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Review: The Princess Spy by Melanie Dickerson

October 5, 2015October 16, 2015 Andge @ Down the Rabbit Hole

Series: Fairy Tales #5

A new suitor. A shocking discovery.

Margaretha has always been a romantic, and hopes her newest suitor, Lord Claybrook, is destined to be her one true love. But then an injured man is brought to the castle, claiming to be an English lord who was left for dead by Claybrook’s men. She convinces herself “Lord Colin” is just an addled stranger, until Colin retrieves an heirloom she lost in a well and asks her to spy on Claybrook as repayment.

Margaretha knows she could never be a spy—not only does she tend to talk too much, she’s sure Colin is completely wrong about her potential betrothed. But she soon discovers her romantic notions may have been clouding her judgment about not only Colin but Claybrook as well. She soon finds herself running for her life–and it may be up to her to save her father and her family from one man’s wicked plot.

2.5 Drink Me Potions

I had really hoped to like this one. The synopsis of The Princess Spy was intriguing, although it didn’t really remind me of any particular fairy tale story like the others in Dickerson’s collection. And after seeing Margaretha featured in The Captive Maiden, a book I enjoyed and read not long ago, I had SUCH high hopes.

Only to fall back gently into disappointment.

Margaretha talks a lot. She really does. Yammers on and on about whatever she’s thinking. And she knows this. Even her little brothers think she talks WAY too much. I’m gonna agree with this. It was a huge challenge to get beyond it. I mean, it’s not that I didn’t like Margaretha ’cause of it. I just wanted to skip reading over her huge monologues occasionally.

Oh, but that wasn’t the only thing. Oh no. The beginning was SO boring. Margaretha thinks Colin is kinda not fully there in the head, while he’s yapping away in a slightly crazy manner about Lord Claybrook. It was exhausting. Honestly. Nothing really happened until they got beyond that point of believing he wasn’t crazy.

Their building relationship and romance was believable, but it wasn’t in any way….exciting. Okay, basically the whole story lacked excitement. It was just on this constant level of emotion. There were “fight scenes”, and I’m putting that in quotations ’cause they didn’t last long, but I didn’t ever really think that anyone important was gonna die or anything. So there goes the suspense or potential edge-of-my-seat moments.

Colin was a good guy. He may have been trying to exact revenge and it took him a while to realize that what he was doing wasn’t necessarily bringing Claybrook to justice. I liked the moral of the story, but it wasn’t the kind of fairy tale quality I had been looking forward to. Therefore, disappointment just gives way to apathy. I read the whole thing but my heart was never really INTO it, if you know what I mean. I just didn’t really care in the end about anything or anyone in the book, and that’s never a good sign with me when reading a story.

Overall Recommendation:
There was potential from the synopsis for a fun and grand adventure with Margaretha. After all, she was already a familiar character from the previous Dickerson novel, and an interesting character who loved to talk a whole lot. And I do mean, a whole lot. Spying for Colin could’ve dragged out into many different areas, but it didn’t last. It was boring in the beginning, and nothing could really excite me from there on. It might just be me, but this latest installment really lacked the whole fairy tale theme. She was just a girl with a title back in the Middle Ages. There was no fairy tale magic to spice it up, and I think that was what could’ve saved The Princess Spy. I’d say it’s readable still, but not necessary.

Review: The Captive Maiden by Melanie Dickerson

September 7, 2015 Andge @ Down the Rabbit Hole

Series: Fairy Tales #4

Happily Ever After…Or Happily Nevermore?

Gisela’s childhood was filled with laughter and visits from nobles such as the duke and his young son. But since her father’s death, each day has been filled with nothing but servitude to her stepmother.

So when Gisela meets the duke’s son, Valten–the boy she has daydreamed about for years–and learns he is throwing a ball, she vows to attend, even if it’s only for a taste of a life she’ll never have. To her surprise, she catches Valten’s eye.

Though he is rough around the edges, Gisela finds Valten has completely captured her heart. But other forces are bent on keeping the two from falling further in love, putting Gisela in more danger than she ever imagined.

4 Drink Me Potions

Fairy tale retellings are a favourite of mine (and if you look at more of my reviews, you’ll really see what I mean by that). So I may get critical at times when it comes to fairy tales, as there are essentially so many of them out there, but especially when the retelling is on the most well-known fairy tale of them all – Cinderella.

Dickerson doesn’t disappoint. It was evident that her story weaved elements of the traditional tale, but it wasn’t so redundant and stuck on that plotline that it made it predictable and boring to read. With descriptions of the world back in the 1400s told through both Gisela and Valten’s POVs, it was remarkably easy to get enthralled and captured by their story.

Gisela was a fine heroine. The way Valten described her as how he saw her was truly accurate. She was beautiful but didn’t flaunt it like some other girls. She was brave and courageous in the sight of danger, willing to do anything for someone she loves. And most importantly for me, I found I could see parts of me in her. Psh, and no, not the part about being beautiful and having to work as a servant-slave girl to her stepmother. More like, she loved Valten even when she wasn’t sure he could or would ever love and marry her back. That isn’t easy. And that’s what I wish to be more like in character.

As for Valten, he grew and found his purpose over the course of the book. He had let the fame get to his head, winning tournament after tournament (which by the way, the descriptions of the jousting tournaments were very detailed – in a good way). Of course, all he needed was some danger and a girl he was willing to do anything for, and presto! The pride was eventually humbled.

All in all, it was a sweet retelling. I kind of wish I read the series in sequence order, but thankfully not a lot was spoiled from previous novels.

Overall Recommendation:
For a Cinderella retelling, Dickerson added her own umph and character to it. Our heroine wasn’t just some damsel in distress, and both she and her love interest Valten had a lot to learn about letting go of harmful things in their past. It wasn’t just the fairy tale that we all know and love. It was a story that chronicled their growth in character as well as their love.

musings

Jesus Style – Part II – How to Love

August 14, 2015August 17, 2015 Andge @ Down the Rabbit Hole

I wrote in Part 1 that this isn’t necessarily like a traditional book review, which is why I placed it under the tab Other Musings. Although it’s only been about two months since I wrote Part 1, so much has happened since then.

In this smaller blurb to conclude the book The Jesus Style that I’ve read and discussed alongside with others in my small group, I learned a whole lot of what it truly meant to love someone this summer.

First off, this novel is great when it comes to application. Gayle Erwin writes in a manner that sounds like he’s speaking to you. Sure, that style may not be for everyone, especially for the people who do prefer the scholarly type of writing that truly analyzes the fine details of everything. However, it was exactly what I needed this summer. Broken down into small chapters that centred on one trait he took out from Jesus’ life, it was made understandable how we, as normal and mundane people, can figure that trait into our absolutely boring lives.

And let me tell you, when you try to look for opportunities to love people, those opportunities will come knocking on your door. Trust me.

To not go into too many personal details and into an absurdly long story of how my summer unfolded, the bottom line is that I actually found someone to love. Now, love comes in many forms. The kind that you hear most about is, of course, your lovey-dovey OMG I’m in love kinda love. However, the ones that aren’t covered as much in our movies and books include platonic friendship love, and brotherly love, to name a few. I’m not saying which kind of love this was, but the important part is that there is lots of love for this particularly individual. When I least expect it, I found a person who I, for God knows what reason, do love. That’s not to say it was easy or that the individual was all that accepting of it. It makes it that much harder when it’s not reciprocated.

But this short conclusion to this book that became so applicable at the exact right moment is to underline that it’s not because they love you back that you care for them. It’s regardless of what you receive in return that makes your love a love that demonstrates Christ.

Now, I’m not trying to preach here. That is not the sentiment and purpose of such a post. This was to share my experience with the book and to share a piece of my life as I do with all the books and musings I post here. I still struggle to love someone in such a manner, but there is also a lot of joy in doing so. Joy has so wrongly been conceived as something that only occurs when one is happy. But no, joy can still occur even when one is even a bit sad.

Joy is not an emotion or simply a feeling. It’s a state of being. It doesn’t just come when there is reason to be happy. Whether one is feeling sad or feeling glad, joy is consistent through the seasons.

~Sonia Lee

I am also not encouraging the kind of unrequited love in a not-so platonic/romantic feelings that come with that kind of love. This kind of love looks at a more selfless perspective. It doesn’t love to gain anything from that person (i.e. to get them into a relationship with you). It loves just simply because that person matters and you want the best for them. It is more others-focused and not so me-focused.

With this particular person that I’ve found this book so applicable, it’s still an ongoing process and journey. It takes energy and it drains you to give time and effort for someone who takes even without knowing it. That’s where the joy comes in. I don’t focus so much on how little they are giving, but on trying to be a blessing in their life. I may not see much result yet, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t affect them. I get bummed out when they shut me out, but pushing too hard will get me nowhere. I love them simply because they matter to me and that should be enough.

I am sharing this snippet of my story in hopes of encouraging those who find themselves in a similar bind. Love doesn’t necessarily get easier with time. But here I found the source and example to which I follow in how to love someone like that. If you ever want to hear the full story, send me a message and I’d be more than happy to share life with you too.