Review: A Daring Sacrifice by Jody Hedlund

A Daring Sacrifice (An Uncertain Choice #2)
Author: Jody Hedlund
Genre: YA Historical Fiction/Retelling
Release Date: March 1, 2016
Publisher: Zondervan

Description:

The only thing harder than fighting for what’s right…is fighting their feelings for each other.

For three years, the Cloaked Bandit has terrorized Wessex, robbing the nobility by knifepoint and a well-placed arrow. But little does anyone know, this bandit is in fact Juliana Wessex, the rightful ruler of the land and a girl her tyrannical uncle—the current Lord Wessex—believes was killed along with her father.

Juliana has become skilled at hiding from Lord Wessex in the forest, using her stolen goods to provide food and shelter to the peasants her uncle has taxed into poverty. But when she robs Collin Goodrich, her red hair betrays her true identity. Lord Collin remembers Juliana from their childhood—and challenges her to stay on his estate for a week in hopes she will leave her thieving ways and become a proper lady once more. Juliana is intrigued by Collin and his charms, but only time will tell if he can overcome her distaste of the nobility—as well as win her heart.  

A Daring Sacrifice is a fantastic young adult retelling of Robin Hood that fans of fairy tales and historical fiction are sure to adore. I personally love retellings of fairy tales and old stories - especially when the gender roles are reversed. In this novel, we see a young lady play the part of "Robin Hood" and doing the whole stealing from the rich for noble reasons. I loved getting to know Juliana throughout the story - her character was fascinating and sassy. One of the big differences I noticed from the original Robin Hood tale was when Collin has Juliana stay with him at his estate. I actually really liked this change in the story and I thought it brought out the romance in the novel in a wonderful way. It wasn't too overbearing and didn't detract from the overall plot like some books do. I thought the author did a great job of balancing Juliana's secret identity and that part of the story with the romance aspect. They both intertwined nicely and made for a very enjoyable novel that I ended up reading in a few hours. I do want to point out that although this is the second book in a series, you don't have to read the first book in order to read this one. I didn't read the previous novel and I had no issues with this story at all. It's set in the same world and the only thing it might have done is sparked my interest in the other books in the series. I highly recommend this novel for fans of YA fiction, retellings, fairy tales, historical fiction and romance.