The Silent Songbird {by Melanie Dickerson}

Title: The Silent Songbird
Author: Melanie Dickerson
Series: Hagenheim #7
Genre: YA Fairytale Retelling
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble
Source: publisher

Evangeline is the ward and cousin of King Richard II, and yet she dreams of a life outside of Berkhamsted Castle, where she might be free to marry for love and not politics. But the young king betroths her to his closest advisor, Lord Shiveley, a man twice as old as Evangeline. Desperate to escape a life married to a man she finds revolting, Evangeline runs away from the king and joins a small band of servants on their way back to their home village.
To keep her identity a secret, Evangeline pretends to be mute. Evangeline soon regrets the charade as she gets to know Wesley, the handsome young leader of the servants, whom she later discovers is the son of a wealthy lord. But she cannot reveal her true identity for fear she will be forced to return to King Richard and her arranged marriage.
Wesley le Wyse is intrigued by the beautiful new servant girl. When he learns that she lost her voice from a beating by a cruel former master, he is outraged. But his anger is soon redirected when he learns she has been lying to him. Not only is she not mute, but she isn't even a servant.
Weighed down by remorse for deceiving Wesley, Evangeline fears no one will ever love her. But her future is not the only thing at stake, as she finds herself embroiled in a tangled web that threatens England's monarchy. Should she give herself up to save the only person who cares about her? If she does, who will save the king from a plot to steal his throne?

This is not the first time I have finished a Melanie Dickerson book within hours of receiving it, as I always get completely sucked in to her stories. This book is a retelling of The Little Mermaid, which is not a fairytale I particularly like, but I really enjoyed this story.

Evangeline is sheltered in the castle, as a ward of the king, and never really allowed to go anywhere or do anything. When the king tells her he has betrothed her to a horrible man, Evangeline runs away. To protect her identity, she fakes mute, and joins a group of servants traveling home. Except their leader isn't a servant; he's the son of a lord.

While stories that start off with deception are not my favorite, this one was handled well. And all was revealed earlier than one might expect, making most of the story not about the deception, but about what else is going on, politically. Eva was very reminiscent of Ariel, with her wide-eyed wonder at all things, her eagerness, and of course her voice.  While Wesley was your typical hero character - kind, caring, ready to save the day - there were some things I was not a fan of  (when your "protection" takes away someone's agency as a woman, we're going to have problems).

But despite that, I did enjoy this story. It was fun, it was cute, and it was a fast read. I adore Dickerson's characters and settings and her stories in general and this one definitely lived up to my excitement. I loved the secondary characters in this one as well, as we got to see more of them, and just normal friend interactions, something Eva has never had before. The whole political mess was a bit meh, as I'm not sure realistically that would have really been able to happen. Overall, this was a great story and I loved it.

Melanie Dickerson:

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The Golden Braid {by Melanie Dickerson}

Title: The Golden Braid

Author: Melanie Dickerson

Series: Hagenheim #6

Genre: YA Retelling, Christian Romance

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble

source: publisher

The one who needs rescuing isn’t always the one in the tower.

Rapunzel can throw a knife better than any man around. And her skills as an artist rival those of any artist she’s met. But for a woman in medieval times, the one skill she most desires is the hardest one to obtain: the ability to read.

After yet another young man asks for Rapunzel’s hand in marriage, Mother decides they need to move once again, but this time to a larger city. Rapunzel’s heart soars—surely there she can fulfill her dream. But Mother won’t let her close to a man. She claims that no man can be trusted.

After being rescued by a knight on the road to the city, and in turn rescuing him farther down the road, Rapunzel’s opportunity arrives at last. This knight, Sir Gerek, agrees to educate Rapunzel in order to pay back his debt. She just has to put up with his arrogant nature and single-minded focus on riches and prestige.

But this Rapunzel story is unlike any other and the mystery that she uncovers will change everything—except her happily ever after.

I love Melanie Dickerson's fairytale retellings, so I was super excited when I saw that her newest one was one of my favorite fairytales ever, Rapunzel. Unfortunately, I didn't think this one lived up quite as much as her others, but I still enjoyed it.

Rapunzel lives with her mother, who has never let her get close to anyone else, especially a man. Rapunzel is old enough to be married, but if a man even shows her interest, her mother moves them to another city. But Rapunzel has had it. She's tired of moving, of not having friends. But most of all, she wants to learn to read. She finally gets her chance after saving the life of a knight, who agrees to teach her as a way to repay his debt.

While you don't have to read any of her others to read this one, it is very connected to the others. In fact, it's the other side of the story of what happened in The Princess Frog, after Margaretha and Colin left the castle. It as fun to see some of our favorite characters again.

While I did like both Rapunzel and Gerek, I still felt something lacking. They weren't quite as developed, even though they had the potential to be great characters. I thought the plot line was well done, with everything that happened with Gothel, and Rapunzel finding out the truth. I also didn't think this was as sappy insta-lovey as some of her stories. Rapunzel and Gerek had time to get to know each other, and in fact didn't even like each other in the beginning.

All in all, this was a cute, interesting take on the Rapunzel story. I enjoyed it, although I expected a little more. But I will still definitely be looking forward to more stories from Dickerson.

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Melanie Dickerson:

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The Princess Spy {by Melanie Dickerson}

Title: The Princess Spy

Author: Melanie Dickerson

Series: Hagenheim #5

Genre: Christian fiction, romance, YA, fairytale retelling

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Received from publisher

Margaretha has always been a romantic, and hopes her newest suitor, Lord Claybrook, is destined to be her one true love. But then an injured man is brought to Hagenheim Castle, claiming to be an English lord who was attacked by Claybrook and left for dead. And only Margaretha---one of the few who speaks his language---understands the wild story. Margaretha finds herself unable to pass Colin's message along to her father, the duke, and convinces herself 'Lord Colin' is just an addled stranger. Then Colin retrieves an heirloom she lost in a well, and asks her to spy on Claybrook as repayment. Margaretha knows she could never be a spy---not only is she unable to keep anything secret, she's sure Colin is completely wrong about her potential betrothed. Though when Margaretha overhears Claybrook one day, she discovers her romantic notions may have been clouding her judgment about not only Colin but Claybrook as well. It is up to her to save her father and Hagenheim itself from Claybrook's wicked plot.


Guys, I FLEW through this one. The day I got it, I sat down and read it straight through. I can't even remember the last time I did that. I mean, I loooove my fairytale retellings. I actually couldn't tell what this one was from the description, but it hit me while reading. Yes, ladies and possible gents, this is a retelling of...The Frog Prince.

Margaretha is the daughter of a duke, and lives a pretty naive and sheltered life. She is a romantic at heart, having rejected all of her suitors so far. But she is considering her current suitor, Lord Claybrook, even though she secretly desires a loving relationship. That is, until her world is thrown in disarray by the arrival of an injured Englishman. Margaretha is the only one who can speak his language, but the man seems addled. He tells her that Lord Claybrook is not who he seems, and asks her to spy on him. Which Margaretha does, to find out that the stranger is telling the truth. And it is up to Margaretha and Colin to save her family and the entire town.

Margaretha's worst fault is that she talks alot. And she mentions this quite a bit. But she was easy to like. She was sweet and kind, if a bit naive. But as soon as she finds out that her family is in danger, her first and only thought is how to save them with no regard to herself. She was pretty selfless and brave. She spoke her mind and was pretty humorous. Colin himself was easy to like. Although a bit pigheaded, he really did care about these people that he had hardly met, and put himself in danger for them. He was adorable.

This was pretty fast-paced. Like I said, I flew through it. There were not parts where the story lagged, or nothing seemed to be happening. It flowed naturally. The descriptions of the world and the castles were detailed and beautiful. I mean, I'm not entirely sure what things were like back then, but the author seemed to do a pretty good job of describing them so you could actually imagine what it was like. Also, the language barrier between Colin and everyone else was made clear. There wasn't any confusion about who was speaking what language, or what was going on.

And thankfully, no insta-love. I loved how Margaretha and Colin slowly became allies, then friends, and then realized they loved each other. Was it still a bit fast? Yeah, they knew each other for barely weeks. But I was still rooting for them.

This was a beautiful story, one that I thought was so well done. While I need to brush up on my knowledge of The Frog Prince to see how it actually matches up to the story, I thought this was a great story.

My review of The Merchant's Daughter here

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Melanie Dickerson:

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Mini Reviews: Being Henry David, Speechless, The Merchant's Daughter

Sometimes, there are just more books that need to be reviewed than is time to write a full review. These are books that still deserve a shout out, but ain't nobody got time for that. Mini reviews are a great way to give that book the recognition it deserves, get it off your conscience, without taking up so much time that you put it off forever.

Title: Being Henry David

Author: Cal Armistead

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Purchase: Amazon; Barnes & Noble

Seventeen-year-old "Hank" has found himself at Penn Station in New York City with no memory of anything --who he is, where he came from, why he's running away. His only possession is a worn copy of Walden, by Henry David Thoreau. And so he becomes Henry David-or "Hank" and takes first to the streets, and then to the only destination he can think of--Walden Pond in Concord, Massachusetts. Cal Armistead's remarkable debut novel is about a teen in search of himself. Hank begins to piece together recollections from his past. The only way Hank can discover his present is to face up to the realities of his grievous memories. He must come to terms with the tragedy of his past, to stop running, and to find his way home.

So a friend told me that it was strange that I picked this up, since I hated Walden with the fire of a thousand suns. And that is true. But I've always liked the premise of Walden. I just hate reading anything by Thoreau. So when I saw this book and read the description, it intrigued me. Someone who depends on Walden as his only source of identity, the only thing he knows when he wakes up in a strange place. That must have been terrifying.
I enjoyed this book a lot. It took the "finding yourself" theme to a whole new level. Hank has no idea who he is, what he did, or any of those things to go on. Which also means he had none of those things holding him back. The simplest of the simplest, which isn't that the entire theme of Walden?
This book is not philosophy-heavy, so thank goodness for that. Thoreau is a big presence in the book: passages are quoted (not going to lie, kind of skipped over these) thanks to Hank's photographic memory; in the hallucinations Hank has; in his hometown of Concord, where Hank ends up. But this isn't so much the philosophy of Walden as much as it is Thoreau being the driving force that for Hank to figure out who he is and what he is running from.
I also enjoyed the secondary characters. There's Jack and Nissa, who he finds on the streets of New York. Thomas, a tattooed motorcycle-riding librarian, who takes Jack in when he finds him homeless in Concord. There is a bit of romance, although I wasn't really a fan. It was cheesy, forced, and I felt like it took away from the plot. But that's just me.
The writing was very well-done. Nothing too overdone or too simplified. There were times when I would just fall into the rhythm of the words. The setting of the woods and small town probably also lent itself to the overall feeling of ambiance this book created.
Overall, this was an excellent debut. I wouldn't say it was too mysterious or anything, but it wasn't as predictable as one might think either. It was a light, fun read with a deeper message, without delving into philosophy. I would definitely recommend it.

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Cal Armistead:

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Title: Speechless

Author: Hannah Harrington

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Purchase: Amazon; Barnes & Noble

Everyone knows that Chelsea Knot can't keep a secret
Until now. Because the last secret she shared turned her into a social outcast—and nearly got someone killed.
Now Chelsea has taken a vow of silence—to learn to keep her mouth shut, and to stop hurting anyone else. And if she thinks keeping secrets is hard, not speaking up when she's ignored, ridiculed and even attacked is worse.
But there's strength in silence, and in the new friends who are, shockingly, coming her way—people she never noticed before; a boy she might even fall for. If only her new friends can forgive what she's done. If only she can forgive herself.

Guys, this is such a good book. And powerful. 

Chelsea is the right hand girl of the most It Girl in school. And she keeps her position by being her source of information. Nothing is safe with Chelsea. Until the day when someone is seriously hurt. In-the-hospital-in-a-coma hurt. And when Chelsea uses her big mouth for good, finally, to turn in the kids who did it, she loses all her friends. Becomes a social pariah. Because the rest of the school? They don't like her either, because of everything she's done to them. And so, Chelsea takes a vow of silence.

This book was very interesting. The girl with the biggest mouth decides to be silent? Everyone is shocked. Chelsea is teased, ridiculed, and bullied by her old friends. She is treated warily but everyone else--except Asha, a freshman who befriends her. I loved Asha. She was so cute, and...young. She seemed younger than a freshman. And she was Indian. Hey, ethnic pride. 

Then, Chelsea gets assigned Sam as her art project partner. Sam, who is Noah's best friend. Noah, the kid in the hospital, thanks to her big mouth. Except, she finds that he doesn't hate her. He doesn't spit on her, humiliate her, hate her. Sam was definitely swoon-worthy. I mean, he may not have been as much as some other swoony boys we've read and loved, but I liked him.

I also loved the character growth. In the beginning, Chelsea is not a likable character. She's petty, shallow, and just plain dumb. But she goes through such a change, into a more mature, considerate, and caring individual. But it was also done in a realistic manner, instead of a forced way to move the plot forward. We are not the person we were in high school (thank goodness for that), and this shows it in a very real manner.

This was a very powerful and emotional book. But although it dealt with serious topics, it also knew when to be light and humorous. The writing was well-done. Harrington also did a very good job of getting into the mind of high schoolers. I would know, I was just there. I would definitely recommend this book for everyone, especially high schoolers.

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Hannah Harrington:

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Title: The Merchant’s Daughter

Author: Melanie Dickerson
Series: Hagenheim #2

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble

An unthinkable danger. An unexpected choice. Annabel, once the daughter of a wealthy merchant, is trapped in indentured servitude to Lord Ranulf, a recluse who is rumored to be both terrifying and beastly. Her circumstances are made even worse by the proximity of Lord Ranulf's bailiff---a revolting man who has made unwelcome advances on Annabel in the past. Believing that life in a nunnery is the best way to escape the escalation of the bailiff's vile behavior and to preserve the faith that sustains her, Annabel is surprised to discover a sense of security and joy in her encounters with Lord Ranulf. As Annabel struggles to confront her feelings, she is involved in a situation that could place Ranulf in grave danger. Ranulf's future, and possibly his heart, may rest in her hands, and Annabel must decide whether to follow the plans she has cherished or the calling God has placed on her heart.

This isn't usually the type of book I read, but I pleasantly enjoyed this one. It can't be called a modern version of Beauty and the Beast since it did happen in, like, the 1300s, but it is a...more modern? retelling? adapted? version of Beauty and the Beast. And yes, that is my weakness. I did try to read The Fairest Beauty, a Snow White story, but couldn't get into it. But then, I've never really cared about Snow White. But give me anything Beauty and the Beast and I'm there. (Also, side note, why aren't there as many Rapunzel stories?)
Annabel was lived a luxurious lifestyle, until her father died. Her mother and brothers, however, still feel entitled. They are not well-liked in the village, due to the fact that they haven't had to work or pay their dues to the lord like the rest of the villagers. But when the old lord is replaced by a new one, he collects on their debt. One of them must work in indentured servitude for three years. And since her brothers are worthless, Annabel is left to do so.
This story was cute, a fun read. This is Christian fiction, but wasn't preachy. Annabel's servant heart and desire to read the Bible are just a natural part of who she is. I loved seeing the relationship blossom between Annabel, and the Ranulf. The lord is scarred on the outside, but also on the inside from previous heartache. But once he allowed himself to drop his gruff exterior, he was really a nice guy.
The dramatic part of this--"Annabel is involved in a situation that could place Ranulf in grave danger"--was drawn out and over-the-top. I felt like there were other, better paths it could have taken. It wasn't bad, or a deal-breaker, just a lot of stupid decisions that I couldn't figure out why they were making.
This was a great book, a breath of fresh air in the world of Christian fiction that is all historical or Amish. (Yes, I realize that this is historical, but it's still different.) (And seriously. What is up with Christian fiction and Amish people??) There are religious aspects, so if that's not your cup of tea, then I would not suggest picking it up. However, it isn't overly preachy, so if it's something you can overlook, and you're a Beauty and the Beast fanatic like I am, then I would recommend it. Or if you're looking for something in the Christian genre, then I would definitely recommend this.

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Melanie Dickerson:

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