November 29, 2011 by ZondervanPaperback, 304 PagesReview Copy/Manuscript
Plot Line~
An ageless tale of Beauty meets Beast. In this version our Beauty is played by Annabel, the daughter of a wealthy merchant, who with bad investments and the loss of his ships, loses everything and dies of disease leaving the family a legacy of debts behind a good name. With a distant, self absorbed mother and hateful brothers, Annabel's home life is less than stellar and she longs to join the church, become a nun and study scripture.
However in her time women are looked upon as weak, evil enticing temptresses that should know nothing in a man's world, be it spiritual or political, leaving Annabel very little choice in her outcomes. Everything changes though when Lord Ranulf comes into the village seeking restitution from the slack of work Annabel's family has refused to do. As punishment for the crime, Annabel is faced with the option to marry a stinky snake of a man who will pay the family's debt or become a servant for Lord Ranulf himself over the course of three years. Annabel chooses servitude to avoid the marriage to the Lords Bailiff, even though she's frightened by Ranulf's appearance and rough personality, the thought of Bailiff Tom touching her makes her want to vomit.....better to chance it with the grouchy oaf then have a BO, dragon breathed husband.
The work is tedious and the other girl servants throw themselves at Ranulf like wet dish rags while Annabel rolls her eyes and keeps to herself, Ranulf cant help but notice that quiet difference and soon takes a liking to her demeanor. A spark between Annabel and Lord Ranulf slowly begins brewing, over night time readings and Annabel taking on the role of care nurse the two fall in love. However sinister men lurk about and one in particular is determined to have his way with Annabel, even if it means killing her and destroying the man she truly loves.
Review
I thought Dickerson captured the Beast and Beauty characters with precision, everything about the setting, the time and place seemed to work perfect. I found the historical setting and attention to cultural detail flawless in her unique spin of this classic fairy tale. Going into this I had hoped the faith aspects would be comparable to other YA Inspys on the market like that of Lisa B's Waterfall or Klavan's Homelanders, however Dickerson's novel while talented in storytelling is laced with passion for her faith, even at times a bit heavy handed, while I as a reader never thought it came off preachy or misleading, I do believe the Biblical aspects will deter secular readers from the genius work of her writing. Ill be honest I wanted more kissing and tension and less Biblical bonding over the shared belief of nighttime readings. From a historical stand point the setting and blending of faith was certainly believable due to the cultural aspects of the 14th Century and how people believed and worshiped back then, but still, I found it overshadow the romance that I was looking for.
I would encourage anyone to read this who loves a good fairy tale and enjoys faith based novels.
Rating
The Merchants daughter is recommended to readers 14&up who enjoy fairy tales and Inspirational fiction. Advisory Content includes: Violence, lying and attempted sexual assault. Positive content includes: wholesome romance, friendship and loyalty.
4/5- YA- Inspy-Fantasy
Thanks to Zondervan for review copy
Oh I'm looking forward to this one -- thanks for the review!
ReplyDeleteGlad to see a positive review; I have this downloaded from Netgalley and will be reading it soon. Love fairy tale retellings and will be prepared for the faith aspects especially since I thought her first book leaned a little that way.
ReplyDeleteI'm not gonna lie, I would have wanted more kissing too. LOL
ReplyDeleteI'm with you and Missie, I like lots of kissing in my books, I can't help it! I love any Beauty and the Beast type story, but I do worry this one might be a touch too religion heavy for me. Thanks for an awesome review Tina!
ReplyDeleteI love fairytale retellings and this one really sounds amazing. I like that the guy isn't actually a monster and that he's just gruff looking and personality wise. I also like that she has brothers. I was actually giggling at the beginning thinking you were going to mention armpit hair in coordination with the BO. LOL!
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