This novel was unfortunately not for me and i did ended up DNF the book after chapter 2. This is not the type of retailing i was looking for.

A reimagining, rather than a retelling of the Chinese folktale of Mulan, Dickerson’s version is set in 15th century Lithuania.

In this version, Mulan is the illegitimate daughter of Mikolai, a warrior father who has died. Mulan serves as a warrior to save her mother from becoming homeless, and to escape from an unwelcome arranged marriage.

The first half of the plot relates Mulan’s adventures as a soldier.
With realistic detail, Mulan struggles to meet the demands of fighting amongst men, while trying to hide her identity. During battle she meets and becomes friends with Wolfgang, a duke’s son. Inevitably their friendship develops into something deeper once Wolfgang discovers why he is attracted to and is protective of the young soldier known as Mikolai.

Unfortunately, the second half of the story becomes enmeshed in being more of a romance novel than the adventuresome first part.

Attention to historical detail and the smooth rendering of the multiple points of view, lean this more towards a four star than a three star review.

The latest installment of Dickerson's fairytale retellings left nothing to be desired. I had high hopes for this story, and wasn't disappointed. It had a lot of action, and approached Mulan's struggles realistically (I mean, she had to hide being a woman...not an easy task). It deals with a lot of issues of that time era - realistically - and was overall a great read. I couldn't wait to pick this book up and read whenever I could, even though the beginning was a little slow. Very fast-paced and an enjoyable read!

‘The Warrior Maiden’ by Melanie Dickerson, a very loose, Christian retelling of ‘Mulan,’ was hard to connect with, and just wasn’t the book for me. But if you like the sound of it, give it a chance!

To say that I’m obsessed with Mulan is an understatement. I even have a tattoo of her comb from the movie. So suffice it to say, I was very excited to see this book on here.

Thankfully, this author did not disappoint! This retelling of Mulan drew me in from the start and kept me engaged until the last page.

It’s made me look to see what else the author has written because now I want to read more.

I loved following Mulan's story and seeing Melanie Dickerson's take on this story. I had never watched the Disney version of it so I did not have that to go by. It was an interesting adventure for me.

I could have finished this in a day it was so good, but .... life. As it is it only took me 3 days. I loved Mulan’s character, how the author weaved her into this family’s world. This is by far one of my favorite series, and there is just the right amount of religion. Normally that aspect of Christian fiction makes me uncomfortable, but I could feel the rightness of those words, an arrow to the heart if you will.

I was pleasantly surprised with this book and it actually made me read more in the author's series. Dickerson has a way of making an unconvential approach to retelling that doesn't feel bland or out of order. It maintains just enough of it's original character to still feel special.

The Warrior Maiden was an intriguing book with all the fantasy and romance that anyone could ever want. It was my first book by Dickerson and, while I'm not normally that much into fantasy, this book changed that for me. I was drawn into this world and the lived of the characters in a way like never before. I will definitely be reading more by this author!

This type of fairy tale retelling has really become a great type of story. I love how the author takes a story I know and turns it into something completely new and different.
The characters are unique and fresh, and the story is unfailingly Christian. There are many times where the characters offer prayers, and this was probably one of my favorite aspects to the story.
The tension between Wolf, Mulan, and then Steffan kept me on tenterhooks as I sailed through the reading. I hated for the story to end yet couldn't force myself to slow down and savor the read. I just had to know how everything would end.
Mulan in medieval times, it's a win-win.
I received a copy of this book via NetGalley. I was not required to leave a positive review. All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.

3.5 Stars
A medieval Christian retelling of Mulan with a European setting. This novel is part of a long series and fits it well with the author's other works. The characters, MCs and supporting ones, are interesting enough to keep most readers going, although the flow of the story is not always consistent. Recommended for YA fans, readers who enjoy fairy tale adaptations, and people who prefer a clean read.

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I was excited to read The Warrior Maiden as from the synopsis of the book it seemed to be a retelling of the widely know, Mulan. However, as I began to read the book I felt that it just wasn't as unique and told the story in the respective area of Asia as it should have. I also did not know that this was a retelling of the story as Christian Fiction, which I am not typically a reader of, so I struggled a bit with the writing and fully enjoying it. Unfortunately, I did not enjoy this as much as I would have hoped.

A first-time reader of Melanie Dickerson and I really enjoyed her writing style! I love new twists on classic stories as well as strong female leads! This is quite an enjoyable and action-packed story. Great for those who love retellings.

The file formatting made the book illegible. As that is no fault of the book's content, I'll rate a neutral 3 stars.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for this review copy of The Warrior Maiden by Melanie Dickerson.
This was an example of where I should have researched the series and publisher before choosing this title. I didn’t realize that this number nine in the “Hagenheim” series and although it could be read as a stand-alone there were a lot of references to the characters from the previous books which were also all fairy tale retellings. I also didn’t realize that because the Hagenheim series is based out of Europe that the author would move the entire Mulan story to Lithuania. This is also from a Christian author and publisher which meant a “clean read” (minimal violence and gore, only kissing and hand holding) and many references to prayer, the Bible and faith.
This would be a good choice for a younger audience or someone that wanted a fairy tale retelling that was less dark than many popular series. But for me, I found the plot “toothless” meaning it was missing that edge to keep my interest. I also prefer my fairy tale books written with a fantasy based religion instead of a Judeo-Christian one.
All in all, this was tame and slightly forgettable fantasy story about Mulan the knight fighting injustice in Eastern Europe in the Middle Ages.

Melanie Dickerson is such a good author for younger teens, in particular she appeals to girls. This book was very cute, and as always it was quite satisfying.

Dickerson performs her magic again and weaves another delightful fairy tale in the Hagenheim series! How she does it, I do not know, but it has to be magic! I loved Mulan's story and she did such a great job of letting us into Mulan's mind and seeing her for who she truly was. I felt Mulan's pain at being different in the village and feeling like she had to marry someone who didn't love her, just to save her mother. Then she made the choice to pretend to be a boy so she could save her mom's home and escape a marriage she doesn't want. The fact that Dickerson made Mulan fearless yet not a fighter beyond what one would believe made the story realistic and believable. The relationship between Wolfgang and Mulan was a friendship and I wondered if it could or would go anywhere else. The obstacles in the book never seemed to end and it left me reading furiously to see if there would or could be a happily ever after! Dickerson never disappoints and The Warrior Maiden is no exception! I received a copy of this book for free; all thoughts and opinions are my own.

I'm so sad to give this book such a low rating when I was looking foward to it so much!

I think the main problem was that I was expecting something way different, when I read the synopsis I thought we would get a fictional war story with some love going on (that's how I pictured a Mulan retelling to be like) but instead we got all romance with a few minor battles that didn't get to wow me.

That was really dissapointing because it wasn't what I was looking for but once I got over that (100 pages before the ending), I actually kind of enjoyed the love story even though again it didn't blow my mind.

The romance was kind of sweet but for some reason I couldn't stop comparing them with my OTPs, there were a lot of things that my favorite couples would have never done to each other. I'm not going to say any spoilers but there's a scene that's almost the exact same as ACOMAF when Tamlin does something bad to Feyre (view spoiler) but Mulan did not act as Feyre did and I couldn't deal with it.

Another thing that bother me was that for the first few pages Mulan was really powerful (she was throughout the novel) and everyone saw her as that but once Wolfgang discovers she's a girl, he starts trying to protect her like she couldn't do it herself and Mulan lets him, everytime that happened it would make me roll my eyes.

On the other hand, Wolfgang was okey but I didn't see the appealed, Steffan (his brother) was far more interesting and I'd read a book with him as the main character, he had a lot more depth and still a lot of growing to do so I think it would be interesting to see that.

Something that seemed off too was that we didn't get to see any other character unless they were neccesary to keep the plot moving. When they weren't needed, they would just magically disappear until the next time they had to do something. And now thinking back, I don't remember them having a single full conversation with anyone that wasn't each other.

Lastly, at halfpoint it started to deal a lot with God. I recieved this book as an e-arc a year ago and when I requested it, it didn't say it was a Christian book. Now, that I'm writing this review I can see that it is listed as one so that explains a lot but I would have liked to know before requesting it because I'm not really a religious person.

Melanie Dickerson always does a fantastic job with her fairytale retellings. They are enjoyable, fresh and unique. The Warrior Maiden so far takes the cake! I love a heroine who fights for what's right (literally)! Plus, there is a handsome son of a duke and a healing salve that spoke to my herbalist heart.
These retellings are great heart reads for me and I am tickled each time she publishes another. Thank you Mrs. Dickerson!

When I heard that Melanie Dickerson was going to be writing a retelling of Mulan, I was intrigued and excited. I've enjoyed every single one of the books in this series so very much. And, I love the story of Mulan. This story really lived up to, and even exceeded my high expectations. Mulan was such an amazing, vivid character and I really enjoyed watching her grow into the roles she chose for herself and watching her relationship with Wolfgang. I loved that she didn't allow others to tell her who she was, she forged her own way and used her talents and strengths to serve. And God used her, exactly as she is. She and Wolfgang learned that things aren't always what they seem, so take nothing for granted. They learned about redemption and second chances, loyalty and forgiveness. I've enjoyed the Hagenheim series for the amazing, strong, loving characters that Melanie has created. And, this story was no exception. It included favorite characters from Wolfgang's family and introduced new characters and new places. There was so much action and intrigue that I couldn't put the story down once I started reading. This is definitely another homerun for Melanie Dickerson!