The Peasant's Dream: An Honest Review

 

The Peasant's Dream

Book Review

The 11th - and last - book in the Fairy Tale Romance/Hagenheim series, a Cinderella retelling by Melanie Dickerson was released in July of 2020 and I was privileged enough to read it the following month. I can't wait to share my review with you!

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*This review contains spoilers that might ruin a lot of the suspense in the story, so I advise you reading this review after you have either read the book or are okay with knowing the outcome to some extent.*

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Since this is the final book in a series that I have totally fallen in love with, I was curios to see how Dickerson would write it. 

I totally fell in love with the female heroine, Adella almost immediately. She was super sweet and compassionate, and I admired the way Dickerson shaped Adella to be so naive - being the youngest daughter of the royal family - yet had discretion, which makes you instantly root for her from the beginning to the end of the story. Her resilience in believing Friedrich was alive and her loyalty to the love that was growing between them made me ache for her in a way I rarely feel towards a character in a novel. Adella is loyal to her family and making them happy but she also isn't afraid to make her thoughts known. Overall, the character of Adella was shaped so well that I believe any reader is apt to fall in love with her. 

Now For Friedrich. From the start I was lost in his compassionate character and the gentle strength that he demonstrated throughout the book stole my breath away. Dickerson really let her best character building knowledge flow onto the paper while creating the story's male hero. From their first encounter you can see how perfect Frederick's character fits so perfectly with Adella's. From his unjust imprisonment, to the time he proposes to Adella you can't help but feel compassion for him and cheer him on as he tries to win Adella's heart. Also, his abusive and scarred pass really made me ache for him to succeed - and escape unscathed. He is probably my favorite male hero in the entire series now!

What I found particularly fascinating and was really the icing on the cake for this last book was that Dickerson - for the first time - chose to go all out and do five POVs. The most I have ever seen Melanie Dickerson write is three (as seen in The Fairest Beauty) and if that wasn't enough she did two romance plots. Two! 

Frederick's mother, Basina, starts off as a caring mother who had to raise her two daughters and an only son with an abusive husband. Nearing the end of the story, after her husband's  untimely death and Frederick's unjust arrest, she and her daughter's set out to see Frederick'sbiological father - a Duke. At first, I thought it wasn't going to a romance, just an awkward reunion of a Duke and his servant who, years ago, had had an affair. But indeed romance did blossom under Dickerson's pen! I found myself swooning, cheering, and on the edge of my seat as I watched Basina and her former love reunite in a true, pure love and with a reconciliation that melted my heart.

I also got to read Lord Barthold's - Lady Adella's suitor - POV, which was scatter through the book, and I loved the angle, being able to hear the thoughts and feelings of the heroine's suitor. Most of all, I got to see for myself if Barthold was really sincere about marring Adella, through listening to his thoughts.

Lord Conrat's - Lord Barthold's advisor - point of view was interesting, since he was essentially the villain and I could see just who was doing the dirty work. I love it when my heart swells when I read a book but I also find it wonderful when I can burn with anger at the villain - and indeed I did burn hehe.

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Overall this book went far beyond my expectations, I was taken over the moon with Dickerson's writing style, the plot twists, romance, suspense, and of course, a happily-ever-after ending! For those of you who might be debating whether or not this is worth the money, I can say it truly is! 

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This characters of this book have a strong relationship with Christ, and though there is the briefly mentioned topic of having a child out of wedlock, it does not go into detail and the two characters involved look back on their mistakes with great regret. Setting that aside their is not inappropriate mention of sex, course language, or mature themes, though it does talk briefly through the story of abuse. Overall I believe this book truly grasps life in the Medieval times and it's themes are realistic, yet praise worthy to God. 

I highly recommend The Peasant's Dream!

Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 (five stars)