The Warrior Maiden
Genre: Historical Christian fiction, young adult, medieval fiction.
My Rating: 5 stars.
Recommendation: 15 up because of romance, and some slight violence.
My favorite character is: Wolfgang is my favorite of the brothers so far, and I loved seeing more about him especially his POV. He seemed the kindest of the brothers and the best at seeing his “love” interest as a love interest and was smart enough to know what he needed to do to protect her without letting her pull anything that could be bad for her which was a big plus, and made me like him even more.
My Verse for Wolfgang is Ephesians 5:25
Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; (King James Version.)

My thoughts: Is it just that it has been a while since I read this series or is this the best book in the series? And I liked how there was more action with the main characters together. I only have two problems, and those are the facts that one: the beginning of the book was a little repetitive and two: that Mulan’s mother let her go and that she (Mulan) was a soldier, even at the end.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Thomas Nelson through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Review to post on my blog 2/9/19

Melanie Dickerson has done it again! The Warrior Maiden is Ms. Dickerson's retelling of Mulan. I love the way that she is retelling fairy tales into believable medieval tales. Although these are classed as Young Adult, I think people of all ages would enjoy the stories. The plot is strong and the characters are engaging. Ms. Dickerson uses witty dialogue to advance the story. I did not expect it, but I believe The Warrior Maiden to be my favorite of The Hagenheim Tales.

So grab a big old mug of mulled cider and settle in for a great read!

I was given a copy of this book by NetGalley.com with no expectations. All thoughts are my own.

Melanie Dickerson’s newest installment in the Hagenheim fairytale series focuses on Wolfgang, one of the younger brothers of the heroines of former Dickerson tales. Wolfgang and his brother Steffan leave Hagenheim on a quest to help their father’s ally, Duke Konrad of Poland, in a battle against Grand Master Rusdorf and the Teutonic Knights. Along the way, Steffan decides to join the enemy and a younger soldier from Lithuania challenges Wolfgang’s prowess in archery.

Mulan Mikolai lives under a prophecy—one day she will save a country in battle. Two things make the prophecy seem unlikely. First of all, she’s a peasant woman living in an era where women stayed at home and did a man’s bidding. Second, her clumsiness earns her ridicule and harassment from the townsfolk—not a trait one commonly finds in a leader. Her mother despairs of her lack of grace and her father, a solider in the service of Butautas has little need for the women in his life, although he does teach Mulan the rudiments of archery.

When her father dies unexpectedly the same week Butautas calls up his troops to defend Duke Konrad, Mulan decides to dress as a man and take his place. If she doesn’t, Butautas will throw her mother out of her home. Mulan’s other option? Marry the local butcher—a man who seems to have the same attitude about women that her father had.

Once again, Dickerson has crafted a compelling story with strong female characters and male characters who don’t get intimidated by women who want to live up to their God-given potential.

I didn't mind the story of this so much. Usually, with Mulan (or a retelling thereof), the turning point of the story is where Mulan's identity is revealed and then perhaps there's one more peak in the story where she rescues everyone in all her womanly glory (at least in my experience that's how the layout of these things goes). In this instance, the reveal comes at around 50% of the way through the book (where I might expect it more at 65-70% of the way through. In fact, most of the conflict in this book actually comes from religious tension (and a bit of sexual tension) as opposed to issues with Mulan's gender. On the one hand, I think that's a good thing, and an interesting way to choose to retell this classic story. A part of me was pleased when various characters didn't make a big deal out of it, and Mulan wasn't forced to stop doing what she was doing. But on the other hand, it does sort of undermine the tension built up in the earlier portion of the book, if none of it mattered so much, then the release of tension when she is accepted is so much less satisfying.

I found the writing, particularly in the opening chapters, incredibly clunky. I understand that it was necessary to set up the tension between various groups and to feel out the historical context, but it felt very strange having characters say things like (I'm paraphrasing) "but father we hate the Teutonic knights because of x and y don't we?" - it would possibly have been more effective to put that information into a preface rather than in clunky dialogue. This was much better later in the book, but the writing still didn't quite have a flow that I would have liked. 

I thought that the romance, which is the key plot in this book, was very sweet. I liked that it took a while to come to a head, with both characters needed to get to a place where they were ready to admit their feelings. I will admit to being a sucker for the 'teaching one of them how to read' trope so perhaps I am biased. There are times where you do hit that issue that so often crops up in romance plots where the characters could resolve all their problems by talking to one another, but there are also some sweet moments within the plot. 

I can't speak to the representation of an Asian character in this book as I am a white lady, but I did think that it was an interesting choice (I can't speak to whether it was for the better or the worse) to keep Mulan's name and racial identity while moving the story to eastern Europe.  I would have expected her name to have been changed and for her to have simply been a Lithuanian woman. I'll look to read some reviews from Asian reviewers rather than speak to that myself. 

I wanted to enjoy this book, but in the end it wasn't for me. I thought that the book went into religion in a big way that was certainly historically relevant and I'm certain that was a deliberate choice on the part of the author - but this wasn't my cup of tea. I'm sure there are people who will delight in this story but I am not one of them. 

My rating: 2/5 stars

I received a digital advanced review copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Thomas Nelson through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
I have read several of Melanie Dickerson's medieval historical novels before and have always enjoyed them, but if I'm being totally honest, sometimes I have found the plots a little slow and the flow a little bit stilted. However, the stories are always sweetly compelling enough to outweigh those factors. The Warrior Maiden is probably my favorite of her books so far.

What I liked:
I knew from the cover that it would, of course, be a retelling of Mulan, but then the fact that it was in medieval Europe was confusing at first. somewhat That issue quickly gets resolved, though, and the story continues predictably if you know the Mulan tale, but there are enough added elements to make it a unique retelling. I can't say much more without giving away spoilers!
There are enough action scenes to keep the plot moving, and they don't seem contrived since Mulan and Wolfgang are fighting in actual battles.
Dickerson leaves the story open with loops to continue with more in the series, which I'm assuming she'll do based on the books prior to this one, and I am invested enough in the characters to look forward to reading more about them!
I can recommend this book and Dickerson's others to students without worrying about objections to language or taboo content. Also, a couple of the teachers in my school have students choose historical fiction for one of their independent reading assignments, and this book will be a good option for that project.
What I didn't love:
Like I mentioned about some of Dickerson's other novels, the flow is sometimes feels a bit stilted. I think some of this may be a result of the time period in which it's set, though, and I can overlook it.
Also, the characters' inner thoughts sometimes seem a little simplistic and repetitive, but on the positive side, this makes her books a good choice for pleasure reading because the characters are facing realistic dilemmas but without all the dimensions and angles of dilemmas like that in real life. Does that make sense outside of my head? Mulan's thoughts about Wolfgang are much like thoughts any of us would have in a new relationship, but she seems to only have to consider the future in a very limited scope.
Reading The Warrior Maiden made we want to go back and read the ones in the Hagenheim series that I skipped! I'll definitely be adding this one to my library's collection when it's available for sale. I've already told one of my students that I was reading it, and she's desperate to get her hands on it once we buy it!

DNF. When I first read the description for this book, I quickly thought "a retelling of Mulan, what could be better?!" However, I don't think I realized this is a YA retelling. Don't get me wrong, I love YA, but this is more adolescent writing. I got about 40% of the way through the book and continued to feel like the writing was very stiff. The characters couldn't keep my attention.

I tried, maybe I will try again later.

I've loved the story of Mulan since watching the Disney version as a child (I used to run around singing "Reflections" as if my life was as difficult as hers *groan*). I was really excited when Thomas Nelson sent me an ARC of Warrior Maiden, which is a retelling of Mulan's story. Set in a different time and place, I was interested to see what Dickerson would do with Mulan's story.

Awkward Geographical Placement of Mulan
Either make her European or set the story in Asia, but keeping Mulan Asian for the sake of the original story was awkward and uncomfortable at parts. It felt like the author was trying too hard to force Mulan’s story into a timeline and country that she preferred. When I looked up the book, I did find that this is the eighth book in a series of retellings, so that helped me make sense of why Mulan was in this world, but it definitely still felt weird when reading it.

A Very Dependent Mulan
I will honestly tear up every time I watch the moment when Mulan is able to climb the post in the Disney movie; it’s the moment she absolutely proves that she can do anything the men can do, no exceptions required. With that moment in mind, I was often disappointed with how needy Mulan is in this book. She would have spurts of independence, only to succumb to allowing the prince to save her. She never seemed to fully grasp her power, but instead often relied on someone else to save her. While I can attribute some of this to the time period the story is written in, its still disappointing when realizing that the actual story of Mulan comes from feudal era China, when women were incredible repressed, and she was still able to fight alongside men.

Interested to Read the Other Stories
With all this said, I still thought this was a decent story and I would be interested in going back to the beginning of the series to read the books in order. Knowing that this is the 8th book makes me wonder if I’ve missed something that long-time readers of the series would appreciate more than me. I’m definitely willing to give the rest of the books a try (I do love my Disney princesses), but I think they’ll be lower on my TBR list. This retelling of Mulan didn’t spark a ton of hope that the other princesses will have strong plot lines, but I’m always willing to be proven wrong!

I have a feeling that people who’ve read the rest of the series will enjoy this book as it continues in the same world. However, I didn’t find this to be a strong standalone and I was largely disappointed with how Mulan’s story was retold. This was an average read for me and I’d probably only recommend it to people who have read more from Dickerson.

As in the classic tale, Mulan takes the place of her father, heading off the war. Again, like the tale, Mulan becomes a war hero saving the day and finding true love while she is at it.

I love fairy tale retellings, and I love listening to Dickerson’s work. I enjoyed this story, but felt that it was just a little to simple. The characters were fun, but not as nuanced as the ones in The Golden Braid. Mulan is one of my favorite of the movies, so I was enjoyed this story.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Thomas Nelson through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

First off, I would like to begin by saying Mulan is a classic tale that Inspiredfff me as a young girl. I was quite excited when I saw this book was a retelling. I could not wait to dive in! That being said, I may have gone into the book with too high expectations because it was not what I expected at all.

While this is indeed a retelling, the story felt rushed in the beginning, and the ending dragged on. I really wish the author had put more time into the first half of the book. It was so good and had me hooked! However, once her identity as a woman came out, the book started going downhill. I appreciate the author’s attempt to create a story where a woman is easily accepted into a male-dominated field, but it felt too easy. For the time the story was written in, it felt unnatural for that sort of change to go over so well. There was hardly any conflict surrounding it at all. After so much anxiety was built up around her being a woman, it made the reaction sort of fall flat.

The second half of the book was rather painful to read, in my opinion. The relationship between Mulan and the male character was not written very well. The conflict and confusion that many stories possesses when there is a spark between characters— the do they love me back phase— was dragged on for so long. After chapters of this, I became bored. I no longer cared about what was happening between the characters. It really brought the story down.

The author tried to keep the story alive by throwing in (what felt like) a second plot. I really wish the author had taken the time to really dive deep into the Mulan story for one book. Then, perhaps write a second book with this new plot. The whole thing felt forced and rushed. The whole second half was not enjoyable. This was so disappointing considering how much I enjoyed the first half.

My final point I’d like to comment on is the cultural and religious aspects of this book. I thought it was very odd to keep Mulan with her original name and Asian origin when the story is set in Lithuania. The author could have changed the culture and name of the main character, and readers would still be able to tell it was a Mulan retelling. Then, there is the religious aspect. The fact that the author kept Mulan Asian but raised her Lithuanian and made her a Christian just strengthened my argument that the author could have changed those aspects of the character and made the story flow more naturally. I am a Christian so I do not mind reading about prayer and such in stories, yet this story even made me a little uncomfortable. The amount of religious comments made it feel more like a religious fiction book than a young adult book. The religious comments felt forced and just thrown in randomly. They did not flow with the story very well.

Overall, the first half of this book (while rushed) was very enjoyable; the second half not so much.

The Warrior Maiden
By Melanie Dickerson
Courageous and brave Mulan takes the place of her deceased father to fight in order to save her and her mother’s home. Although you might think you know the story of Mulan this spin on the tale is a quite different adventure than the original. I really enjoyed this story as it was well written and kept my attention until the end.

Going into this book, I was a little skeptical since I wasn’t a huge fan of Dickerson’s last book. (The Orphan’s Wish.) However, this one did pick things up a little.
I’ll start with saying that I’m really, really, glad that Dickerson stayed true to Mulan’s ethnicity. It was nice that she was open to presenting a non-white female antagonist. I also loved Mulan’s character. She was fierce and independent, but still kind and gentle. I think of all the books by Dickerson that I have read so far, Mulan is my favourite female character. She was stronger than the others and didn’t let men do all the fighting for her. I can’t say I was a huge fan of Wolfgang… He was okay, but I felt that there wasn’t a great deal of development or depth. A lot of the time spent from his POV, was him obsessing over whether or not Mulan was in love with him. This was also the case for Mulan’s POV and combined, it made me rather bored. On that note… about 50% of the way, the action just died off and I wondered, “What is left to happen?” It picked up again at 70%, but I ended up skimming most of the stuff between 50% and 70% (the majority was simply Mulan and Wolfgang trying to decide whether or not they loved the other. A little speculation is fine, but after a bit, this became tedious).
Another thing that really bugged me, was the world building. This is a new area for Dickerson so she should set the stage, but I got very little. I was left with the skeleton of a picture in my mind. This was similar to other aspects of her writing too. There wasn’t quite enough description. It was simple and to the point. Which is sometimes fine, but Dickerson has written a great number of books already so I expected more colour.
An enormous positive factor was that this was a clean read. There were some kisses (maybe more than other Dickerson novels?), but they weren’t overly graphic.
I recommend this book to those who enjoy fairytale retellings. Although I warn you, the romance is rather sappy (and a touch cliche?). But maybe you don’t mind?
I received a complimentary copy of this book from Thomas Nelson through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

The Warrior Maiden is the 9th book in the Hagenheim series. I've enjoyed this series so far, even if the stories have been hit-or-miss.

I found parts of this book to be unbelievable, which was a slight negative for me. I didn't particularly care for the romance either. I enjoyed the writing style and archery elements.

All in all, The Warrior Maiden was okay. I liked the book.

*Disclosure of Material Connection: I received one or more of the products or services mentioned above for free in the hope that I would mention/review it on my blog. I was not required to give a positive review, only my honest opinion - which I've done. All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own and I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.*

The Warrior Maiden by Melanie Dickerson
This is a retelling of the legend of Mulan – the girl who becomes a soldier to assume her deceased father’s duties in war. This is the 9th book in the Hagenheim series by Melanie Dickerson.

My 15 year old granddaughter suggested I read this series earlier this year. I read all 9 books in the series in the past few months. They are all fairy tale retellings (at least loosely) and they all have a Christian element to them.

I really enjoyed this book. The Hagenheim series started out strong for me, but around book 6 or 7 I started to get a bit bored. The stories do tend to be formulaic and simple. However, I love the historical aspect of the books and the connection to the fairy tales is a neat concept. The Warrior Maiden was not boring in my opinion. I really enjoyed this one! Mulan was a strong warrior, a skilled archer, and super brave. While this story was also a tad formulaic, taking it out of the castle setting and creating a war setting made this book unique. This book was action-packed! There is some war violence but it isn’t gory or gratuitous. The dialogue can be a bit stilted at times and the manufactured angst feels a bit immature to me, even for YA, but even that doesn’t detract too much from what is ultimately a nice story.

I personally love the Christian aspect these books have. I don’t feel like any of it is “preachy”, but the stories do emphasize Christian characters that pray and put their faith in God. This book took an interesting angle regarding the Christian element – showing that people that consider themselves Christian may actually be inserting their own thoughts and ideas about Christianity rather than actually following God’s Word (i.e., killing people if they don’t convert, etc.).

I also love that these books take place in a historical setting – 14th Century Europe. I think it is very beneficial for young readers to learn about history, even if it is from a fiction book, if for no other reason than to see how different things were – and how similar!

I would recommend this series to any teenager. I’m well beyond my teenage years, but I enjoyed this series, also! They are sweet, simple love stories with a strong focus on doing what is right. I would recommend reading the series in order if you are interested. The stories don’t necessarily depend on each other - each plot is different – but the characters are all from the same family (the Hagenheims) so some references may not make sense without knowing previous stories.

The Warrior Maiden is one of my favorites in the Hagenheim series!

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Thomas Nelson through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Cinderella, Snow White, and Beauty and the Beast are common fairy tale retellings. Melanie Dickerson has tackled those as well. Mulan is not one a reader commonly sees. So I was excited when I saw this. After reading it I was not disappointed.
Mulan is the clumsy and unfeminine illegitimate daughter of a soldier and his mistress. Despite this Mulan is raised and loved by her father's wife. When her father passes and her mother risks being removed from their home Mulan agrees to marry the town butcher. However, after meeting this man, Mulan finds him appalling and decides to take her father's place in the army. With the help of her father's assistant - kind of like a squire - she is able to join the army.
While training and defending the territory of Duke Konrad Mulan meets Wolfgang. The younger son of another Duke. Even though Wolfgang is struggling to become his own man and get his older brother on his side of a war; he finds a kinship with a new soldier that is more than a little weird.
For those who like fairy tales I recommend this book. While set in a different country and moves at a pace different than the Mulan many may be used to; The Warrior Maiden proves its self as a good read and great story.

Before I begin this review: I firmly hold to the fact that any book reviewer has an absolute right to say what they like or hate any book. There’s no way everyone will like every book. If your review disagrees with mine, that’s ok.
It looks as if my review will differ greatly from some others on this particular book. But that’s the beauty of what we as readers have the privilege of sharing, and we can give each other grace to disagree agreeably.

I’m going to begin by addressing a couple of aspects of this book that seem to have others upset in their reviews.

First: This is a book published by a major Christian publisher, written by a well-known Christian author who has written quite a few Christian fiction books.
So why is it a surprise that the characters in the book are Christian? That’s the viewpoint of the author, and it’s not like anyone tried to hide it. I’ve lately made the mistake of choosing a book from a genre that I would not have chosen if I’d read the book description a little more closely. But that’s my fault. I didn’t blame the author for that. I was not her intended audience.

Second: This is not the first time any author—secular or Christian—has changed the details of a popular character in literature.
(I mean, how many variations have we read that feature Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy in different time periods or locations?). The author of this book has changed details about Mulan to fit her book series. I thought it gave the story a different twist and I enjoyed that.

Third: And I did enjoy this story. I felt that this story did justice to the character of Mulan. She’s brave, strong, independent, fierce, and compassionate. She’s a true warrior. She has a deep love for her mother and is willing to sacrifice everything to take care of her. I also liked the character of Wolfgang. He shares the same characteristics as Mulan, and that makes for a sweet love story between them as they care for each other and help each other during battle.
I don’t want to give away the plot in this story, but it shows just how much they are willing to sacrifice for the other. That makes them true equals in the best of ways.

If you are a fan of this series of Melanie Dickerson, you’ll like this book.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher. All opinions are my own.

Oh wow! New favorite author found! Melanie writes an extraordinary Mulan retelling. She writes this story with such fluidity and does kindly on touching on the effects of racism. I loved how strong the characters are in this novel. Mulan becomes a fierce warrior and truly grows into herself! Superb writing and wonderful character development.

This book started out very strong. Mulan is a likable character. However, I didn’t likee the end. Mulan is such a strong character and in the Disney movie she savvy herself. However, the end was a disappointment. She turned into a damsel in distress. Unlike the movie, she did not save the man. Rather, the man locked her up to save her. Instead, he was the savior. I don’t understand what had happened. Why make Mulan so weak and whimpering at the end? This was a disappointment to one of my favorite characters, and I don’t know why the author made to where she did not save herself, but needed a man to save her. It goes against the Mulan legend for she was such a strong heroine.

I wanted to love this book, but I’m sorry to say I didn’t. It was, well very odd really, Mulan seemed to exist in ‘limbo’ with no proper cultural setting nor context. The fact that her character was downplayed to enable the male ‘hero’ to shine also really annoyed me. I ended up skim reading the second half, I wasn’t invested at all in the story.
Not one for me I’m afraid.
I was given a ARC by NetGalley, all opinions are my own.

Unfortunately, I have to say that I found Dickerson's novel a tad disappointing. To say that twisting the legend of Mulan for an artist's own renderings and imagination is a nicer way of stating how I truly felt. However, the way that Melanie Dickerson described and wrote Mulan put a knife to my heart and twisted over and over and over again.

How can I describe The Warrior Maiden? Simply put, it was confusing. I was not aware of the fact that this book was simply an addition to another series, and so the characters that were thrust in my face were unfamiliar and discombobulating. The setting of Lithuania was just...incomprehensible to me (I didn't exactly see the point as to why Mulan would set there), and the story of Mulan herself left me angry, frustrated, and overall just incredibly unhappy with how the author portrayed such a classic legend.

Mulan is Chinese. Whether or not Mulan was male or female has been left unclear by history, but the movie itself is such a classic that I took Mulan as a female to be a matter of fact. That's not where I found fault with the book. It was just the sheer absurdity of the setting that completely threw me off. Who let Dickerson spin a wheel with famous heroines and random locations and then just throw darts until she hit two that somehow made a story? Mulan in Lithuania is like Scheherazade in Canada: It makes no literary sense.

And unfortunately for everyone involved, Dickerson is no great historian. Nor, by how she wrote the legend of Mulan, a great researcher as well. The whole point of Mulan, the Disney movie, is to show how brave a person can be in the name of loyalty and honor. The Mulan I read about in The Warrior Maiden painted Mulan as a girl who ran off to avoid marriage and then let her legend get ruined by the first swashbuckling knight she meets? What in the name of Putin?

Now one might have noticed by now that my quibbles are primarily with Mulan herself. Dickerson wrote a solid story (of sorts) with the other characters within the novel itself, but to say that I could not care one whit about Wolfgang and Steffan is, again, a sweet way of saying that I didn't quite care for how much Steffan disliked his father.

Also, who decided that thrusting Christianity into a book was a smart idea? Whoever decided to make Mulan a Christian is getting a boot in the ass from my foot real soon.

I love all of Melanie Dickerson's books that I have read. This book was no exception. It was a great read with well developed characters.