Free (nook/Kindle/Kobo/iTunes) The Vow [Xtian YA 1380s Plague COA Drama w/Romance]

[ATDrake]

The Vow: A novella by Jody Hedlund is her YA medieval historical personal drama with strong f/m romantic elements which is a prequel to a recently-released novel, this introductory story setting up some of the characters against the backdrop of the Black Death during the 14th century (well, one of the outbreaks, anyway) and exploring its effects on them, free courtesy of publisher HarperCollins' dedicated Christian imprint Zondervan.

NB: this particular story seems to be about co-equally split between being a straight YA historical and an actual historical romance (since technically there's a lot of focus on the heroine's personal/family life as the plague goes on, with more coming-of-age elements and medieval living exploration than romance setup, from the looks of it), and one of the customer reviews for the tie-in novel vaguely mentions a surprising ending that they didn't expect given the ostensible "many suitors for your hand" setup, so YMMV if you're expecting an HEA with the ostensible hero introduced in this tale.

Also, don't read the blurb for the novel unless you want to get spoiled for one of the "secrets" that's supposed to be revealed in the novella, which the reviews also indicate should be read before the novel to help flesh out the story.

Currently free @ B&N (also UK), Amazon (available to Canadians & in the UK), Kobo & iTunes & Google Play (all available to Canadians), and ChristianBook (ADE-DRM ePub geo-restricted to the US).

If you enjoy this one and would like to read more, the full-length novel that this is being freebied to promote is currently discounted to just $1.99 in what appears to be many Canada & US venues: An Uncertain Choice (not couponable @ Kobo, please remember not to read the blurb until after the novella if you want to avoid spoilers for one of the "surprise" revelations)

And this has been the (late!) selected 3rd (non-repeat) free ebook thread of the day.

Maybe I'm just feeling nostalgia for Connie Willis' Doomsday Book (Wikipedia; excellent and recommended, by the way, if you'd like a more-secularly sfnal time-travel take on the Black Death and keeping faith during disaster, written by an active Episcopalian multiple Hugo & Nebula Award-winner, IIRC), but this seems like a interesting-looking story that the customer reviews say actually does go into reasonably accurate historical detail about medieval life and prospects and consequences for a young noblewoman during that time and place, so

Enjoy!

Description
In this ebook historical romance novella by Jody Hedlund, young Rosemarie finds herself drawn to Thomas, the son of the nearby baron. But just as her feelings begin to grow, a man carrying the Plague interrupts their hunting party. While in forced isolation, Rosemarie begins to contemplate her future—could it include Thomas? Could he be the perfect man to one day rule beside her and oversee her parents’ lands?

Then Rosemarie is summoned back to her castle in haste. The disease has spread, and her family is threatened. And the secret she discovers when she returns could change her future forever.

This novella also serves as a prequel to Jody Hedlund’s An Uncertain Choice.