The Bibliophile's Bookshelf

Title: The Merchant’s Daughter

Series: Hagenheim #2

Author: Melanie Dickerson

Genre: Young Adult, Clean Romance, Retelling, Christian Fiction, Historical Fiction

Rating: 4 stars

Review:

An unthinkable danger. An unexpected choice. Annabel, once the daughter of a wealthy merchant, is trapped in indentured servitude to Lord Ranulf, a recluse who is rumored to be both terrifying and beastly. Her circumstances are made even worse by the proximity of Lord Ranulf s bailiff a revolting man who has made unwelcome advances on Annabel in the past. Believing that life in a nunnery is the best way to escape the escalation of the bailiff’s vile behavior and to preserve the faith that sustains her, Annabel is surprised to discover a sense of security and joy in her encounters with Lord Ranulf. As Annabel struggles to confront her feelings, she is involved in a situation that could place Ranulf in grave danger. Ranulf’s future, and possibly his heart, may rest in her hands, and Annabel must decide whether to follow the plans she has cherished or the calling God has placed on her heart. – summary from Goodreads

The Merchant’s Daughter was an excellent Beauty and the Beast retelling, with strong Christian themes that was historically accurate and had amazing characters!

I love the way Dickerson can weave Christianity into her stories. It is so moving to me and makes me understand the past in a deeper way but also makes me feel closer to my own beliefs. I love how often they pray and how much comfort the characters get from reading the Bible.

Our main character was Annabel and her greatest desire was to read the Bible. I love how much peace she got when she was able to do this. And I really love how the main characters would discuss the Bible together- it was very sweet and something you don’t see in fiction very often.

I loved our main characters, Ranulf and Annabel. They were so cute together, and they could stand on their own, which I think is very important. I feel like Ranulf had a really solid backstory, that is sometimes missing for me in Beauty and the Beast retellings. I felt like we could have gone even deeper at times, not only for him but Annabel as well, but in general I was really happy with the backstories. Annabel was very sweet, and I loved how caring she was, but I also liked how she wasn’t afraid to defend herself and those she loves. I also really liked how she experienced conflicted feelings when someone got hurt when she was defending herself- it felt really real.

I loved how the beast part of the story was incorporated. There was no magic, but Ranulf still had some physical deformities, that at the time would make the people think he was cursed. I thought it was a unique way of incorporating this aspect of the story into a historical fiction.

I will say this book did have some older aspects to it. Annabel was being pressured to marry someone much older than her, and when she refused, she was cornered in the woods. Thankfully, nothing happened to her, but it is a storyline for older readers.

I loved the relationship between Ranulf and Annabel. It was very sweet, and I loved how protective they were of each other. I loved reading their story- definitely one of my favorite Beauty and the Beast retellings!

The Merchant’s Daughter was a historical retelling of Beauty and the Beast with strong Christian themes, that follows Annabel and Ranulf as they find love in medieval England!