A well written and entertaining fairytale type romance.. not really my cup of tea but younger romance readers should enjoy. I received an arc from the publisher and this is my unbiased review.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own

I was intrigued from the promising synopsis of reverse Cinderella story.
Although it's book 11 of the series and the story references other connected stories,you'll have no problem reading it as a stand alone plot .
Easy and pleasant to read and the writing style did make this book a fast read.
Gripping and very well tied plot.
I know it's a Cinderella retelling and there's no other way but I would've loved a less prominent and in your face from the romance side of the book but maybe it's just me.

The moment I saw this book on Netgalley I just had to request it even though, according to my own rules, I wasn't allowed to claim another book. But I was also one of the lucky ones who got to read the 10th book in this series and I really enjoyed the mix of a fairytale retelling, original twists and a little bit of faith in God. And since Cinderella is one of my favorite fairytales ever, I had high hopes for this one.

But it took me a little while to get used to the writing style again. The writing is quite simple and in a way I'm not entirely sure if it matches the characters and their age. They sound a little too young. However, the writing style did make this book an easy read and I can say that once I gotten used to it, it bothered me less and less.

Mostly because the plot was really gripping and well done. The elements of the Cinderella story are quite recognizable, but they are also twisted in such a way that they feel fresh and new and original. And that's not just because of the gender swap. It's also because Dickerson really made sure the elements fitted in naturally AND changed a few small things. One of the most satisfying things was that all of her characters, sooner or later and in one way or another, eventually took charge of their own life and happiness.

And that's what I wanted and rooted for. The characters might not be that layered or complicated, but they were endearing and charming. It was easy to care about them and care for them. And that also made it easy to understand what they saw in each other, what they were looking for and finding and what they were fighting for. And the way they express their faith in God and pray also has a lot in common with how I feel about Him. It's a rare thing to encounter in books, but I totally understand not everyone might like and appreciate it as much as I do.

The end result is a story that captures the heart, soul and feel of the original Cinderella story and yet is exciting, fresh and new too. I'm really glad I got the chance to read this book already and I'm surely gonna catch up with the first nine books. The cameo's and mentions in this one really made me long to read all their stories.

Melanie Dickerson has delivered another satisfying tale for the members of the Duke of Hagenheim's family.  This story references other connected stories, but the plot stands alone.  I have not read all of them, but didn't feel like I was missing much for this adventure.  The storyline flowed well even if dialogue seemed a little rough on occasion; all angles of the story and struggles of the characters were tied up neatly by the end.  I admired the characters' constancy. 

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Dickerson revisits Cinderella with a gender bent slant this time. There have been a few books in this series that have really rubbed me up the wrong way but this was a pleasant few hours of reading. On the whole I like this series and if you like fairy tales and vaguely (inaccurately) historical settings, then you probably will too.

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

I could not help but fall in love with this book. When I heard it was a reverse Cinderella, I knew I had to jump at the chance to read this book. Frederick earns all of the income for his family, plus he takes care of his mother and father who live the drunk life. Being a talented carver, his skills landed him a job to carve the doors of the cathedral. Inspired by the duke's daughter Adela who at first notices his work and is fond of it, starts becoming intrigued with the person Adela is unknowing her true identity. Then if all of that wasn't enough, Frederick gets caught up in a plan to kidnap the duke's daughter and little does he know, he is falling in love with her. Now Frederick must choose between love and risking it all. Each chapter just got better and I could not keep my eyes off of it. I felt like I was the fair maiden with the long hair mesmerized by the carving work of Frederick and then comes Adela and I am along for the ride.

We will consider adding this title to our YA collection at our library. That is why we give this book 5 stars.

This book was not for me. I didn't realize that this was #11 of a series but other than a throwaway line, it wasn't a huge deal that I hadn't read the others. The idea and story of the book sounded great but I just couldn't get past the awkward internal monologue and thoughts of the characters and eventually gave up.