Author: Melanie Dickerson
Publisher: Zondervan
Release Date:January 8th 2013
Pages: Paperback, 323 pages
Source: Purchased
Summary from Goodreads:
A daring rescue.
A difficult choice.
Sophie desperately wants to get away from her stepmother's jealousy, and believes escape is her only chance to be happy. Then a young man named Gabe arrives from Hagenheim Castle, claiming she is betrothed to his older brother, and everything twists upside down. This could be Sophie's one chance at freedom—but can she trust another person to keep her safe?
Gabe defied his parents Rose and Wilhelm by going to find Sophie, and now he believes they had a right to worry: the girl's inner and outer beauty has enchanted him. Though romance is impossible—she is his brother's future wife, and Gabe himself is betrothed to someone else—he promises himself he will see the mission through, no matter what.
When the pair flee to the Cottage of the Seven, they find help—but also find their feelings for each other have grown. Now both must not only protect each other from the dangers around them—they must also protect their hearts.
A daring rescue.
A difficult choice.
Sophie desperately wants to get away from her stepmother's jealousy, and believes escape is her only chance to be happy. Then a young man named Gabe arrives from Hagenheim Castle, claiming she is betrothed to his older brother, and everything twists upside down. This could be Sophie's one chance at freedom—but can she trust another person to keep her safe?
Gabe defied his parents Rose and Wilhelm by going to find Sophie, and now he believes they had a right to worry: the girl's inner and outer beauty has enchanted him. Though romance is impossible—she is his brother's future wife, and Gabe himself is betrothed to someone else—he promises himself he will see the mission through, no matter what.
When the pair flee to the Cottage of the Seven, they find help—but also find their feelings for each other have grown. Now both must not only protect each other from the dangers around them—they must also protect their hearts.
Review
The Fairest Beauty was a middle of the road Snow White retelling. It started off pretty strong, I was immediately drawn into the classic tale but then about 40% through the book I just started to lose interest. I no longer felt immersed in the story and just was ambivalent towards Sophie and Gabe.The romance was pretty enjoyable; for a fairy tale it was surprising to not have a love at first sight, insta-love romance. Sophie fell for Gabe throughout the story and vice-versa. The love was cute and suited the storyline perfectly. I did enjoy the twists and differences from the traditional fairy tale. For example the seven dwarfs are in this story are seven unique men, each with his own personality and individualized appearance. The character development was like the rest of the story, very average. Not really bad but not really good. At some point they just kind of felt like words on a page, entertaining enough to finish the book but not to keep me up to all hours!
Overall, if you love Snow White, I would recommend The Fairest Beauty with the caveat that it is slow and drags a bit. The slight changes in the storyline from the original make it a fun read as long as you are not looking for much depth to the story.
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