Book Rating (1-5 Stars): For the most part, I enjoyed them. There was only 1 book out of 5 that I chose not to finish. It was the third book - "The Fairest Beauty," which was a retelling of Snow White. And I'm not saying there's a correlation, but Snow White was always my least favorite Disney princess.
Setting of the Book: All 5 stories take place in Hagenheim, Germany during the 1400's or 1500's...can't remember which. Basically, Medieval times.
About the Author: Melanie Dickerson has her Bachelor's degree in Special Education (that gives me hope, because I don't have a creative writing degree, and I want to eventually be a writer). She has two daughters, and they all live in Huntsville, AL. Fun fact about Melanie - she's taught in Germany and Ukraine! How cool is that?!
Plot of the book in one sentence: I'll have to use 5 sentences here, since there were technically 5 books:
Book #1 - "The Healer's Apprentice" This book was a retelling of Sleeping Beauty (I'm pretty sure). Rose has grown up in a pretty harsh family environment & can't understand why her mother never really loved her - then she becomes the Healer's Apprentice. Lord Hamlin has been betrothed since infancy to an unknown woman who was placed in hiding at birth because of a curse put on her by a wicked sorcerer, but he ends up falling for Rose.
Book #2 - "The Merchant's Daughter" Annabelle is sold in indentured service to a beastly Lord Ranulf to pay off the debts incurred by her family's laziness.
Book #3 - "The Fairest Beauty" Sophie is basically like an indentured servant to her awful stepmother, but one day, a man named Gabe comes to rescue her, claiming she is betrothed to his brother. Things get complicated when they start falling for each other.
Book #4 - "The Captive Maiden" Retelling of Cinderella - Gisela also works her bones off for her stepmother & stepsisters, but all she wants is to go to the annual festival the Duke is throwing. She ends up going in disguise, and she catches the attention of the Duke's son...and her stepmother...
Book #5 - "The Princess Spy" I'm not sure what fairytale this is a retelling of, but Margaretha finds out from a mysterious stranger that her intended fiance, Lord Claybrook, is not who he seems. She has to decide who to trust, and quickly, in order to save her family.
If I Could Rename the Book: Ehhh, I probably wouldn't waste my time. lol
Genre: Let's call it Christian Historical Fiction, shall we?
Point of View: Each book goes back and forth between the viewpoint of the female main character and the male main character. Sometimes I like it, and sometimes I feel like it's a bit redundant, and at times, whiplashy. Yes, I just made up a word. Deal with it ;)
Favorite Character: I REALLY like the last two books, so my favorite character would either be Gisela or Margaretha.
Least Favorite Character: Bailiff Tom, the villian from Book 2. I seriously wanted to punch him in the face. A lot.
Other (Main Characters): I feel like I covered them adequately in the plot summaries.
If the Book was made into a movie, who would play the main characters? Too many characters to do this with - sorry!
Favorite Scene of the Book: In "The Captive Maiden," I love EVERY TOURNAMENT scene - there's jousting AND a swordfight - what's not to love?! (Throwback to "A Knight's Tale" - such a good movie. Now I wanna watch it....)
Least Favorite Scene of the Book: EVERY single scene with Bailiff Tom in it. He's THE. WORST.
Favorite Quote in the Book: Couldn't tell ya.
Did I like the Ending? In 4 out of 5 books, YESSSS! :)
Which of my friends could I see loving this book? I honestly think Hannah would like these books. And, because we're best friends, I also think she would probably be over the third one as much as I was.
Which of my friends could I see hating this book? A boy - always a boy. lol
This book left me feeling: fictionalized (Like "You just got fictionalized!!" Good word, right?)
How Long Did It Take Me to Read It: Honestly, I don't know. It took a few months, because I took a LOOOOONG break after the third book made me want to give up.
Fun! Do you have a physical copy of this or was it some kind of e-reader?
ReplyDeleteIt was an e-reader... But I may purchase it at some point in the future ;)
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