From New York Times bestselling author comes The Silent Songbird!Evangeline is gifted with a heavenly voice, but she is trapped in a sinister betrothal until she embarks on a daring escape and meets brave Westley le Wyse. Can he help her discover the freedom to sing again?Desperate to flee a political marriage to her cousin King Richard II’s closest advisor, Lord Shiveley—a man twice her age with … again?
Desperate to flee a political marriage to her cousin King Richard II’s closest advisor, Lord Shiveley—a man twice her age with shadowy motives—Evangeline runs away and joins a small band of servants journeying back to Glynval, their home village.
Pretending to be mute, she gets to know Westley le Wyse, their handsome young leader, who is intrigued by the beautiful servant girl. But when the truth comes out, it may shatter any hope that love could grow between them.
More than Evangeline’s future is at stake as she finds herself entangled in a web of intrigue that threatens England’s monarchy.Should she give herself up to protect the only person who cares about her? If she does, who will save the king from a plot to steal his throne?
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Although I recieved a free copy of this ebook from netgalley and the publisher, all opinions are my own.
This is another book based loosely on a fairy tale, this time the little mermaid. When I say based on, I use the term very loosely. The only things I noticed that were similar to the fairy tale were Evangeline’s beautiful voice and fiery red hair.
Evangeline wants to be free to choose who she wants to marry, to be able to fall in love. She doesn’t want to have her husband chosen for her by her uncle based on what is “good for the kingdom.” When he arranges her marriage to a horrible man, she chooses to take her life into her own hands, she runs away and disguises herself as a mute maid.
Needless to say, the story got more detailed, but never once was I bored by the story line. Though at times it was a bit predictable, other times it surprised me. I found it a very good adaptation of the story.
This is the second of Dickerson’s books I have read and both were wonderful. This one would get four and a half stars if I could do halves here. Certainly planning to add the rest of the Hagenheim books on my “to read” list.
This is a wonderful Little Mermaid Retelling!
I read nearly all of this in 1 day!
One of my favorites of this series !
I love that it’s a retelling of one of my favorite stories, The Little Mermaid. Melanie Dickerson is just an amazing writer and I’m inspired by all of her work. Melanie Dickerson
I have read everything that Melanie Dickerson has written, so I know what to expect when I approach her writings. I expect to be enthralled with brave and heroic characters who go above and beyond their status. I will be taken on a journey through a story that is similar to the fairy tales that I have grown up with but with a twist.
The major story element that I really enjoy is Dickerson’s ability to create realistic characters who stick with me long after the story is finished. The hero, Westley le Wyse, enters the story while saving a young child who is about to be run over by a stray horse. Throughout the rest of the story, he shows over and over again his sweet and gentle heart by protecting the innocent from physical harm. I really like a man who seeks out the weak and gives them a brighter outlook on life. As for the heroine, Evangeline, she is a young woman who was raised up with an education and not having to work, but in order to hunt for true love, she escapes her prearranged marriage and lowers her status to seek freedom. Both characters are brave and noble. Totally worth falling in love with.
The story has elements of the popular fairy tale The Little Mermaid, but it doesn’t completely follow the storyline. Evangeline doesn’t sell her voice to have human legs. Instead, she plays mute to save herself and her maidservant who escaped with her. I enjoyed watching the romance between Evangeline and Westley grow, especially because Evangeline is willing to work just to discover who she really wants to be.
I really was enthralled with the plot. Dickerson invited me back to the land of fairytales in the late fourteenth century and kept me in that time period with her writing. I had a hard time putting the novel down. Like her previous stories in this series, I have enjoyed watching Dickerson’s take on the popular stories. Even though the story is completely predictable, it was an original version of the widely popular tale.
With a tale as old as time, Melanie Dickerson’s The Silent Songbird invited me along for a story in a land where status rules the people. Evangeline and Westley are brave characters who will stick with the readers long after they show their love story. I highly recommend The Silent Songbird to fans of all fairy tales and Dickerson’s previous novels.
I received a complimentary copy of The Silent Songbird from Thomas Nelson and the opinions stated are all my own.
Great Fairy Tale YA Novel
I received this book for a honest review from The Fiction Guild. This is another wonderful retelling of a fairy tale with a bit of twist in it. I loved how a young woman born of royalty wanted what every other person in the world wanted. Love. She was kept at one of the kings castles because she was the daughter of the Kings uncle. He came to tell her to she was to marry a man who didn’t want to and knew it would not be good. She had a beautiful singing voice and the only reason the Lord wanted to marry her because of her royal bloodline. She ran away to a different community and her lady’s maid went with her and she acted like she couldn’t talk and they acted as domestic help as a cover. But the Lord would not give up. She found shelter and a possibility of love and family. With Wesley help and his father and village they were able to save her friend and stop the king from harm.
Silent Songbird by Melanie Dickerson came out in 2016. It’s about a girl who runs away to avoid a forced marriage to someone she can’t stand and has a fairy-tale like quality. It’s short, sweet, and I read it in one night, so it held my attention. Good book if you are just looking for some light romance without all the adult-only scenes.
Such a great story! Keep up the great work, Melanie! Highly recommended!
Loved