Fairy Tale Romance Collection: The Healer’s Apprentice, The Merchant’s Daughter, The Fairest Beauty, The Captive Maiden, The Princess Spy (Fairy Tale Romance Series)

I have never been a big reader of fairy tales. Yet this Christian retelling of five fairy tales sucked me in and had me smiling all the way through.I enjoyed guessing which fairy tale the book was modeled after. Sometimes I got it (Snow White), sometimes I didn't (but again, I don't read fairy tales).The men are all courageous and heroes. The women are strong in their own right. The love is sweet and strong. And the encouragement from the Bible stands true throughout the stories.I also enjoyed how the different stories in the book connected together, even though they were separate fairy tales.A fantastic collection of stories! I am only sad I reached the end.

This is a wonderful series of books. I first found this series when the sixth book The Golden Braid was on a kindle deal, and I just fell in love with it, and knew I had to read the rest of the series. They are all very sweet clean fairy tale retellings, with great Christian themes throughout. Melanie has fast become one of my favorite authors, I always look forward to reading more of her books. My favorite book is The Merchant's Daughter which is the Beauty and the Beast retelling. In fact I recommend starting with that one when first reading the series. The first book, The Healer's Apprentice has some elements that are somewhat different from the rest of the series, it has to do with the bad guy plot, and I have been glad that I didn't start with that one. All of these books are very good and enjoyable and fun. This is a great way to get the first five books for a reasonable price, this is a better deal than buying the five books individually on kindle. Overall if you're looking for a great Christian themed series and love fairy tales, I cannot recommend this series enough.

The Fairy Tale Romance Collection contains 5 fairy tales set in Medieval times. Each book may be read individually, but I would recommend reading them in order as they are connected. All of the books are set in the Holy Roman Empire, in Saxony, except for the Merchant's Daughter which is set in England.The Healer's Apprentice is a compelling story, with some twists that keep it from being predictable. The author pays great attention to detail, and I always enjoy learning something new about a time period or region. The only things I didn't like about this story are that the end is somewhat anti-climactic and I wasn't sure which fairy tale I had read until I double checked in the book description on Amazon. Even with those problems I recommend this book and will read it again.The Merchant's Daughter is a retelling of the Beauty and the Beast. The love story is fun and reading the beauty and the beast without having witches or spells was a nice change. My favorite part though is when Annabel reads the Bible for the first time. Oh to have the thirst for the Word of God that she does!The Fairest Beauty is a retelling of Snow White. Very enjoyable read! I especially liked what the author did with "the seven" and Gabe. I loved Gabe. =)The Captive Maiden is a fun retelling of Cinderella, complete with lost slipper, wicked step-mother, and handsome prince...err…earl. I think Valten may be my favorite hero in the Fairy Tale Romance Collection.Margaretha is spunky, stubborn, and she talks too much, a fault I can readily identify with. She rescues the hero about as many times as he rescues her. The Princess Spy rounds out the Fairy Tale Romance Collection well as it ties all the stories together. (Though I am eagerly anticipating reading The Golden Braid which ties in to the Princess Spy, I think.)P.S. My husband insists the next fairy-tale in this series should be a re-write of the Three Little Pigs! =)

General information about the series (Indidulaized book reviews are below)I don't normally write reviews but I really enjoyed these books. They are Clean, sweet and simple, feel-good books. I am a mom in my twenties (writing under my husband's account) who was looking for a positive, light-hearted, happy story with an uplifting message- this was it! Please don't hesitate to read these.These books are based off of familiar fairytales brought to real-life with romance akin to books like Pride & Predjudice and Persuasion with religious morals to guide them. They are fairytale based so they do end predicably happily but the journey is unique with dashes of familiar sences.Some of these books share similar characters. Although it is not necessary to following the story it's fun to see the characters pop up again. I'd recommend starting with the Healer's Apprentice (Sleeping beauty), then Fairest Beauty (Snow White ), Captive Maiden (Cinderella), then Merchants daughter (Beauty and the Beast ) and Princess Spy. You don't have to read them in any particular order but there are hints in other books that share more about how happy the couples are later.These are clean romance novels whose character's boast young girls who hold to thier self-worth and know that there is someone or something good enough in thier future to value themselves now. They learn that being themselves is good enough. They realize that they are more courageous than they know and are capable of rising to the challenge, especially when they have faith.Violence/Adult situations:Characters do get hurt, braking an arm or getting arrows shot at his arm. You read about blood and how to heal with herbs. Nothing graphic, just the knowledge/description: blood stains under his arm, purple swollen wrist, etc. She does talk about men taking advantage of beautiful madiens but not in a descriptive way. There are some bad guys who try to "force themselves" upon the women and they are forced to fight out of those situations. She also discusses women "being seen late at night with men" and how that "tarnishes a maiden's reputation." It is suggested at but not discussed. Also in Princess Spy we learn a man killed his pregnant mistress- no details (mentioned on first few pages of book). I only mention these things because some parents are more cautious about the situations thier kids are exposed to while reading.This author is religions and all her heroines rely on thier belief in God to guide thier attitudes and choices. There are times that it seems a little sermon like but in truth people of these times were religious. My opinion is also that a couple of the books had modern jargon and more modern religious ideas in comparison to the books' actual period in time. I still found myself adopting some of these religious phrases into my life.I read 5 of these books in 4 days so I felt some of the verbiage across the board was redundant and overused. At times i felt like I was reading English in the 1800's then it would switch to familar phrases of our time. A few male characters also posses a similar idiosyncrasy when they are angry or having a hard time saying something. (Constant "Clenching jaw" action from the menfolk)Now on to the books themselves--☆▪•°•▪☆The healers apprentice:☆▪•°°•▪☆Maybe minor spoilerEnjoyed this book because I was caught off guard a couple times and the plot felt different. There is mention of dark magic, possessions, seeing evil spirits and curses. Nothing too descriptive. (This is the only "magic" in the series so far.)Falling in love, sense of duty, quests, and mistaken or concelled identities. He is betrothed, she is in an apprentice, thier lives have already been written- but why do they share a connection? Why does an illusive suitor frighten her so?Moral: God's power can overcome all things..▪•**•▪.The merchants daughter.▪•**•▪.You'll like this book if you like Beauty and the Beast (Disney version) and Jane Eyre (Orson Wells) and yes I used movie references. Yes, there is a Gaston chatacter, She is a "captive" in the sense that she is honestly seeking to pay a debt, she is genuine in her concern for others. There is also a would-be-murder, a flirtatious friend, riots, and a nunnery. Still, how can she follow her heart when she isn't sure what it's saying? Can she accept God's plan for her? Hasn't he been guiding her to this one thing? Can she protect those she cares for?Religious Moral: The greatest gift is love..▪•°•▪.The Fairest Beauty.▪•°•▪.Plain up Snow White with a different twist on setting. She gets away relatively early on in the story (which is the only action scene, really) so most of the book is on thier adventure to the Cottage of Seven (nope, not dwarves) trying to figure out how they feel and if it could really work. Can betrothal's be broken? Is she really that beautiful?My least favorite of the series due to underdeveloped characters and Sophie seemed rather vapid. Just my opinion, there are others who wouldn't agree.Religious moral: Forgive yourself and others•●○●•The Captive Maiden•●○●•Cinderella, think more the Ever After movie version. I enjoyed the new spin on this story. Jousting tournaments, 2 people sharing the love of thier horses, the strong silent type, actions verses words. Being yourself. Tons of adventure and daring rescues. Definitely a twist I wasn't anticipating.Will she risk loosing her beloved horses to go to the tournament? Can she defy her stepmother? Will she ever escape her relentless captures? Will Valten save her in time?Gesile must learn that wanting something good in her life isn't giving her hopes up. It's ok for her to feel as though she is actually worth more.Religious moral: Trust in God▪-▪-▪-▪ The Princess Spy ▪-▪-▪-▪Loved this one. The main character is viewed as a chatter-box. I liked how she was more relatable as a real girl rather than just being absolutely beautiful like Sophie (Fairest Beauty) and Gesile (Captive Maiden).She isn't someone who was waiting to get rescued, she often times was very capable. Her first thought was to her family and helping them. She uses her nature to gab to her advantage. She finds someone who likes this quaity in her when she thought and knew others did not.Can she be a spy? Will she keep a secret? Can she protect those she loves? Will she be forced to marry?Moral of story: Vengeance is God's and Don't let people rob you of your peace.Sidenotes:There isn't any real magic involved; it's divine design, chulvary, heroics, and bravery....maybe even crazy dumb luck. I thoroughly enjoyed these books because thier essence was familar. These are not literary masterpieces, nor are they meaty in content; nevertheless, they are charming and romantic. There were several times in each book that I was swooning over the moment they realized they loved each other. Simple, clean love stories and we'll worth it.I bought 5 of these books through my amazon android kindle app for only 4 dollars

The Healer’s ApprenticeI enjoyed this story and found myself comparing it to already familiar to me fairytales. Of course these stories are more realistic and focus on trusting God.The Merchant’s DaughterThis so far has been my favorite with the similar themes from Beauty and the Beast. I love Annabel’s joy for getting the privilege to read the Bible’s good news for the first time. I always love books where people see past the outward scars or prejudices to the beautiful person inside. I also love how the characters exhibit the Word through their words and actions.The Fairest BeautyI enjoyed this adaptation of Snow White. I loved the different spin on the 7 dwarves and the element of a love triangle or not really.The Captive MaidenA strong silent type hero and a brave heroine with moral character but shared insecurities of rejection and a desire to know God’s purpose for their lives.The Princess SpyA heroine perceived as overly talkative and flighty proves her worth to others and herself. A hero bent on revenge and impulsiveness turns to justice through the help of the heroine and God.

I grew up reading fairy tales and continued long after other girls gave it up and moved on to more 'grown up' books. I am no longer a child and decades past the young adult years. Ms. Dickerson has allowed me to return to my youth and read the old stories once again, but if anything she improved on them. The stories she tells In the Fairy Tale Romance Collection have the familiar thread of the old tales, but written as they may have actually happened. The old tales came from somewhere and had a kernel of truth in the midst of the magic.Perhaps these medieval stories are close to the reality that gave the Grimm Brothers their fairy tales.I confess am a bit of a book snob. I very seldom give 5 star ratings. With these books, I found little to criticize. They are well written and well researched so that I felt that they were real people having real adventures. They are fairy tales all grown up and perhaps will survive generations of readers, even as the old tales did.

If you include the 5 in this collection, I have binge read my way through 8 Melanie Dickerson books in the past week. I have liked all of them so far except for the Merchant's Daughter (part of this collection). That is a retelling of Beauty and the Beast, and in pretty much every version of B&B out there, The Beauty character has gumption. But not in MD's version: timid, vapid, and pretty blah. Otherwise, the collection is great. My favorite of this set was The Princess Spy. Yes, they are Christian fiction, but I normally can't stand that genre, and like I mentioned above, I have read 8 MD books this week.

I love and relate to most of the heroines in these books, but I love Margaretha best. She is kind and good and optimistic in every book she is in and I'm glad Melanie Dickerson gave her such a great story, because she deserves it! And it's no surprise the rest of the books that I've read of this series (I've missed two or three) aren't set majorly in Hagenheim since wonderful Margaretha is off and married somewhere else. Margaretha has taught me more about praying with faith than probably anyone else has, and I am grateful for her. The first time I read the Princess Spy, I remember being struck by how she caught herself praying with doubt and changed it, because I'm guilty of prayers that aren't very hopeful. The other heroines, I've been like in some ways, but Margaretha is who I want to be like. She's wonderful and don't skip the Princess Spy, though I love The Healer's Apprentice and The Captive Maiden almost as much.

Good clean romance, love that there are quoted scriptures here and there, but not preachy. Always look forward to seeing what kind of twists the authors will take on fairy tales.

Paid homage to the fairy tales while having plenty of originality and plot development. I really enjoyed the style of writing and the story line. My first taste of Melanie Dickerson- I'll be going back for more!