Fairest Beauty - A Review

About the book:
Publisher - Harper Collins, Zonderkidz, paper 2010, ebook 2013
Format - paper, ebook
Author - Melanie Dickerson
Series - Fairy Tales #3
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Summary:
Sophie longs to escape the clutches of the duchess. She is mistreated and doesn't understand why the duchess seems to hate her the way she does. When a young man arrives with the startling news that Sophie is actually the long-thought dead daughter of the former duke, and betrothed to his older brother, Sophie sees this as her chance at happiness. But she's leery of trusting this strange young man. Gabe knows he disobeyed his parents by setting off on his own to find Sophie. He also knows that any sort of romance between the two of them is impossible - she's betrothed to his brother and he's betrothed as well. But he's determined to see her to safety. Yet when circumstances force the pair to flee suddenly and seek refuge at the Cottage of Seven, both Gabe and Sophie must now confront their growing feeling for each other.

My Thoughts:
I love fairy tales. And fairy tale retellings. I have to wonder why it took me so long to discover Melanie Dickerson's fairytale series. When the category of FOG was called for Book Cover Bingo in the Goodreads Group I'm a part of, I saw that this one fit that category and I could eliminate a book off of my ever growing to read list.

Unlike other retellings of Snow White I've read, this one was completely different. Sure there were still elements of the classic story I've grown up with. The beautiful princess. The huntsman. The handsome prince. The seven dwarfs. The evil wicked witch. But the way those elements were incorporated into the story made it unique. Sophie didn't realize she was the daughter of a duke. She didn't know her stepmother was the duchess. The seven dwarfs were actually seven misfits. And Prince Charming was the second son of a duke. But those elements helped to give life to the story and I really enjoyed it.

I loved, too, how Sophie struggled with forgiving the duchess for the hurt she suffered. I loved how Gabe had to also figure out how to set aside his own resentment and competitiveness with his older brother. I found all of the characters in general to be deep and more than just names on paper.

I'll admit, that once I finished this one, I made sure that I had the others in this series on my Kindle so I can read them as I can.

I read this book because it fit the cover called for Book Cover Bingo as well as for pure pleasure. My thoughts and opinions are my own.

Recommended to fans of young adult, fairy tales, Ella Enchanted, and lovers of happily ever afters.

Rating - 5 stars