There are powers at play that continue to seek amalgamating Scotland to England – powers from the past and powers from the future. It’s the late 1800s and Queen Victoria wants more than mere access to the Scottish retreat at Balmoral Castle. But King Henry I of Scotland, direct descendent of Queen Mary Elizabeth I, the time traveling royal daughter of Mary Queen of Scots, is determined to keep … Scotland free and independent and a powerful, progressive nation in its own right. The struggle to protect what is his by birthright becomes a battle that must be fought in the past, the present and the future and in other parts of the world. And, in the midst of each battle, there are choices to be made. Very difficult choices.
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King Henry I of Scotland is a direct descent of Queen Mary Elizabeth I and like his great ancestor of the 16th century, he’s a time travelling royal. He’s determined to keep Scotland out of English control, even if he has to go toe-to-toe with Queen Victoria to do it. Enemies surround him, from both the past, present and future, and he doesn’t know who he can truth. When he goes to the future, he’s horrified by what he discovers. He’ll be nobody’s pawn, least of all, a bunch of doctors. But as he soon learns from visiting past events with his son, it’s all about choices. When he’s given the opportunity to change the choice he made years ago, will he take it or will he stay influx, traveling through time trying to stay one step ahead of his traitorous enemies?
King Henry’s Choice is about, you guessed it, choices. Every choice we make in life affects the future and that goes double for royalty in power. Every choice that’s made changes the future for better or worse. This is the premise behind this alternative history. While I enjoyed it, I didn’t like it as much as the first one (Queen Mary’s Daughter). I found the time travel jarring at times and the dropping in of historical people’s names out of their time period confusing. Chalk it up to my expertise on the Tudor era and the Victorian era. I’m sure the average reader will not have the same issues I did.
What I loved most about King Henry’s Choice was the inner conflict Henry faced. His choices are revealing more enemies than he knows what to do with and his guilt over it is heart wrenching. His relationship with his son is touching. It brought up so many what if questions and added to the aha moment at the ending.
If you love historical fiction and want to escape through time, King Henry’s Choice is a must-read. Fans of Doctor Who, The Matrix, Outlander and Victoria will love this story. Highly recommend!
My Rating: 4.5 stars
An interesting read. A time travel story steeped in history, very thought provoking at times. I do not know this time period in depth, but it did make me want to check on the actual time line. King Henry grew on me, and my emotions went up and down along with him. The changing of history when time traveling is always a tough one, but this was a fun journey.
I received a copy of this story through Goddess Fish Promotions, and this is my unsolicited review.
—3.5 Stars—
This book is an interesting, intriguing, and thought-provoking read!
The author offers an exciting and refreshing take on the Scottish Highlands with just the right blend of time-traveling, fantasy, and historical content.
This book as the title implies is really about the choices we make and the ripple effects they have on ourselves, our loved ones, and those around us. One path along this plot line is Henry reexamining his choice in his marriage partner, Isabel. He proceeds to say that shortly after their nuptials he discovered that he made a regrettable decision in choosing her as his partner and that he had wished he could go back and have chosen someone else, his childhood sweetheart, Elizabeth MacGregor, a Scottish lass. Henry quickly realized Isabel was only interested in the glitz and glamour of the kingdom and its title – not the man Henry truly was. And furthermore, discovered Isabel had nefarious and ulterior motivates for marrying him which leads to multiple plot points over the course of the book.
Henry states that he hopes when the day comes that he does not dictate whom his son should marry when his son becomes of age. He hopes to not apply any pressures or manipulate him like his mother did with his own wedding. He wants his son to be able to choose his own marriage partner – well, within reason that is. However, Henry does state that he does intend to introduce his son to his selected possible choices and allow his son to then make the final selection from that group. So, Henry’s still planning of somewhat controlling the situation. However, I liked that Henry is finally opening up and learning from past experiences. He knows how much he hated having to marry Isabel and not his true love, Elizabeth, because he followed his family’s advice, and now seeing the outcome down the road, he wants more for his son. Again, more about choices and their ripple effect that they have.
Loyalty is also a very strong theme in this book. Particularly, Henry’s loyalty to his Royal family and to his country, Scotland. He is very adamant about Scottish rights, it’s people, and its freedoms. He is very passionate about everything his great ancestor, Queen Mary Elizabeth did for Scotland and it clear he is not only trying to continue on with those traditions, but also make Scotland an even stronger and more independent country!
There is also a very creative fantasy/sci-fi theme about implanted tracking microchip devices that are used in the twenty-fifth century. It’s an interesting concept and a surprising one to find in a historical Scottish book lol – but the author seemed to make it all work and have the story come together full circle.
There are some excellent plot points and themes throughout this book that are quite compelling and thought-provoking!
I honestly could not connect or relate to any of these characters. I had no relationship or warm feelings for any of them. Of course, I found Isabel to be rude, selfish, cold, greedy, narcissistic, seductive, and dangerous. But I didn’t really care for Henry either. I found him to be demanding, demeaning, stubborn, persistent, control-freak, anxious, loud, impatient, egotistical, arrogant, and at times he seemed well, crazy. And I did not care for what happened to George. It seemed not very well detailed. One minute it’s all good, next minute he supposedly tried to help Isabel escape and didn’t know it, and the next minute Henry has his best friend/cousin locked up in prison and the key thrown away. If George was like not aware of what Isabel was having him do, I don’t know why he was locked up? So much for friendship being worth something?!
Unfortunately, I also found the time traveling to be a bit bouncy and confusing at times. There was so much back and forth between different periods of time. Many of these chapters were only a few pages and it would be “sometime in the future,” and then next chapter would be in 1875 and then 2016 and then 1875 and then 1587 and then 1875 and then “sometime in the future,” and so on. There were several passages I had to re-read to figure what was going on in the story. Also, the “sometime in the future,” dates were somewhat puzzling as when it when back and forth I wasn’t sure if it picked back up in the same part of “sometime in the future,” or if every “sometime in the future,” was further out than the last or just further out than the current date. I wish it had been more specific.
Also, in the book when Henry goes back in time, he is present as is his younger and older selves (depending on the time period) and goes by “Uncle Harry,” and at first, I thought Uncle Harry was a totally different character. So, yeah, that as well was a bit disorienting.
I really liked that this book also explored the second chances theme. I love second chance books. The opportunity to have a do-over is like a dream. Having the knowledge of what has gone right and what has gone wrong and then getting like a clean slate and being able to have the chance to make all the right choices and actually pursue the “what ifs” and the “if only I had” lines – it is very exciting and when Henry goes all around in his time traveling adventures and beyond he grasps so much knowledge and information that helps him reach the last plot point and a very satisfying ending.
I also would like to point out that I think the author did a fantastic job with the historical content and authenticity of the Scottish Highlands. It was very clear she was well-versed on the culture, customs, and traditions of Scotland.
This book is book two in the Queen Mary’s Daughter Book Series. It can be read as a standalone. However, it seems there are many character and story line overlaps.
All in all, I enjoyed reading this book and would recommend it! I think all historical fantasy and time-travel readers will like this book too! So, add it to your TBR List and get to reading – you won’t be disappointed!
**Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy of this book and have voluntarily provided an honest, and unbiased review in accordance with FTC regulations.**
I had the pleasure of previously reading Emily-Jane Hills Orford’s Queen Mary’s Daughter and loved it. So, I was excited to have the opportunity to read and review her latest book, King Henry’s Choice. I was not at all disappointed. I loved it. I had no problem reading it in one sitting. I just could not put it down.
I highly recommend King Henry’s Choice and am giving it a well deserved four and a half stars.
I received this book from the publisher. This review is 100% my own honest opinion.