Elissa, a nobleborn young lady of almost six-and-ten decided to take her life in her own hands when faced with a betrothal that scared her. The man she was to marry, a total stranger that she was not allowed to meet before, refused to spend the time necessary to answer her letters. Or maybe he was too busy.

The law said that until she was six-and-ten, the man of the family had the right to sign the betrothal papers in her place, and betrothal was equal to marriage-even the bedding being permitted, for a betrothal could not be broken.

Both her parents had died after she cared for them in sickness, and only her brother was left. He had decided to marry her off to the Baron she did not know and did not like. In spite of her feelings, she would be married to him, for her brother would sign the papers giving her away.

Well, she had at least a week more of freedom, at which time she would then respect the contract. But first she would make a statement about being a free feeling and thinking being. When she was overtaken by a group of soldiers, their officer insisted they accompany her to her aunt. No lady was to travel alone, un-chaperoned, and his officer's honor would not permit him to let her continue without escort.

The officer, known to her as Sir Louis, was kind and good looking and had a way of making Elissa trust him and tell him her story. Without knowing, she had opened her heart to her very betrothed, Baron Chatelain. Though he had not used a different name, she knew him only as Sir Louis, while she knew her betrothed as Baron Chatelain. Not for a moment did she connect the two.

Listening to his betrothed's tale of woe, Sir Louis found out that the present and letters he had sent were never delivered to her, just as her letters to him had never left her brother's possession. This brother needed a good lesson in how to care for his sister.

Lady Elissa was almost at the gate of her aunt's castle when her horse fell on a patch of ice and broke his front legs. Elissa was caught under the horse's body and hit her head falling, but luck would have it that no bones were broken. She was aware of things and understood that her beloved horse Red Boy would have to be put to sleep. Leaving her in the good care of her Aunt and Uncle, Sir Louis returned to her brother's castle to put his lesson in motion.

Sir Louis was intent on his plan, but proverbial luck would have it be otherwise. He was not simply Baron Chatelain, but first cousin to Prince Leopold, and second in line to the throne until the Prince produced an heir. The Prince was betrothed to a young lady that did not love him and would not marry him. To Sir Louis' surprise, Prince Leopold was present at his betrothal ceremony, found out about his cousin's plans, and upon seeing the beautiful Elissa, decided to take their fate in his own hands.

His personal medic-a somber, unsmiling, dark person-was a specialist in nervous ailments, and as Elissa suffered from the guilt at Red Boy's death, she submitted to the treatment. He truly mesmerized the girl to completely forget the events from the time of her father's death, including the iniquities her brother had subjected her to. Next she knew, she was invited to the capital, where she would be betrothed to Prince Leopold. Though she remembered that the Prince had been betrothed to another, she did not remember her own betrothal.

While in the capital as guest to their Majesties, Elissa heard about the Written Words and with curiosity she searched for and learned them. In this world, the Bible was a forgotten book, though not really forbidden, and Elissa opened a whole can of worms with her studies.

Her awakening as a woman combined with her awakening awareness of God are combined into a futuristic world of credible intrigue and war, with only the promise of sex as befits Inspirational Romance. In the end, just as the title A CHOSEN LOVE suggests, she gets the chance to choose her own love, not be given and taken as an object in trade.

Reviewed by Raluca Popov
© September 2004