“The Chosen is a cute and light historical romance that would be best enjoyed by younger readers (middle school to high school ages) who appreciate lots of easy-to-read dialogue and a happy ending.”

Review by Renae Powers

She was chosen for a life every woman desired but her.

After rescuing a wealthy family’s young son, Anna is favorably chosen to become his wife in ten years. Plans grow complicated when ten years pass, and Anna has fallen in love with her family’s stable hand. When it’s revealed that Anna despite her affection for someone else, is to marry her betrothed in two weeks, her life is shattered.Collin Nicholson is embarrassed at the fact his father chose him a wife. After working hard to please his father by taking over the family business, he has no intentions of settling down—until he reconnects with Anna. He becomes captured by the beauty and character of the girl who once saved him, but Collin isn’t sure what to do with his feelings. He feels guilty for wanting to fall through and marry Anna despite her being in love with someone else.Collin and Anna both struggle with the thought of if marrying is the intention of God’s will or their parents. Will the couple learn to love one another in an unwanted marriage and accept the destiny that is set before them or abandon it altogether?

The Chosen is a story about love, heartbreak, secrets, deception, betrayal, and the road to redemption.

When Anna is forced into an arranged marriage with Collin, it seems as if her entire life has fallen apart. As an obstinate young woman, she fights the marriage with everything in her and tries to run away with her first love, which leads to disastrous consequences. But over the first few months of her marriage to Collin, her heart begins to soften toward him. Will the devastating news she overhears be the nail in the coffin of the marriage she never wanted, or will God find a way to bring these two hearts together? Find out in The Chosen by Mikayla Robbins.



This story was a charming debut for author Mikayla Robbins. It’s an easy-to-read historical romance book, perfect for those who want a light read that can be consumed in one or two sittings. The author weaves in numerous Scriptural references throughout the tale and shows her characters turning to God in the midst of their trials. I really appreciated that Robbins takes the time to share what happens to Anna’s first love, Jacob, after Anna gets married to Collin, giving us some closure for his part in the story. And she includes some unforgettable side characters, like Agatha and Olga.



This story truly had a lot of potential and the bare bones of it tell a sweet tale! However, I feel this book deserves a second chance with a developmental editor. The major points weave a delightful romance, but the page-to-page telling of the story lacks depth. The characters were very one-dimensional and overly dramatic. There were several instances of characters being over-the-top against something, but then completely shifting gears a paragraph or two later after minimal convincing by other characters. I found this to be very unrealistic.



I also feel that this book would’ve been improved significantly by the principle of “show, don’t tell.” As I mentioned, these characters have very strong feelings about the events in their life. Instead of telling the audience how angsty the characters are feeling, demonstrating their feelings through describing actions instead would have gone a long way in adding depth to this story. 



At the end of the day, The Chosen is a cute and light historical romance that would be best enjoyed by younger readers (middle school to high school ages) who appreciate lots of easy-to-read dialogue and a happy ending.

Content Ratings:

2. Very mild action (injuries and death, but with vague descriptions).

2, Mild content (kissing, hand holding, and a brief reference to sexual assault occurring outside of the story).

1. Classist language and behavior, but no real cursing)

Other Trigger/Content Notices:

N/A

Our Reviews of Other Books by this author:

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