Series: Hagenheim #6
The one who needs rescuing isn’t always the one in the tower.
Rapunzel can throw a knife better than any man around. And her skills as an artist rival those of any artist she’s met. But for a woman in medieval times, the one skill she most desires is the hardest one to obtain: the ability to read.
After yet another young man asks for Rapunzel’s hand in marriage, Mother decides they need to move once again, but this time to a larger city. Rapunzel’s heart soars—surely there she can fulfill her dream. But Mother won’t let her close to a man. She claims that no man can be trusted.
After being rescued by a knight on the road to the city, and in turn rescuing him farther down the road, Rapunzel’s opportunity arrives at last. This knight, Sir Gerek, agrees to educate Rapunzel in order to pay back his debt. She just has to put up with his arrogant nature and single-minded focus on riches and prestige.
But this Rapunzel story is unlike any other and the mystery that she uncovers will change everything—except her happily ever after.
3 Drink Me Potions
The Golden Braid brings to life an interesting re-telling of Rapunzel with a Christian twist that fits well with the characters and themes we already enjoy in the world of Hagenheim, and tacks on another good moral for the readers to mull over.
Set partially concurrently with the events of the previous book in this series, The Princess Spy, the next installment in Dickerson’s Hagenheim books met all the expectations that I’ve come to have for her and her novels. Rapunzel, with her name actually sticking to Rapunzel oddly enough, was a very shy girl sheltered from the world by an overbearing mother who could be seen right from the beginning to have more than one side than the one she showed her daughter. She was afraid of all men for fear of becoming entrapped in their lies and being left alone to take care of a babe out of wedlock.
The comes along the hero of the story, Sir Gerek, who is actually quite arrogant. I didn’t think he’d be as prideful as the synopsis depicted him, but he set on marrying a wealthy widow just to prove to himself that he can and does deserve such riches. His interactions with Rapunzel initially didn’t capture too much of my intention as the pace was slow around this point.
It wasn’t until more towards the middle of the book that everything picks up more. We see how the storyline with Margaretha from the previous novel intersects with Rapunzel’s story, and the aftermath of those events in her POV. I rather enjoyed the character development, particularly in Sir Gerek. It was humbling to see the two of them learn to put the other first, and above all, God at the top. The big “plot twist”, although it might not have been meant to be such a surprise, was very predictable. As soon as both points were mentioned in the book, you’d so easily connect the dots way before anyone else does, especially if you know the story of Rapunzel well.
Although predictable and occasionally slow, The Golden Braid is another example of combining Christian elements with a fairy tale we find very familiar. Dickerson continues to write in a manner that’s consistent with my expectations, but maybe one of these days, I hope to be surprised by her to bring up a rating.
Overall Recommendation:
The Golden Braid brings readers a re-telling of Rapunzel in the land of Hagenheim. With wonderful continuity with the previous novels of the series, Rapunzel’s story fits extremely well with what happened in an earlier novel. Rapunzel and Sir Gerek’s character development turned them from slightly irritating people to stronger people with better goals in life. Fitting with my expectations from Dickerson these days, I found myself mildly entertained by the book as it’s not meant to be unpredictable but rather a pleasantly familiar journey to walk through on a lazy afternoon (or night).
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