THE LOWDOWN:
Gentle, pious, loving Sophie is a servant to the wicked Duchess Ermengard. She believes escape is her only chance to be happy. Then a young man named Gabe arrives from Hagenheim Castle and everything twists upside down: Gabe claims Sophie is actually the duchess’ stepdaughter and that she is betrothed to Gabe’s older brother. This could be Sophie’s one chance at freedom—but can she trust another person to keep her safe?
Gabe defied his parents by going to find Sophie, and now he believes they had a right to worry: the girl’s inner and outer beauty has enchanted him. Though romance is impossible—she is his brother’s future wife, and Gabe himself is betrothed to someone else—he promises to see the mission through, no matter what.
When the pair flee to the Cottage of the Seven, they find help—but also find their feelings for each other have grown. Now both must not only protect each other from the dangers around them—they must also protect their hearts.
FIRST IMPRESSION:
Pinnosa passed through the town square and the cobblestone Marktplatz. Hagenheim Castle loomed straight ahead. Once she passed the guard at the gatehouse, she would need to find her way to the young lord.
—Paperback edition
SNAPSHOT:
When she was young, the orphaned Sophie was taken in by the cruel Duchess Ermengard as a servant. Now, a beautiful and kind young woman, Sophie is everyone’s favorite. Her hesitant interactions with the disguised traveler, Gabe, lent a realistic air to the young lead: what servant would believe a stranger that they were the daughter of a dead duke?
The detailed setting and amusing characters are the strong points of this tale—especially when the reader finally arrives at the Cottage of the Seven, and is introduced to the varied and interesting men who live there.
Though it does not detract from the adventure, the plot is easy to predict for fans of the fairy tale genre. Some of the twists and conclusions seems a bit too neat, but its heart is in the right place.
Deals with love, honor, duty, physical and emotional abuse from the villain, servitude, faith, and family. The novel has Christian overtones and the characters’ faith, while appropriate for the time period, becomes more important and heavy-handed in the final third of the novel.
Appropriate for ages 12+. Some intense situations, but no more than any other fairy tale. Sophie and Gabe are both sweet, honest, likeable protagonists who have forgivable flaws.
GET IT ON YOUR SHELF:
If you…
– Enjoy fairy tale retellings
– Adore a sweet, chaste romance
– Are curious about historical Germany
– Need a cute read with just a hint of dark magic
THE ESSENTIALS:
YA Christian Fairy Tale
Paperback & Ebook, 323 pages
Published January 8th 2013 by Zondervan (ISBN 0310724392)
http://zondervan.com/9780310724391
(ARC provided by Zondervan.)