Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
Edition: ARC on Kindle
Genre: Teen/Young Adult
Synopsis:
In this reverse Cinderella story, a poor farmer’s son, who dreams of using his talent as a woodcarver to make a better life for himself, falls in love with a duke’s daughter and must fight for a chance to win her heart. Adela is the youngest daughter of Duke Wilhelm of Hagenheim and is never allowed outside of the castle walls. She loves her family, but she sneaks away one day to the market in the town center. There she meets a handsome young man and wonders what it might be like to fall in love with a poor farmer with a kind heart instead of marrying the man her family is suggesting for her. Frederick earns the income for his family and defends his mother from his father’s drunken rages. He also uses his talent and creativity to carve figures, animals, and scenes into wood, and he's asked to carve these scenes into cathedral doors when his talent is noticed. Frederick is inspired by the sweet and beautiful Adela, but he has no knowledge of her true identity. When he gets swept up into a plan to kidnap the duke’s daughter, both are shaken by what they learn about the other. With the heartbroken Adela resigned to an arranged marriage with her noble suitor, Frederick must decide what he’s willing to risk for love.
Sarah's Review:
When I applied for this book I didn't know that it was part of a series. Fortunately it can be read as a standalone. I will probably read the other books as I come across them because I really enjoyed this story. The writing is simple and easy to read, but well thought out and elegant at the same time. The story picked up right away which was nice.
Two things that really stood out to me were the setting in Germany (which I haven't seen in a lot of young adult period romances), and the focus on faith and God a lot of the characters had. Adela and Frederick were both so likable. I especially loved how kind and caring Frederick was. His gentle spirit and good morals made you root for him the whole time. At the beginning and the middle of the book I don't think I would have considered this a Cinderella retelling, but by the end I saw more Cinderella vibes showing through the story. The one thing that confused me is in the beginning Frederick refers to his sisters as step sisters, but they aren't. Within the next few pages he is back to calling him his sisters, so I know that was just a mistake. It just caught my attention. I also think the story with the Eselin brothers should have been expanded on, I feel like after a certain point they just stopped talking about them even though their story line wasn't really over.
Overall, I would recommend this book to any one who likes period stories set in the time of princes and princesses, or any one that likes a contemporary romance but might be looking for something different. I wouldn't let the fact that this has been marketed as a fairytale retelling put you off of the book because I don't feel that it was a huge part of the story, and it was very unique.
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