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

Okay, I am obsessed with this series by Melanie Dickerson. This story drew my attention in from the beginning and held it there.

Mazelina is running. Her father who promised to show her the world is dead and her oldest brother wants to marry her off to someone she doesn't love just to get rid of her. Desperate to escape, she flees her home to find refuge with her other brother who will surely take her under his wing. Only he doesn't. He's more concerned with his own life than hers. So Mazelina has no choice but the forge a life for herself.

Sir Berenger lives by a code, to protect women and to be noble. Unfortunately, not every knight in his charge feels the same. Mazy's brother doesn't seem to care for her the way he should. After all, this is his sister. So Berenger takes this upon himself. But he's got his own problems. After fighting nobly to take down traitors to the crown, he is rewarded by the king's potential to have a castle and land of his own. Only it comes with marrying a shady window in order to do so.

Melanie Dickerson once again weaves faith and suspense in this historical romance that will keep you on your toes to the very end.

4.5 stars out of 5

This book by Melanie Dickerson was everything I could have wanted. I love reading a sweet, clean, history romance, with a dash of suspense, and a touch of fairy-tale. It also contained a perfect ending. Sometimes you just want a light read that leaves you feeling good. That is how I would describe Melanie's latest book Fortress Of Snow.
I would like to thank Thomas Nelson along with NetGalley for allowing me to read and review this book. The opinions in this review are my own.

(3.5 stars, rounded up)

Content warnings: child abuse, male aggression towards women, attempted murder

Mazy is sixteen when her beloved father dies. Her half-brother Warin inherits her home and her father's barony and is keen to marry her off to the first old man without a wife he can find. In desperation, Mazy leaves her home and travels to Strachleigh, where her brother is working as a knight. It also happens to be the home of Lady Delia from the first book in the series.

Mazy loves her time in Strachleigh, but most of all loves getting to know Delia's brother Sir Berenger. In Mazy's opinion, he is a great man she will always use to compare other men against. Berenger is impressed with Mazy's abilities in archery and knife throwing, where she outperforms the squires he is training. Sadly, Mazy's time with Sir Berenger is short and she moves to London with her brother Sir John.

Mazy is resourceful and uses her throwing knives to protect her from nefarious characters in London. She meets and befriends Ro, an innkeeper's daughter, and they start a business selling bread in the market.

Sir Berenger returns to London and runs into Mazy. Sparks begin to fly, even though neither will admit that they are in love with the other. A series of misfortunes and deathly incidents follow, but will they be brought together or torn apart?

Recommended for readers of clean romance, teens who like historical fiction, and Christian fiction readers.

Representation: orphan, single women with careers in medieval times

I couldn’t get through this one. I adore Melanie Dickerson’s early work, but I feel the quality has declined recently. The writing style is more basic than it used to be, and the characters more naive. Perhaps she is going for a different style with this new series? Regardless, I still appreciate her work and look forward to reading her adult series in the future.

Fortress of Snow by Melanie Dickerson was such a great read. I just loved this series. I highly recommend each of the books. Mazy of Wexcombe and Sir Berenger of Dericott are the two main characters that you will fall in love with. Mazy wants to be a woman who can take care of herself and she always has a knife with her and is very good with protecting herself. Sir Berenger has fallen in love with Mazy and tries to protect her. The King has asked Sir Berenger to wed another. This has cause Mazy much distress. She tries to help him out of his situation because she is in love with him.

That was a heartwarming, sweet, romantic tale. I love the historical slash fairytale writing style Dickerson always using, and this one is no exception. Mazy is a strong lead and I enjoy following her journey from being discarded by her own (evil) brother to trying her best being self-sufficient and later embark on a rescue mission. I love it!

I wasn’t sure what fairy tale this book was retelling, but I enjoyed reading about Berenger and Mazy. A sweet romance about a sweet couple.

I did wonder a lot about John and his behavior. Was there a reason he changed so much? Did he simply become bitter and then fall into vices? I thought it would have been interesting to gain a little insight into why he became so mean and unreliable.

Berenger was a very good hero! I appreciated that he championed Mazy when her brother Warin disowned her and when her brother John was not protecting and caring for her as he should. I also appreciated seeing their friendship grow from when she was a young woman to when she was a full grown woman.

A sweet, clean romance for anyone looking for a fairy tale retelling genre book to read!

FORTRESS OF SNOW is the fourth novel in the Dericott Universe series by MELANIE DICKERSON. This time it is an adaptation of The Snow Queen. It is a beautifully told story which takes place in 1383, during eighteen year old King Richard’s reign. This book has everything you need for a great “fairy tale” and there is also a strong Christian message of God’s faithulness as He protects His children, running through it.
Mazelina of Wexcombe is disowned by her oldest brother when her beloved father dies, and she has to flee her family home to escape marriage to an older man.
She travels to Strachleigh to look for her younger brother John, who doesn’t seem to want to have too much to do with her either, and meets the handsome and kind Sir Berenger and his sister.
When Sir Berengee goes to Prussia to fight the Teutonic knights, she goes to London with John, who becomes part of the king’s guard at the Tower, leaving her to look after herself. She becomes known as the Knife Girl for her prowess in knife throwing. I like the friends she makes in London and the way she and Ro build up a business selling things at the street market, even helping others to sell their wares.
When Sir Berenger returns and is given his reward from the king which includes marriage to the beautiful but wicked Countess of Bristow, Mazy sets off to warn him, hoping to get there before it is too late……
There is a lot more to the book but I am not going to tell you any more for fear of spoiling things for you.
It is a delightful read.
I was given a free copy of the book by NetGalley from Thomas Nelson. The opinions in this review are completely my own.

Fortress of Snow, by Melanie Dickerson, opens with Mazelina of Wexcomb entering her Father’s room just moments before his death. With both of her parents gone, she does not know which way to turn. Now, Mazy is at the whims of the new baron. Her half-brother, Warin. When Warin begins making plans to marry Mazy off to the highest bidder, Mazy makes plans of her own to track down her brother John, who is training to be a knight!

Mazy is excited to see her brother when she finally arrives at the Strachleigh Castle, the estate where her brother has been living. She quickly meets Sir Berenger, the man in charge of John’s training. This man seems more open to her arrival than her own brother. After Mazy learns that her step-brother Warin has disowned her, she also learns that her own brother John wishes she had never come. Mazy is truly on her own!

When Sir Berenger leaves with a group of knights to fight a battle in a land far, far away, Mazy finds herself moving to London with her brother. She has always dreamed of visiting this place; however, outside of the beauty of the cathedrals, Mazy finds London very dirty and quite unsafe!

As a means of earning money, Mazy begins baking bread that she can sell. However, she wonders if the days of calm and safety she had experienced with Sir Berenger would ever come again. Two years later, you will be surprised when Sir Berenger crosses paths with Mazy on the streets of London. Hold tight to see what happens next!

This was an engaging knights and fair damsel read.
The author sticks to the reality of the time frame in history but weaves in some true romance and mystery.
The characters are well formed and I could envision the people with their strengths and flaws.
I highly recommend this read.
I received a complimentary copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

I have read all of the books in this series. Some I have enjoyed a great deal, others not so much. This book fell into the not so much category. It started off rather slow and inconsequential. The characters were rather wooden and the fact that it took the whole book for their mutual affection to be shared was odd, since it seemed obvious that they cared for each other.

If I could give half stars I would add a half star as the book got much more interesting in the second half.

I believe this is my favorite so far of this series. The characters seem a bit more real and they are developed well. You want to root for Mazy to make a go of life without family, as so many women have to do. And Sir Berenger is just such a good man, caring and loyal.

The conclusion was a bit fast, and maybe a bit too easy, but we all knew it would be a happily ever after. I would have like to know a few more connections between some of the characters and more about Mazy's brothers, not because I like them, just to fill in character depth.

Mazy is left bereft when her beloved father dies and their castle comes into the possession of her older half brother Warin. Warin wants her gone and she goes to find her full brother Sir John who is training knights for a Duke. Mazy meets the Duke's brother-in-law Sir Berenger and they become friends. Sir John and Mazy end up in London where John mostly neglects her and she has to fend for herself. When Sir Berenger comes to London at a later date, their friendship is renewed but then the King sends him off again.

I love this story and the ones that have come before it in this series. I love reading aboutt his time period in history and really like this author's grasp of it.

I have voluntarily reviewed a copy of this book that I received from NetGalley. All views expressed are only my own honest opinion.

"Fortress of Snow", by Melanie Dickerson, is part of her "Dericott Tales" series. This particular book centers around Mazy, whose father has died, leaving her to the machinations of her evil stepbrother, Warin. However, Mazy has another brother who she remembers as being very kind and loving, John. But when she leaves home in search of John, she finds that he has changed since he's been gone. Feeling lonely and unwanted, Mazy has to find her place in the world. John's knightly friend, Sir Berenger, becomes her protector and maybe even more!

This was a quick, fun read. While I wish there had been more romance and I felt that the problems were solved a little too quickly, I understand that this as a YA novel. As such, I think it's a wonderful choice for my students and I would feel comfortable recommending this book to them. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

Review posted on Goodreads.
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4817245461
Another Historical Fairytale from Melanie Dickerson.
Mazelina of Wexcombe. She is left to depend on her brothers while still young. One of which is not in the picture. When Mazelina is left with few choices but to marry someone older than her father, she journeys to find the brother she once was close with. However, returning home is not an option after seeing her brother John. One of the knights is kind to Mazy and looks to help her. Sir Berenger of Dericott and Mazy form a friendship. Now years later Mazelina runs a bread stall at the market in London. When fate brings Mazy and Sir Berenger back together, will they follow their hearts or minds?

Wow. Another amazing novel. I love the chemistry the characters have and the slow realization of the love Mazy and Sir Berenger share. This book is a part of a series but can be read as a standalone. I would love to see Ro have her own story! I would read that. I will recommend this book to friends and family.

I love revisiting the siblings Dericott. This is Berenger's story. Berenger is kind, brave, loyal and handsome. He is also a knight that works with John of Wexcombe. When Mazy of Wexcombe visits her brother, John after their father dies, she meets Berenger. She is immediately drawn to him. He is called away to fight for King Richard in Prussia. Two years later they meet up again in London where Mazy has been left to her own devices to survive. Mazy is super fierce, independent, kind, loyal and beautiful inside and out. She becomes known as knife girl because she has had to defend herself with her knives. They have many obstacles in their way, including themselves. I found this story very enjoyable. The only downside was I felt it took quite awhile to get to the main conflict and then it was resolved fairly quickly. But overall a very good book.

My favorite story so far of the Dericott Tales! I love Mazy and Sir Berenger, along with Ro, Lady Delia and a few of the other characters!!
Mazy has some initiative, which I really like, and it makes the story move along faster.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance e copy of this book! All opinions expressed are entirely my own.

I have really enjoyed this series so far. Fortress of Snow exceeded my expectations. I was instantly hooked and ended up reading late into the night. The characters were well written and It’s full of suspense, love and heartache.

A lot of adults seem to like Melanie Dickerson's books based on their recommendations on social media but the writing style is just not for me. It does have a nice fairytale-like storyline. Fans of the author's and of the series will want this!

This was a really sweet love story! My favorite love stories are when the two characters are friends before they fall in love and this one had that trope which I loved! The fairytale elements of this story were very subtle and I barely noticed them but I really just enjoyed this story as a sweet, clean historical romance. Also I just have to say, the cover is so gorgeous.😍

I really liked both Mazy and Berenger. Mazy was a kind, strong, and independent girl and I really liked her character. I really felt sorry for her. Her brothers were terrible! But she handled it well and I admired her for that.
Berenger was such a sweet guy! I immediately liked him. I don’t remember much about him from the other books so I enjoyed getting to know him!
I also enjoyed the friendship between Mazy and Ro. Ro was pretty funny and kept things light.

The rest of the story was pretty interesting! I liked that everything happened fairly quickly. Like I said, I didn’t really feel the fairytale vibe except for there is a nasty villain and the parts when the hero saves the heroine.
I really enjoyed that the heroine got the chance to save the hero too. It was fun twist that I always enjoy seeing. ☺️

The romance was sweet and clean! A few semi-detailed kisses. There’s a scene where a woman is tempting a man but nothing happens besides a kiss. (I didn’t particularly like that scene! Ugh, Lady Bristow was very unlikeable!)
There’s a little violence but nothing very gruesome. No language.

I enjoyed the faith content that I’ve come to expect in Melanie Dickerson’s books. I really like that the characters pray often throughout the book!

Overall, this was a fun, quick read and a sweet story. While it wasn’t particularly memorable or unique to me, I still enjoyed it! If you’re looking for a clean YA historical with a sweet love story, a chivalrous knight, a strong heroine, and a nasty villain, this one was good!

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