"Veil of Winter" is the third book in the "Dericott Tales" series by Melanie Dickerson. In this particular book, Princess Elyce has been commanded by her father to marry the prince from a neighboring region. However, this is no typical medieval romance: this marriage is one of convenience, and will cause the people from Elyce's kingdom to become servants working in the mines. Elyce refuses her father's demands, knowing that her people will not be able to survive those conditions. When she runs away to get help from a neighboring king, her best friend sends her brother, Sir Gerard, a knight who will keep her safe. Throughout their adventure, Gerard and Elyce begin to develop feelings for each other. However, their main concern is getting Elyce to safety and rescuing her people.

This was a quick read, and even the romance was very innocent. This would be a good book for teenagers to read. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

I enjoyed this book. Sir Gerard is gallant and everything you think a noble knight should be. Princess Elyce had to win me over. She was confident yet not confident at the same time. She was pretty messed up emotionally from lack of love from her Father and her Aunt. But she was also fiercely loyal and loved her people. She is a complex character. I enjoyed the journey of Princess Elyce and Sir Gerard saving her people and finding love.

I love retellings of fairytales and this is no exception. A retelling of Sleeping Beauty with a twist is sure to keep your readers engaged. My students love these books and always want more!

This third book in the “Dericott Tales” is a retelling of “Sleeping Beauty.” Princess Elyce, 19, has been told by her father King Leandre that she must marry Rodrigo, the nephew of the evil King Claude of neighboring Valkenfeld. Claude intends to use the marriage as a means to get the farmers and shepherds of Montciel to work as slave labor in his mines. Leandre is greedy enough to go along with the plan, and doesn’t care that his daughter not only objects to the proposed fate of their people, but has no desire to marry Rodrigo.

Elyce obtains a sleeping potion in order to fake her death so she can escape and make her way to Prague to solicit help from King Wenceslaus, the Holy Roman Emperor. [King Wenceslaus ruled as Holy Roman Emperor from 1346 to 1378, helping us situate the story in time. (The introduction, however, says it takes place in 1382, after the actual historical reign of Wenceslaus.) The countries of Montciel and Valkenfeld are fictional.] The sleeping draught doesn’t work as she had hoped however; not only do the King’s physicians realize she is not really dead, but she doesn’t wake up after three days as predicted. Fortunately, a knight from Dericott, England, Sir Gerard, has come to Montciel at the request of his sister Delia - a friend of Elyce’s - and after a subsequent vision he had from God. Gerard, a good, kind, and brave man (and need we say, handsome), helps waken Elyce with a kiss. (He was actually attempting something like mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, since he, nobly, would not want to kiss someone unless it was mutually agreeable and a prelude to true love.)

Sir Gerard and a friend, Sir Oswalt who offered to come with Gerarld, then accompany Elyce and her maid Ysabeau on the trip to Prague. On the way they encounter a gruff man, Bertold, who has his own issue with Claude and agrees to help them. And perhaps more importantly, Elyce and Gerard fall in love.

The story then turns upon the dangers to Elyce in defying two powerful kings, Leandre and Claude; the fate of Bertold; and whether Elyce and Gerard can overcome their doubts and insecurities and admit their feelings for one another.

Evaluation: Melanie Dickerson is an award-winning author who specializes in creating tales of history, adventure, and romance in a Christian framework. This book is no exception, and will not disappoint her readers. Elyce could be tedious with her constant self recrimination, but at least the author provides ample reasons for why Elyce ended up that way.

Veil of Winter by Melanie Dickerson is a delightful twist on Sleepy Beauty with a hint of Snow White. Elyse, the heroine, is a princess who cares about her people and wants to marry for love not out of obligation. Because of this, she goes on a guest to seek help from neighboring kingdoms to help stop an evil King from uniting their kingdom with hers and enslaving her people. If readers are familiar with the other Dickerson’s novels in this series, then they will be familiar with the plight of Gerard, the knight. He is a strong and courageous man who defends Elyse on her travels through the countryside. With the description of all the snow, my heart sang a sweet tune. I love snow, and I loved how Dickerson crafted into this story. Nice and piling up to stop their tracks and to create some conflict in the story. As for the plot, it is a sweet story filled with adventure and risk. It is a true Dickerson style novel. If readers are familiar with her past fairy tale re-tellings, then this story should not be a surprise with how Dickerson framed and told the story. Overall, Veil of Winter by Melanie Dickerson was a wonderful way to spend a couple of hours. I have enjoyed all of Dickerson’s stories, and this one is no exception.

I received a complimentary copy of Veil of Winter by Melanie Dickerson from Thomas Nelson Publishing, but the opinions stated are all my own.

Full review closer to publication date!

I'd like to thank the publisher, Thomas Nelson and Netgalley for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.

For me, this was an okay read. I imagine other people will love it - it blends a (sanitised) historical period with subtle fairytale elements for a sweet romance. I think I was hamstrung by knowing more about the time period and characters like Wencelaus (honestly the Christian version of Medieval history just doesn’t cut it – it’s like Victorian retellings of the Brothers Grimm, it leaves a lot out.) Anyway, if you want a non-sexual romance with largely likeable MCs and historical beading, this is your bag.

I’m clearly not the right audience for this book. It’s simply written - too simply, with flat, insipid prose, and uninteresting characters and plot. The historical aspect is weakly drawn at best. And it’s a fundamentally Christian book, of the modern US evangelical thoughts & prayers variety, which I didn’t realize initially. (The approach to faith and Christianity depicted here also feels pretty anachronistic in this historical setting.) I absolutely would not have picked this up if I’d realized its religious agenda. I'm not rating on that basis, since that's my fault, but it just wasn't a very good story. Aside from the religious aspect, as hopefully other readers will know what they’re getting better than I did, The Veil of Winter is bland and poorly written.

I received an advance copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

This was a pretty quick read for me and while I enjoyed reading a series set in the 1300s, I didn’t enjoy this third book as much as the first two. It had great faith themes and a unique concept for the age but the main character Elyce just wasn’t relatable. I felt like there was way too much focus on her emotions and it made me like her less as a character.
I’ve enjoyed many other books by Melanie Dickerson so I’m not giving up but this one wasn’t my favorite!

Princess Elyce cares deeply for her people in the fictional medieval kingdom of Montciel. Her father King Leandre promises her hand in marriage to a despot's nephew in exchange for Elyce's people. King Claude intends to use the people of Montciel as slaves, first for digging a new mine and then for mining riches to benefit both kings.

It pains Elyce to think of her gentle people, all of whom work in the sun, toiling below ground for a foreign king. She cannot go through with the marriage and decides to fake her own death to escape both the marriage and the castle. Elyce will travel to Prague to appeal to King Wenceslaus for her people's safety.

Meanwhile in England, Lady Delia from Court of Swans has received a letter from Elyce about her quest to free her people. Delia sends her brother Sir Gerard to aid Elyce in her quest.

When Gerard arrives, Elyce's plan has gone awry and her father knows she isn't dead. She is trapped in a deep sleep when she should have been awake already. Gerard has had a vision from God that he must help this woman and immediately volunteers his service to get Elyce to Prague.

Elyce and Gerard both have luck on their side during their journey, making for an entertaining tale that stretches believability to its limits -- this couple truly is blessed by God for all their lucky turns. The result is a novel with no loose ends and the ending tied up in a neat bow.

Recommended for teens who enjoy the medieval world of fantasy novels who won't mind the absence of fantastical creatures and magic. Parents looking for clean romance or Christian romance for their teens will also want to check out the series.

Melanie Dickerson third installment from her The Dericott Tales series, Veil of Winter, is by far my favorite I have read. I loved it. Five stars.

In VEIL OF WINTER, MELANIE DICKERSON retells the story of Sleeping Beauty, with all its romance and intrigue.The book is beautifully written and I found it most enjoyable.
The story takes place in the kingdom of Montciel in the late fourteenth century with Princess Elyce about to be forced by her father the king to marry the obnoxious nephew of king Claude of Valkenfeld, which would not only mean unhappiness for her, but also great suffering for the people of her country who would be forced to work underground in the mines of Valkenfeld. Although she knows that God expects her to honour her father, she cannot agree to something that will cause such hardship for her people. She comes up with a plan and is helped to implement it by the handsome English knight, Sir Gerard Raynsford of Derricott, who is led to Montciel by a vision the Lord gives him while he is praying.
Princess Elyce, because of losing her mother when she was young and being brought up by her unloving and critical father and aunt, believes that she is unlovable because she shows her emotions, which apparently is not the a princess should behave! She is afraid she will never be loved. Will Gerard dislike her for her passionate and emotional nature as everyone else seems to do?
The story is exciting and will keep you riveted as you follow this determined and beautiful young woman’s brave quest to save herself from a loveless marriage to a cruel man and to save her people.
I was given a free copy of the book by NetGalley from Thomas Nelson. The opinions in this review are completely my own.

3.5 stars
This was an okay book. I was able to read it pretty quickly but I just wasn’t that engaged. I really adored the last one so I was excited to read this one, but sadly it just wasn’t as good. Veil of Winter is the third book in Melanie Dickerson’s The Dericott Tales. Veil of Winter is inspired by Sleeping Beauty.
I found the storyline interesting, however there were just times when it was a bit slow. Elyce was trying to save her people from being forced to work in the mines. While Gerald felt called by God to come and help her. I had a harder time connecting with the characters. Elyce got on my nerves a bit but I did feel like she grew as the book went on. Gerald was super sweet and I loved how he tried to care for those around him.
It was fun to read about them connecting and working through their different opinions, however Elyce did feel a bit shallow to me so I had a harder time with her. The side characters were okay, but they didn't really add to the story. Unfortunately this story fell a bit more flat for me. I was still engaged though and I did end up finishing the book.
I will say that it could be that I just didn't like the characters as much so that was my personal opinion. However it was otherwise a good book. Veil of Winter is a book that I would recommend to those who enjoy teen clean romances. Veil of Winter is a clean, Christian teen historical book.

I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book which I received from the publisher through Netgalley. All views expressed are only my honest opinion, a positive review was not required.

This was a really sweet, historical fairytale retelling of Sleeping Beauty. While the Sleeping Beauty elements were subtle, there is a still a sleeping princess involved. 😉

While I didn’t always connect with Elyce, I did like her in the end and was happy for her. But I loved Gerard! He was such a sweet guy. I love how he saw Elyce in a way no one else did. Instead of shaming her for showing her emotions, he encouraged her to honestly express how she felt.

The faith in this book was so nice! It was inspiring how often the characters prayed for guidance and wisdom in the decisions they made.

Overall, this was a clean, sweet romance with great faith content and a fast-paced plot!

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

An enjoyable read about a young women trying to save her people and the knight who comes to help and save her. Elyce has been told many things not to do, show no emotion and obey without question. Seeing her people being used and abused, she knew she had to do something regardless of the consequences. Help comes in the form of Gerard, an English knight who is also a younger son. Gerard and Elyce start off on the wrong foot, but learn to get past that first initial meeting to work together to save her people. Gerard is chivalrous and saves Elyce multiple times. Elyce begins to fall in love with him, but he will leave after his mission is completed and she believes he does not feel the same. Gerard has fallen in love with Elyce, but who would love and marry someone so beneath their station? They have to stop two kings who want to use her people to make themselves richer. Elyce will have to stand up to them, even though she has been taught differently, for her people depend on her now more than ever.
I received this novel from net galley and the publisher as an ARC. Thank you! All thoughts and opinions are my own.