Teresa Mathews Reviews The Fairest Beauty by Melanie Dickerson

5 Stars*****

Fairy Tale Perfection!

Melanie Dickerson has beautifully mastered the re-telling of Snow White in a way that all I can say is: I wish the first one had been this good. With this version Melanie takes us back to the land of make-believe where a damsel in distress can be rescued by a handsome Lord and live happily-ever-after.

Sophie has no memories of her life as a child except being here in Hohendorf Castle with the evil Duchess Ermengard. Everything she does seems to bring the wrath of the Duchess on her. She has spent days in the dark, dank dungeon with no food or water as punishment; it seems the Duchess has always hated her. It is only by her faith in God she keeps going on day after day. Will she ever be able to escape this horrible life?

Lord Gabehart Gerstenberg didn't know if he believed the old lady Pinnosa or not, her story seemed far-fetched. They all knew that Duke Baldewin’s daughter Sophie died as a small child. Could she really still be alive and is being held captive by her evil step-mother? Gabe knew that Valten should be the one to rescue his betrothed but something in his heart was urging him to go and not wait for Valten‘s broken leg to heal. Will he find Sophie and be able to bring her back to his brother? 

When a handsome stranger shows up and starts asking Sophie all sorts of odd questions she has no clue what he is talking about. Her, a lowly scullery maid, the daughter of a Duke? That can’t be true; the Duchess told her she was an orphan. Was that another of her wicked lies? Could she really be betrothed to a future Duke named Valten, this stranger's older brother? If so, why didn't he come to rescue her?

When Gabe arrives at Hohendorf Castle and meets the beautiful Sophie, he knows he cannot leave her there in the clutches of the evil Duchess. When Pinnosa’s story is verified by the only other person who knows the truth, Gabe makes haste to whisk Sophie away before the Duchess has her killed. When a wicked huntsman follows them will he succeed in killing them before they make it to the safety of the Cottage of the Seven? Will Gabe be able to watch  Sophie marry his brother now that he realizes how much he loves her? 

This story was absolutely charming; Melanie took one of my favorite fairy tales and improved it to the point of perfection. We have the basic story we grew up with but Melanie has taken it and woven God’s love and the power of His forgiveness throughout the story and that is perfection! Thank you Melanie for helping me remember that with God’s love, fairy tales do come true!!

I was given an ARC by Zondervan in exchange for my honest opinion.

This marvelous read along with others by Melanie can be found at Amazon, CBD and Barnes & Noble.

GIVEAWAY: Melanie is giving away a signed copy of The Fairest Beauty to a US commenter who answers the question below. 

International commenters cannot be entered in this giveaway.

QUESTION: As a child what was your favorite "Happy-Ever-After" story?