The Merchant's Daughter (Fairy Tale Romance Series)

For years Annabel's family shirked their duties and now that Lord Ranulf is moving to town, they must pay for their crimes. Unfortunately, the responsibility falls to Annabel. She must marry the evil bailiff or become Lord Ranulf's servant. Choosing the lesser of two evils, she packs her bags and begins three years of indentured servitude.

But life with Lord Ranulf is not as horrible as she feared. Though the man has a horrible temper and is scarred and disfigured, he allows Annabel to read from the bible, something she has always dreamed of doing. But when Annabel is attacked and a man gravely injured, everything good hangs in the balance, including Annabel and Lord Ranulf's futures.

Oooh, I love a good romance novel! And Melanie Dickerson writes very sweet romance novels. But they're fairytales, and fairytales always include an evil villain and danger. The Merchant's Daughter did not disappoint. I loved Annabel and Lord Ranulf's characters. I loved the initial misunderstandings, and I especially loved how it all worked out in the end. If you love fairytale romances, this one is a must read. And if you're looking for a sweet, clean teen read, this would make a perfect gift, as would Dickerson's first novel [[ASIN:0310721431 The Healers Apprentice]]. Highly recommended.

The Merchant's Daughter is an adaption of the fairytale Beauty and the Beast that contains resemblances to Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte. We have the ugly, deformed male character and the beautiful female protagonist. The circumstances to which Annabel goes to Lord Ranulf le Wyse is unmistakably similar to Belle's circumstances in Beauty and the Beast. Reading a novel that is similar to a fairytale, I couldn't help but compare both. By the end of The Merchant's Daughter (I completed it in less than 2.5 hours), I found myself liking the story even more than the Beauty and the Beast story.

Firstly, there is the Christian element in the story. It's no secret that I enjoy reading good Christian YA fiction. There is plenty of Bible reading done in the story, and secular readers wouldn't be able to give it a miss since the Bible reading sessions play an important role in the plot development. A glimpse to the treatment of clergy during the Middle Ages is given an important place in the book. I read quite a few literature books involving the Middle Ages era, and the depiction given of clergy in The Merchant's Daughter is accurate.

Then, there is plenty of "control" in the romance part of the story. When Annabel and Lord Ranulf finally cemented their relationship, it was in perfect timing. I liked the way the romance was not rushed. It was slowly revealed bit by bit and that made the story even more enjoyable. The surprises when it comes to romance in this story is endless.

Lastly, Lord Ranulf doesn't magically change to Mr. Perfect Looks. I don't want to give away too much of the story here, but suffice to say that once a person looks revolting, he is very likely to look the same unless the fairy godmother waves her wand over him. Although The Merchant's Daughter is a retelling of Beauty and the Beast, it is the real version of the fairytale.

Annabel is the vulnerable heroine in the story. Bailiff Tom put out all the stops to make Annabel become his wife. At such, Annabel needs a protector. Logic would say that Lord Ranulf becomes Annabel's protector when the incident waiting to happened happens. True and not true. This causes the story to be even more interesting. Beneath Lord Ranulf's harshness, he is actually quite a nice person. Just because he's deformed, it doesn't mean that he has no feelings and a conscience. Bailiff Tom is a character every reader can easily dislike. There is nothing good about him. Right from the first mention of him, a reader can easily gauge that he is a shady character. No surprises there.

If anything, The Merchant's Daughter is one of the best medieval romance books I've read so far. Combined with a thrilling action and romance that complements the sometimes subtle historic setting and lifestyle lessons, it is light enough for anyone looking for a clean, leisure romance story. Additionally, the Christian message is brought across strongly, but not aggressively.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received the NetGalley of this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

After enjoying Melanie Dickerson's The Healer's Apprentice, I have been eagerly looking forward to this next fairytale retelling, The Merchant's Daughter. And I was not disappointed! Taking The Beauty and the Beast fairytale(which is my favorite!), Dickerson spins a delightful story set in medieval England. Get ready for an enchanting adventure (though without any magic or spells! ;-)

When Annabel's family is condemned to send one of them to work for Lord Ranulf le Wyse For three years to pay a debt, Annabel jumps at the chance to escape a forced marriage to an undesirable suitor. She was a very intricate character--displaying both a wary, shy, scared side, but also at times responding to a situation with a strong, sure, determined attitude. Very easy to like her! And, funny enough, grumpy Ranulf also grew on me pretty quickly. Sure he was gruff and short-tempered, but I could see right off, much like Annabel did, that there was something much more behind it all.

The Merchant's Daughter not only has a sweet romance within its pages, but also is a story of one woman finding herself. Lost in a world where she is unappreciated and only wants to study God's word to know Him more, the reader is enraptured the first time she reads from a bible. Often, we take our bibles for granted, but reading from Annabel's point of view the first time she sees a bible...its so touching, special, and renewing.

Within the story someone attempts to rape a girl, but even that is vaguely described and stops before anything happens. Besides that, this book was clean and an enjoyable read from cover to cover. I highly recommend for all readers, old and young alike. Melanie Dickerson talent shown bright in The Merchant's Daughter and I can't wait to see which fairytale she takes on next!

I reviewed this book for Team Novel Teen Blog Tour. Special thanks to the author for sending me a review copy. It was not required that I give a positive review, but solely to express my own thoughts and opinions of this book, which I have done.

The author used skillfully the conceptual framework of Beauty and the Beast in the story " The Merchant's Daughter" which makes this realistic fiction phenomenal. The unthinkable dangers the author skillfully weaved as well as the unthinkable choices both characters exhibited created the rare charm. Annabel the daughter of a wealthy merchant who lost his wealth at his death becomes the indentured servant of Ranulf LeWyse the new master of the land a young widower is Ranulf scarred from physical wounds as well as imprisoned in a cocoon of distrust due to the adulterous deeds of his former deceased wife and as a recluse appears beastly in looks as well as behavior although in reality he has a noble heart and an abiding faith in God. The reader is engulfed in a web of intrigue with the wicked bailiff as a villain whose lust consumes him to the point of posing a great danger to Annabel as well as to the life of Ranulf as he plans death for him. The inherent roles of man created by God as the leader and protector of the woman and of the woman as a suitable partner to man is portrayed so well by Ranulf and Annabel. Charming novel where you begin remembering so well the basic truth that God is sovereign and supersitition has no place in a living faith anchored in His Word. The wideness of God's mercy, and the kindness in His justice and the inerrant authority of the Bible is so plainly taught subtley woven throughout the story. The reader ends convinced that God knows what is best for us at all times.

I read The Healer's Apprentice earlier this year and I loved that book so much I was anxiously awaiting The Merchant's Daughter! It did not disappoint me at all!

The Merchant's Daughter is loosely based on the Disney story Beauty and the Beast, and I personally thought it was a beautiful, sweet novel that was very enjoyable to read.

The characters of Annabel and Ranulf were endearing and many of the things that happened to them were sad - like Annabel's family doesn't seem to care about her, just themselves. Ranulf's been hurt by his late wife and doesn't think any woman can love him because of his scars.

There are so many things about The Merchant's Daughter that I loved: the characters, the story, how the book was clean and I didn't find anything offensive.

Even though this is YA, I think adults will enjoy The Merchant's Daughter as well. It is a great read that I completely recommend!

*I received a complimentary copy of The Merchant's Daughter to review. I was not required to give a positive review, only my honest opinion - which I've done.*

I really hated Annabel's family with all my tiny heart and soul. And I did not understand why Annabel just didn't go work in the fields by herself and leave her family to their own devices. That was really odd and kind of annoying.

Other than that, this book was decent enough. It's not the worst one I've ever read. I think there could have been a lot less bashing-you-over-the-head-with-religion, as in, it could have been much more subtly (and thus skillfully) done.

Stephen's character could have been fleshed out a lot more. He was kind of just in the background for most of the time, and so the part that focused on him didn't have as much impact as it could have. I like le Wyse and I liked Annabel, but their relationship was a little "eh." I loved Eustacia but thought she talked like Yoda. Most of the language in this book was a little weirdly done. I get that the author was trying to evoke the 1300s, but she didn't pull it off unfortunately. It just came off weird and it was very distracting to read the characters talk like normal people and then say "Nay." It reminded me of that John Pinette sketch "I say nay nay!"

I thought the storyline with the baliff was well done, though I could have lived without Gilbert and Adam's characters. Same with Beatrice - did that actually have a point or not really?

This is a good, light read for when you just need a book that doesn't require your brain to function.

It is a little difficult for me to seem over-critical of this book after having engaged in an online 'conversation' with the author, and expressed praise of her research- and also because I like her, but I feel I must be truthful and objective in terms of my opinion and response to the book.

The storyline was good and this is a sweet and compelling Romance novel with a fairly original concept. I don't well remember the Disney story of Beauty and the Beast except for talking candlesticks and fairies, and you won't find any of that here. Dickerson instead opts for a more realistic version of the fairy tale set in an actual historical time and place- in this case 14th century England.
The themes of the hero finding reconciliation and peace with God and man through true love were well presented, and seemed to fit in well with the transformation of the beast in the tale.
The heroine Annabel's elation at reading the Bible in her own language for the first time was quite believable without seeming contrived. Some have complained about her character having no flaws, but I personally did not think this seemed to be the case all of the time, though she could see, a little too `goody goody' in some parts, she also became jealous, and frustrated and could be stubborn.

The hero Lord Ranulf (the beast) was likeable enough and is sufficiently tough, courageous and manly to be appealing- though he seems fierce and aggressive initially. The only aspect of his character which seemed overbearing was his heroism, risking one's life to rescue a servant girl was one thing, but braving fire to single- handily save a few sheep from a barn just seemed overdone and contrived.

The writing style was something of an issue for me it seemed rather over simplistic with hints of amateurism in places. This is only the author's second novel, so perhaps such is to be expected but it seemed that the author was not making good use of the "show don't tell" device in her writing. Thus we are told "she felt" thus rather often and the adverb "a bit" crops up over a dozen times.
Perhaps these problems may well be ironed out as the author hones her skills, but they were very noticeable in places, though as this series was aimed at teenagers, perhaps the writing style was intentionally simplified to make it more accessible for them.

As a British reader, reading a book in which Medieval English characters use modern American Idioms such as `go tell' instead of British equivalents like `go and tell' or is a little problematic and frustrating, yet it is an almost inevitable consequence of reading a novel written by an American who is not familiar which such linguistic nuances.
By and large, the language of the medieval characters was plausible, or at least passable, and though in some places it did seem a little too modern, there did not seem to be many modern words and phrases which stood out.

I finished this novel with rather mixed feelings, it was enjoyable enough and certainly readable but it fell rather below my expectations were which were perhaps too high as an adult approaching a romance novel aimed at teenage girls. I may well read more of this author's work, but with such considerations in mind.

Christianity/Morality: There is no swearing, nor extreme violence or sexual content in the novel. One character does make advances towards Annabel a few times, and even goes so far as assaulting her on one occasion, though this is not graphically described.

Annabel thinks upon how good looking and physically attractive Lord Ranulf is quite a few times, but for the most part this is simply corny and there is nothing smutty or lewd about it. A few of the servant girls make suggestive remarks about him, and there are a few references to Ranulf's deceased wife having been unfaithful to him.

Mrs Dickerson to her credit is also willing to at least mention concepts such as sin and the necessity of repentance, which some Christian authors may shy away from, or avoid altogether. There is also much exploration of Christian concepts through Annabel and Ranulf's reading of scripture. Finally, as mentioned above the overall theme of the novel appears to be that of reconciliation, forgiveness, and finding peace though faithfulness and surrender to the will of God.

Historical: Personally, I could not imagine a Medieval nobleman like Lord Ranulf risking his life to save a servant girl from a wolf (which was how Ranulf got his disfiguring scars) and the scenario seemed all the more implausible because wolves were likely all but extinct in 14th century England when the novel is set.
I think it would perhaps have been more plausible for Ranulf's scars and injuries to have resulted from battle wounds- which could still have allowed for the heroism and self-sacrifice of his saving another person.
Also it seemed rather unlikely that a nobleman, even one seeking to leave his past behind in an obscure and remote place like Ranulf in the novel, would not have any soldiers or guards in his employment, and so would be left alone at the mercy of a peasant mob.

The level of historical accuracy, authenticity and research seemed to vary in some places. For instance, the scenes referring to the 'Hallmote' (local community court) and customs or laws regarding duties for peasants as well as the investigations of an itinerant bailiff appeared accurate and show the author has done her research in these areas.
Nor did it seem historically implausible for a 14th century woman of the merchant class to have been literate in Latin or English. The references to Annabel using honey to treat burns was also interesting in hindsight, after having learned that it was indeed used to treat cuts or open wounds in this period.

However, the descriptions of people hanging out clothes on a washing line seemed rather out of place in a medieval setting. (It was supposedly the medieval practice of laying clothes out to dry on grass or a lawn that gave rise to the term 'laundry' after all.)
Passages such as this could make the historical detail appear inconsistent, as it seemed as though the author had devoted much time and energy to researching some aspects of the historical setting, but not others.

Perhaps again though, I am being too pedantic and so not make too much of the occasional aberration by an author who generally seems to know her historical 'stuff' rather well.

I began reading this book with a minor intrigue in fairy tales. I purchased my copy and this was some of the best spent money toward a work of fiction in a long time! I couldn't put it down. I love how we are captured and really brought into the story. The author clearly has a love and understanding of the time period as well as showing that Christ followers, although we may not be perfect in everyday life, have a responsibility to strive to always be better.

I highly recommend this for anyone - not just the young adults- but us that are quickly falling into the "young at heart" group!

There are few novels written about medieval England and most of those are full of suspense and darkness. What a relief, therefore, to come across The Merchant's Daughter which gives the reader plenty of hope amongst that darkness. Medieval England was a complex time, where the men of the church were not always good Christian men, a lord - often from outside the area - ruled the village, and the villagers were subservient to both church and lord.

Annabel is one of those villagers. Once upon a time, her family enjoyed relative freedom thanks to her father's position of merchant. Unfortunately, the wealth was lost and her father died in the recent pestilence. Where Annabel might have once been able to marry a nobleman, she sees entering a convent her only option. Especially since her shiftless brother is determined to marry her off to the village bailiff. When her family is told one of them must become an indentured servant to the newly arrived lord of the manor, Annabel takes the chance; even though the man is rumored to be a terrifying beast, both in looks and temperament.

Yes, this is a retelling of the Beauty and the Beast fairytale, but without the all-dancing, all-singing clocks and candlesticks. It is a beautiful example of how we should look past the exterior and look to the heart of a person. It is through `the beast' that Annabel truly learns of God's character and, in a moment of crisis, she calls upon God to give her the words to say in order to save them both. The Merchant's Daughter is being targeted as a Young Adult novel; however, I would say this is also a book for `Old Adults' such as myself.

I received my free copy of The Merchant's Daughter from Zondervan in exchange for an honest review.

I love how Melanie Dickerson breathes life into age old tales so that we can see them through new eyes.

In this medieval setting of lords, freemen and serfs a beautiful love story emerges. Dickerson exhibits great insight into the character of people: what moves them, what motivates them and the truth that there is always much more beneath the surface than what can be seen at first glance. I found myself captivated by this re-telling of Beauty and the Beast and the heart of a woman who wanted to honor God with her life.

My favorite aspect of the story was the questions of faith that it prompted. Putting myself in the shoes of the merchant's daughter I explored what it would have been like to have never, even once, had access to the Bible. And even more, to not know anyone, even the local priest, who did have access to the Bible. What a gift we have to be able to hold the very Word of God in our hands! And even more of a gift, to hear and read that Word in our own language. How often do I take these gifts for granted?

Seeing through the eyes heroine offered a fresh perspective on the truth that the Word of God is a precious treasure. So not only did I see a classic tale through new eyes, but I see my own life differently as well. And that is one of the greatest gifts a story can offer.