Tuesday, April 4, 2017

The Silent Songbird (Hagenheim #7) by Melanie Dickerson







About the book:

Evangeline longs to be free, to live in the world outside the castle walls. But freedom comes at a cost.
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?





My Thoughts:

I love, let me repeat, love Melanie Dickerson's fairy tale retellings. This one has a swoony hero, Westley and a damsel in distress, Evangeline. I loved these two characters, so much! Since this is a retelling of The Little Mermaid, don't be surprised if while reading of Evangeline's life in Glynval you picture a lobster, a seagull, even an evil octopus, Lord Shiveley chasing Evangeline.
As usual Melanie does a great job weaving a sweet romance, and placing a biblical theme of redemption and grace, that is not preachy but subtle, yet real.
This is a story not to miss! I highly recommend this and others in the series.

Well done, Ms. Dickerson! Can't wait for your next one!

I received a copy of this book via the publisher. I was not required to write a review, all thoughts are mine alone.




Melanie Dickerson is a New York Times bestselling author, a two-time Christy Award finalist, two-time Maggie Award winner, Carol Award winner, two-time winner of the Christian Retailing's Best award, and her book, The Healer's Apprentice, won the National Readers Choice Award for Best First Book. She is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW) and Romance Writers of America (RWA). Melanie earned a bachelors degree in special education of the hearing impaired from The University of Alabama and has worked as a teacher in Georgia, Tennessee, and Ukraine. She lives with her husband and two children in Huntsville, Alabama.









1 comment:

Cafinated-Reads Molly said...

I'm going to check this one out. It really sounds intriguing.

I'm a blog follower :-)

Blessings,
Molly @ http://cafinatedreads.com

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