre and Angelique must decide where their loyalties rest and how much they'll risk for love.

All right, for all you non-Michiganders out there, Michilimackinac Island is Mackinac (mack-i-naw) Island which lies in Lake Huron between the Upper and Lower Peninsulas. This is one of the things that draws me personally to Jody's books. They are often--not always--set in her home state of Michigan and that's something we share in common. I love the historic look at the state I grew up in, and as a setting it makes a beautiful and intriguing one. Jody doesn't simply use it as a backdrop, but she weaves her stories in and out of an historic event that actually took place there, often using actual names of people who once lived as secondaries into her stories.

Besides the pure historic interest in her books, Jody knows how to write romance. Her heroes are always the perfect match for her heroines. Captured by Love was no different. I truly loved how Pierre and Angelique had grown up together and the dimension this added to their love. They had an easy banter between them but also a connection that went deeper than physical attraction. Their shared love for adventure and the land they lived in pulled them both together and apart at times, which was a great and well-balanced dynamic. There was also just enough intrigue happening on these pages to pull you along, curious how these two would make it out of the few scrapes they found themselves in. These trials, both internal and external, leave you at times wondering if Pierre and Angelique will wind up with their happily-ever-after; wondering in a good way because they never felt author-driven or contrived, but a natural part of the story. And, as always, Jody writes in a spiritual journey for her characters that is so very genuine and simply a part of who they are, it never feels overplayed or as a lesson for the reader. 

If you'd like to read Captured by Love, you can purchase it here.

Jody has written novels for the last 20 years (with a hiatus when her children were young). After many years of writing and honing her skills, she finally garnered national attention with her double final in the Genesis Contest, a fiction-writing contest for unpublished writers through ACFW (American Christian Fiction Writers). Her first published book, The Preacher’s Bride (2010 Bethany House Publishers), became a best seller and has won multiple awards. Since then she’s gone on to publish numerous best-selling and award-winning books.

Learn more about Jody and her books at her website: jodyhedlund.com

All right readers, it's the start of a new month which means it's time for my Monthy Bookshelf Giveaway. Since I was gone a bit last month, I went back and pulled a few other books from the bookshelf to create the four you can choose from this month. So...here's your four choices from my June Bookshelf (mainly:) ) Just click on the title for my review.

***update 7/7/2014...I inadvertently left Victoria's book off the original list, but I did indeed review it in June, so it's been added as a choice! Again, no perfection here. Perfectionism is soooo overrated:) ***

A Rush of Wings (or Still of Night or Breath of Dawn if you've already read ones in this series)
Bridge to Haven
My Mother's Chamomile
Dear Mr. Knightley
Until I Found You

Just leave me a comment here or on my Facebook author page to let me know you're interested! You have until Wednesday, 7/9/14 at midnight. I'll announce the winner next Friday and that person can pick one of these books for me to send you!