From New York Times bestselling author comes The Beautiful Pretender!After inheriting his title from his brother, the margrave has two weeks to find a noble bride. What will happen when he learns he has fallen for a lovely servant girl in disguise?The Margrave of Thornbeck has to find a bride, fast. He invites ten noble born ladies who meet the king’s approval to be his guests at Thornbeck Castle … fast. He invites ten noble born ladies who meet the king’s approval to be his guests at Thornbeck Castle for two weeks, a time to test these ladies and reveal their true character.
Avelina has only two instructions: keep her true identity a secret and make sure the margrave doesn’t select her as his bride. Since the latter seems unlikely, she concentrates on not getting caught. No one must know she is merely a maidservant, sent by the Earl of Plimmwald to stand in for his daughter, Dorothea.
Despite Avelina’s best attempts at diverting attention from herself, the margrave has taken notice. And try as she might, she can’t deny her own growing feelings. But something else is afoot in the castle. Something sinister that could have far worse—far deadlier—consequences
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I have always loved fairy tale retellings and since discovering Melanie’s stories, I now have thirteen of her books, so you know they are AMAZING. I read The Beautiful Pretender in less than 24 hours and it only took that long because I was trying to savor it. Be prepared to neglect doing chores, plan to order take-out to avoid stopping to make dinner, and forget about going to sleep until it is over. You have been warned.
It’s an excellent reimagining of one of my favorite fairy tales, but I won’t tell you which one because that is part of the fun trying to figure out what tale it is while reading! Excellently written and beautifully told.
I am currently reading Melanie’s The Warrior Maiden, which was released early this year and is up for the prestigious Christy Award this year! Review to come!
I thoroughly enjoyed reading The Beautiful Pretender by Melanie Dickerson. It was obvious that this was a Beauty and the Beast retelling, and not just any kind but inspired by Disney. There was even a scene where the hero had to fight off wolves in order to save his “Beauty.” Of course, the author certainly made the story her own with the setting, additional cast, a plot to overthrow the margrave, petty rivalries and more. I didn’t fully appreciate the numerous times the characters prayed, though. Understand I’m not saying characters praying is a bad thing. However, the beginning of the book simply didn’t set up the characters to have that kind of faith. Then, they suddenly seemed like devout Christians with all the praying–despite the fact they had ZERO problem telling lies. It just seemed like faith was used far too conveniently (what we would call “fair weather Christians” where I come from). Stories like this, I either want it to be a solid inspirational read or just leave it out altogether. No “mixed signals.” Otherwise, the writing was solid and the story entertaining. I’m glad I got it in print. It’s one worth passing on to my children.
Love Melanie Dickerson’s books! Very entertaining! I can count on them to be a clean read! Love her original take on Fairey Tales!
This seemed to be an original though! At least I don’t remember a Fairey tale similar to this!
I loved it!
Great read!
Not a bad book, just not the quality I expected based on the 4.5 star ratings. The plot was very predictable with no surprise twists.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book, getting to know the Margrave introduced in the first book, and seeing more of that book’s main characters. Many of the relationships among characters were highly believable, from the pettiness to the fear of discovery. And I loved how the author tied everything up at the end so we can continue on to the next book with one of these characters in a different area. If you enjoy simple, historical romances with a bit of suspense, brave knights and a couple of fair maidens, then this book is a good choice.
A well written retelling of Beauty and the Beast.
A great book. I recommend it highly to readers.
Great Read! The story of Intrigue in one Margrave of the Holy Roman Empire! The Margrave was required to find a bride. But, the woman he chooses is a peasant pretending to be a Lady, a the daughter of the another Duke. In the meantime, treachery and intrigue takes place within his castle. The action makes this book, a page-turner, hard to put down. For readers of historical novels, this book is a “must read.”
I really enjoy Melanie Dickerson’s fairy tales stories. They may be remake of the Grimm’s famous stories, but I enjoy them. They still take place in Germany, which rings true with me as a reader. When Dickerson posted that she was writing another book in her Medieval Fairy Tale story, I was excited. After reading The Huntress of Thornbeck Forest, I couldn’t wait to see what kind of trouble Dickerson would allow her characters to get into. I’m glad to say that I enjoyed this book just as much as the first one.
One of my favorite things about Dickerson’s writing is her ability to make me feel like I’m time traveling. I know that I really can’t, but with her writing, I really feel the struggle of the peasants who have to work for the Lords, Dukes and Kings. I can smell the disarray of the world that Dickerson has brought to life for me.
I enjoyed meeting and spending time with Avelina aka Lady Dorothea and the Margrave of Thornbeck. Avelina is a kind hearted woman who knows that she is not allowed to have the Margrave of Thornbeck fall in love with her, so she does everything she knows how to get him to fall in love with her friend, Magdalen. But, however, Avelina falls in love with him anyways. As for the Margrave, he is a gruff man who has a limp from a previous injury, but he is a true knight at heart who saves Avelina, not only once, but twice.
Their romance is sweet and makes me happy at the end. While the romance guides the story along, I never once felt that it was rushed or unrealistic. It was just right for a young adult to enjoy and pray for their own knight to come and share their world with.
In true Disney fairy tale fashion, Melanie Dickerson’s newest book, The Beautiful Pretender drew me into the setting and had realistic characters who fought for their new love. I recommend this book to fans of Fairy tales in general and fans of Dickerson’s previous stories.
I received a complimentary copy of The Beautiful Pretender from Thomas Nelson and the opinions stated are all my own.
I enjoyed reading it
I received this book from The Fiction Guild, this is the 2nd Medieval Fairy Tale that Melanie has written and I enjoyed it very much. Retelling of two fairy tells in a way that you don’t think of a childhood story and bringing it out as adult reading. What do you do but follow your Lords orders and go in place of his daughter and pretend to be her at a Bride in need gathering for a Marques. But when you get there, there are Lady’s who remind you of the mean girls who think they are better and the one girl who is a sweetheart and not a follower of the pack who befriends you and doesn’t know you are not of noble blood. When 2 weeks are over after many mishaps and back stabbing, you have tried to make the Marques fall in love with your friends because if he falls for you he will find out you are a pretender. But then you find out that one of the daughter’s father is trying to take over the kingdom because he feels it belongs to him. You stand for the Marques and help save him and his kingdom and get the best blessing in the kingdom a royal blessing from the King himself. I loved how fairy tales can be rewritten and made for grown up readers
Fun read
Predictable
A modern day fairy tale. Love her writing! A masterful storyteller.
The new Margrave gets a “request” from the king – pick a wife. Here’s a list of possibilities. And don’t dawdle. The young Margrave isn’t sure he wants to marry at all. But who gets to argue with the king? So he and his most trusted advisors put together a plan. They invite a number of young ladies to come and stay for two weeks, after which he will choose his bride. Tests are planned so (hopefully) he will get a wife he can life with.
Meantime, the fathers of the young ladies get notices of the gathering. Problem for one – the daughter has run off with one of her father’s knights. Due to the politics of the area, he can’t not send her, but he doesn’t know where she has gone. So he sends her personal servant with instructions. Be Dorothea and DON’T get picked as the bride.
It’s a great set up for a good story. And this one is well told. There’s treachery, humor and romance – I enjoyed the story, reading it in only a two days.
Good story. Definitely could tell it’s written for YA.
This story is delightful.
It was a fun, light read, that had substance to it.
Would read more books like this one