The Beautiful Pretender by Melanie Dickerson

Reviewed by Martha Artyomenko

About the book:

The Margrave of Thornbeck has to find a bride, fast. He invites ten noble-born ladies from around the country to be his guests at Thornbeck Castle for two weeks, a time to test these ladies and reveal their true character.

Avelina is only responsible for two things: making sure her deception goes undetected and avoiding being selected as the margrave’s bride. Since the latter seems unlikely, she concentrates on not getting caught. No one must know she is merely a maidservant, sent by the Earl of Plimmwald to stand in for his daughter, Dorothea.

Despite Avelina’s best attempts at diverting attention from herself, the margrave has taken notice. And try as she might, she can’t deny her own growing feelings. But something else is afoot in the castle. Something sinister that could have far worse—far deadlier—consequences. Will Avelina be able to stop the evil plot? And at what cost?

My Review:

I don’t preorder very many authors. Melanie Dickerson is an exception to my rule. I know that I can give her books as gifts, order them for myself and always be pleased with the quality of the writing and the story.
The Beautiful Pretender was no exception. I found myself in a room of almost 60 noisy theater students and yet, I was able to concentrate and transport myself to another world beyond the theater room. It takes a skilled author to be able to do that for me!
One of the things I loved about this story, was that while it was a rewritten fairy tale, it was filled to the brim with redemption, forgiveness and life lessons that could be applied today to anyone’s life. This book was great entertainment, but also so uplifting for me. It made me stop and think several times. While still light reading, it had a richness of a deeper story. Great job, Melanie!