Blog Tour & Review :: The Golden Braid by Melanie Dickerson

Title: The Golden Braid

Author: Melanie Dickerson

Publisher: Nyree Press (September 2015)

Source: Received from publisher via LitFuse Publicity Group

Buy book: here

The one who needs rescuing isn’t always the one in the tower… 

Rapunzel can throw a knife better than any man. She paints beautiful flowering vines on the walls of her plaster houses. She sings so sweetly she can coax even a beast to sleep. But there are two things she is afraid her mother might never allow her to do: learn to read and marry. 

Fiercely devoted to Rapunzel, her mother is suspicious of every man who so much as looks at her daughter and warns her that no man can be trusted. After a young village farmer asks for Rapunzel’s hand in marriage, Mother decides to move them once again—this time, to the large city of Hagenheim. 

The journey proves treacherous, and after being rescued by a knight—Sir Gerek—Rapunzel, in turn, rescues him farther down the road. As a result, Sir Gerek agrees to repay his debt to Rapunzel by teaching her to read. Could there be more to him than his arrogance and desire to marry for riches and position? 

As Rapunzel acclimates to life in a new city, she uncovers a mystery that will forever change her life. In this Rapunzel story unlike any other, a world of secrets and treachery are about to be revealed after seventeen years. How will Rapunzel finally take control of her own destiny? And who will prove faithful to a lowly peasant girl with no one to turn to?

Review:
What a delightful read! This is my first Melanie Dickerson book and I'm happy to hear that she has five more in the Hagenheim series. 

If you are looking for a sweet love story, fairy-tale retelling of Rapunzel mixed with some Christian fiction, this is perfect for you. The dialogue is witty, the action and adventure is paced well, and the Christian message behind everything isn't too preachy. 

My daughters and I love watching Tangled and when I signed up for this blog tour, I was curious to see what Dickerson's take on this fairy-tale would be. I am happy to say that her take on the story was definitely an original one and still very interesting. Rapunzel's character really spoke to me because she is searching for who she truly is, in a coming-of-age story. I love when people write princesses who are bold and adventurous, versus dainty and weak. Rapunzel is definitely no damsel in distress in this book, but she was still feminine and vulnerable too. 

Mother Gothel was truly evil in this rendition, even more so than in the Disney version, in my opinion. I love the storyline with Rapunzel going against her mother to learn to read. It was a unique take on her relationship with her mother and later, Sir Gerek, who was definitely swoon-worthy, especially once the two of them start to rely more on God's guidance instead of their own.

I also enjoyed that this book felt very much like a historical fiction one with all the references to different time period in Germany. It was fun to learn about the different customs and traditions. 

My only critique is that there times when the book bordered a little too closely to being cheesy at times, or cliched rather, but once I got over that, it was still very enjoyable. 

Looking forward to checking out Dickerson's other titles!

Rating:

4 out of 5 stars

About the author:

Melanie Dickerson is the author of The Healer's Apprentice, a Christy Award finalist and winner of the National Reader's Choice Award for Best First Book. Melanie earned a bachelor's degree in special education from the University of Alabama and has been a teacher and a missionary. She lives with her husband and two daughters in Huntsville, Alabama.

Connect with Melanie: website, Twitter,Facebook, YouTube