If you have been reading my blog for a while, you already know that I have fallen in love with this clean Historical Romance author: Melanie Dickerson. Dickerson has written a few different series of books. One is her “Fairy Tale Romance Series” which, for the most part, is a retelling of those fairy tales we all know. But in a very clever and artful way. Another series she has is her “Medieval Fairy Tale” series. Which, as far as I can tell is not connected with established fairy tales, but is her own weaving of events set in during these centuries. Her other series is “The Regency Spies of London” series. Of which I have not read (but intend to), so I cannot comment.
The long and short of it is that Dickerson is phenomenal. Once I stumbled upon the book, The Golden Braid, (part of the “Fairy Tale Romance Series”) I began to consume her other fairy tale and medieval stories at an alarming rate. The other books I read include: The Healer’s Apprentice, The Fairest Beauty, The Captive Maiden, The Merchant’s Daughter, The Princess Spy, and The Huntress of Thornbeck. In fact, I loved these books so much, that I started buying them on ebook, but soon converted them to my “permanent” collection. (I had to have them in paperback as well.)
I love the way Dickerson draws the reader into the story and sweeps us along with the journey of the characters. We are no longer on our couch, in our comfy chairs, in the doctor’s waiting room. No, we are in the mythical city of Hagenheim with Rapunzel fearing for our safety or struggling with our mixed feelings about a certain knight. Every emotion feels like my own, the danger seems real to me, and the story becomes believable as I am caught up in this well-known fairy tale brought to new life through Dickerson’s craft.
If you enjoy clean Romance in any way, shape, or form, I would strongly recommend these books. Most of them are, again, beloved fairy tales that Dickerson has breathed new life into, taken the mystical and magic out of, and made believable in the real world. Let me give you a taste of what these books represent:
The Healer’s Apprentice ~ Sleeping Beauty
The Fairest Beauty ~ Snow White
The Captive Maiden ~ Cinderella
The Merchant’s Daughter ~ Beauty and the Beast
The Golden Braid ~ Rapunzel
There is an order to these books, but I’ll be honest, I read them out of order and was just fine. But I do recommend reading them in order as there is some small amount of story that ties in to the series that works best if you read them in the order intended.
Happy Reading!!