Description
The Beautiful Pretender (A Medieval Fairy Tale #2)
by Melanie Dickerson
Synopsis from Goodreads:
What happens when a margrave realizes he’s fallen in love with a servant?
The Margrave of Thornbeck has to find a bride, fast. He invites ten noble-born ladies from around the country to be his guests at Thornbeck Castle for two weeks, a time to test these ladies and reveal their true character.
Avelina is only responsible for two things: making sure her deception goes undetected and avoiding being selected as the margrave’s bride. Since the latter seems unlikely, she concentrates on not getting caught. No one must know she is merely a maidservant, sent by the Earl of Plimmwald to stand in for his daughter, Dorothea.
Despite Avelina’s best attempts at diverting attention from herself, the margrave has taken notice. And try as she might, she can’t deny her own growing feelings. But something else is afoot in the castle. Something sinister that could have far worse—far deadlier—consequences. Will Avelina be able to stop the evil plot? And at what cost?
The Margrave of Thornbeck has to find a bride, fast. He invites ten noble-born ladies from around the country to be his guests at Thornbeck Castle for two weeks, a time to test these ladies and reveal their true character.
Avelina is only responsible for two things: making sure her deception goes undetected and avoiding being selected as the margrave’s bride. Since the latter seems unlikely, she concentrates on not getting caught. No one must know she is merely a maidservant, sent by the Earl of Plimmwald to stand in for his daughter, Dorothea.
Despite Avelina’s best attempts at diverting attention from herself, the margrave has taken notice. And try as she might, she can’t deny her own growing feelings. But something else is afoot in the castle. Something sinister that could have far worse—far deadlier—consequences. Will Avelina be able to stop the evil plot? And at what cost?
Review
When the Margrave of Thornbeck Forest is charged by
the king to choose a wife from among the neighboring estates within the next
month, he takes his huntsman’s advice to invite all the potential young women
to his estate for two weeks to test their character. Unbeknownst to them all,
one of the ladies is but a servant in disguise. Too bad she seems to be the
only one with the kind of character worth his consideration…
The
Beautiful Pretender is yet another of Melanie Dickerson’s fairy tales
rewritten in medieval Germany. This one, like the other in this new series, The Huntress of Thornbeck Forest (and,
yes, Odette and Jorgen make cameos!), wasn’t too clear on what the fairy tale
was but seemed a very loose combination of “The Princess and the Pea” and “Beauty
and the Beast” mixed with almost an Esther
theme. And it was amazing! One of the better books from Melanie Dickerson that
I have read.
How can you fall in love when you know you are
deceiving the one you care about? And would they love you back if they found
out? Talk about an awkward situation, but certainly one that novels have
covered many times. The Beautiful
Pretender portrayed the situation very well with the added danger of a
spying contestant and her father determined to destroy both the Margrave and the
deceptive lady-in-waiting. But they are certainly up to the task of conquering
their foes and falling in love. And, who would have thought—a woman who knows
how to pick locks in the Middle Ages! I certainly wouldn’t have.
The Beautiful
Pretender was a lovely historical romance that I would highly recommend to
those who enjoy a sweet fairytale romance.
I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley
in exchange for an honest review.
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