On the fence about the re-telling of fairy tales, they are either wonderful or try much to hard to make the story work. I am still on the fence about this book.

This ARC was provided for review, but in no way affects the following impartial and unbiased review:
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2,5*
Pros: Interesting retelling of Cinderella, now gender-bended. Takes on a historical fiction twist to it, with fun descriptions and settings.
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Cons: Superficial characters and plot. Uninteresting romance. Completely plain and forgettable.

Thank you to NetGalley and ThomasNelson for the ARC. Really liked how the author was able to take a popular fairy tale and bring life to it. The characters were very likable and the story had a nice pace. Very enjoyable read.

I received an ebook copy via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

3.5/5 Stars

Adela, the last daughter of Duke Wilhelm is finally looking for a husband. But that means soon she’ll be whisked way to some other country with possibly even less freedom than she has now. As Adela’s last hurrah as a free young lady before a courtship begins, she does what any respectable noble girl does: sneaks out for a peek at normal life. But what she didn’t expect to find was a handsome, honest (and poor) wood-carver to steal her heart.

This is a book alright. A light, fairy-tale based book. It was cute. It was simple. It was easy, breezy, beautiful. No, it’s not Aladdin (again), but actually Cinderella (again). But this time the girl’s got the riches whilst the boy’s got the rags.

As always, this world Melanie Dickerson has created is straightforward and to the point. You know what you’re getting in each book. And that’s not a bad thing. Sometimes I just need a little refreshing, low stakes, romantic story to lighten my old, angry lady heart.

Though I was a little peeved about 1 certain plot point. Oh well. Still enjoyed the story.

I’d be interested to read the next story as it seems Duke Wilhelm will have run out of children once Toby is married.

With "The Peasant's Dream" I really did have some nice hours spending with Adela and Frederick. The fairy tale was nicely written, with twists and adventure, love, friendship and betrayal. So, everything a good story need. In the middle of the story, however, it was pretty clear how the story turns out, which took away a bit of the excitement. Yes, everybody kind of knows the fairy tale anyway, but I would have loved some twists and turns.

At the end, however, I did skip some pages as it was a bit too slow-paced for me. Nevertheless, I did enjoy the characters and the overall story, how Adela did believe in Frederick and how Frederick fought to be with her. It took a while for them to realize their feelings, but both turned out to be brave enough for each other.

The writing itself was nice and good to read and the English itself not hard to understand. So, if you’re into retellings of fairy tale, this one might be for you.

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

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Mit "The Peasant's Dream” hab ich mein erstes Buch der Autorin gelesen. Ich mag ja Märchenerzählungen bzw. Neuinterpretationen sehr gerne und hab die Stunden, welche ich mit Adela und Frederick verbracht habe, auch genossen. Es gab ein paar Wendungen, Abenteuer, aber auch Liebe, Freundschaft, Verrat. Alles in allem eine gute Story. Ab der Mitte wurde es mir jedoch etwas zu vorhersehbar. Ja klar, man weiß ja, wie die Geschichte ausgeht, aber da hätte ich mir gewünscht, wenn die Autorin sich mehr Wendungen oder überraschende Twists geschrieben hätte.

Zum Ende hin hab ich dann auch ein paar Seiten übersprungen, da ich das Gefühl hatte, ich möchte einfach fertig werden. Dennoch hat die Geschichte so Spaß gemacht zu lesen, und besonders die Entwicklung von Adela und Frederick war schön zu lesen. Beide wuchsen über die Zeit aus sich heraus, standen zu ihren Gefühlen und haben gekämpft.

Schreibstil war flüssig und auch das Englisch selbst ist nicht schwer. Jeder, der gern mal für ein paar Stunden in eine Märchenneuinterpretation abtauchen möchte, könnte sich das Buch schnappen.

I am sad to see this book series end! My daughter and I have enjoyed all of the stories of Duke Wilhelm and his family, starting with "The Healer's Apprentice". The amount of action and romance is appropriate for Young Adult readers, with a touch of more "grown up" topics such as child abuse and having a child out of wedlock. I felt comfortable with my 13 year old reading it as these topics were not presented in heavy detail and led to redemptive parts of the story. As always, I love the new take on a fairy tale and appreciate the way that it includes not just a plot twist but a spiritual aspect that most fairy tales do not have.
Adela and Frederick were such sweet characters. I loved their pure hearts and desire to see each other be happy, even if it meant personal sacrifice. They also have to show courage in facing physical and emotional challenges. I really appreciate authors like Melanie Dickerson, who write clean books for Young Adults that adult readers can enjoy as well. Can't wait to read the next one!
**I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in order to share my honest opinions, which I did.**

The Peasant's Dream is another fabulous addition to Melanie Dickerson's Hagenheim's series. I loved this Cinderella type story. Four stars.

Once again Melanie Dickerson succeeds in whisking readers away to the land of Hagenheim for another fairytale retelling with romance, adventure, and heroism. This time, the fairytale was Cinderella---but in reverse! Peasant farmer Frederick dreams of leaving his mundane life as a farmer, serving his beloved mother, flighty sisters, and cruel father. Set on using his skills as a woodcarver to escape his laborious life, he sets off to Hagenheim to pursue his dream. Along the way, he meets Adela—the Duke’s daughter-- who has disguised herself as a servant to explore the kingdom. Not realizing who she is, Frederick is immediately drawn to the lovely Adela, and from there the adventure truly begins. Hidden truths are discovered, lives are changed, and the two fight to be together amidst difficulties and separation as this riveting story unfolds.

A wonderful conclusion to the Hagenheim fairytale romance series, this book masterfully ties up a story told over a total of 11 books, but can be read as a standalone story as well. One of my favorite aspects of this story was the deep themes such as the importance of honesty in relationships, choosing happiness over wealth, and escaping abuse. Filled with vivid imagery, a riveting storyline, and a sweet romance, this book---and this series--- is one you don’t want to miss. Our characters face challenges and come out with the classic happily ever after. What type of story can be better than that?

I received a copy of this book from the publisher to review, but my thoughts are my own. I really did love it!

Award-winning author Melanie Dickerson finishes her long-running young adult fairy tale retelling series with this reverse Cinderella story.

In The Peasant’s Dream, Adela, the Duke of Hagenheim’s youngest daughter, lives most of her life within the castle. She longs to prove herself as an artist and experience a taste of freedom beyond the castle walls. Disguised as a peasant, she explores the village and meets Frederick, a poor farmer who is also a talented woodcarver. They become friends, although Frederick is unaware of Adela’s parentage.

Hardworking Frederick has a kind heart, caring for others, protecting his mother and sisters from his father’s abuse, and humbly accepting the Bishop’s commission to carve the doors for the new cathedral. Adela is the youngest daughter, sheltered and spoiled, yet longing for more. Their shared interest in art lays the foundation for a friendship which develops into a romance. The path to true love is not smooth, and there are a few plot twists along the way, putting their happy ending at risk. Will they find a future together? Read The Peasant’s Dream and see!

As always, Dickerson delivers a well-written story with delightful characters, adventure, clean romance, and light faith elements in a medieval European setting. Familiar characters from Dickerson’s earlier books make an appearance in this book, to the delight of her readers.

Add The Peasant’s Dream to your reading list for teens, young adults, and those who are young at heart.

Disclaimer: Book reviews are my honest opinion of books I either purchased or received free of cost from the publishers, publicists, and/or authors.

I loved this book. It was an easy read and was a great escape for me. I liked the reverse Cinderella plot and thought it was cleverly crafted. There was sweet romance too.
Many thanks to Thomas Nelson Fiction and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

This may be unpopular opinion, but sometimes it’s just time for a series to end. And with the eleventh book, Melanie Dickerson’s Hagenheim Series comes to a close.

Toted as a reverse Cinderella story, The Peasant’s Dream matches Cinderella in two ways. Frederick is a peasant who is while forced by his father to work and he has two stepsisters. When he meets Adela, he does not realize she is the daughter of a duke.

Dickerson made sure to include all of her previous characters in this one (mostly just Adela reminiscing about her siblings or thinking about their families now), which will please long-time fans but also maybe frustrate new readers.

The plot was predictable but had some high points. Adela and Frederick become fast friends, encouraging each other but can true friendship be born when one of the parties is hiding a secret? The romance between these two flows naturally into the story, though. Dickerson also tackles difficult topics like abuse, alcoholism, and more in this one.

While not my favorite in the series (the second half has been hit and miss for me), The Peasant’s Dream is a satisfying wrap-up.



Disclosure statement: I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book and was not required to write a positive review. All opinions are my own.

I had a hard time getting into this book. I do love fairytale retellings, and I did like the gender swap, but the drama seemed sort of built up, and the big surprise wasn't really a big surprise to me. Also, while I have read some of this author's books, it had been a while and I didn't remember the details. To me that was a downside, since the author referred a lot to those stories and I felt a little lost.

That being said, this author is known for clean, sweet, fairytale retellings. If that is your jam, then I would recommend this series.

Thanks publisher and netgalley for the e-arc

Melanie Dickerson is absolutely amazing! I am in love with Adela and Frederick. I love the reverse Cinderella theme. It works so well. So refreshing!

I loved this book. Some of the newer historic authors are coming up with a unique perspective. It makes for fun stories. This is number 11 in a series do now I will need to find the others. I wonder if there will be a number 12.

I read this story in one day (well technically till 4:30 a.m. the next day. I couldn’t put it down.

Frederick is the son of a farmer whose real passion is wood carving. He has to do all the work for the farm since his father is disabled and also abusive. On a trip to town he meets Adela, the youngest daughter of the Duke. She has disguised herself as a maidservant in order to go to the Marketplatz by herself without guards. Frederick is unaware of her social status and they strike up a friendship. She loves painting and so their Artistic inclinations strike a chord for each of them. The problem is that the daughter of a Duke can’t marry a peasant but Frederick is unaware of that problem while Adela is plagued by it.

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

The Peasant's Dream by Melanie Dickerson is the eleventh book in the series Hagenheim, which is a cross between historical fiction and fairytale retellings. Here we get the story of the youngest daughter of the duke of Hagenheim, Adela, and an aspiring woodcarver, Frederick. This gender bent retelling of Cinderella is an easy read, though tedious at times, and wholly predictable.

As the youngest daughter of the duke, Adela is pampered and sheltered from the world outside their castle. She is exactly what you'd expect from a duke's daughter: accomplished in needlework and painting, well educated, and beautiful. The story opens with her being courted by a nobleman's son, Lord Barthold. He isn't at all what Adela pictured in a suitor. He is handsome and a bit reserved, but she feels none of the things her elder sisters and sisters-in-law described upon meeting their spouses. She wants more, and she fears this makes her "spoiled" as she has overheard the guards say about her. Adela, unfortunately, falls flat for me. She isn't really fleshed out. As a result, it was hard to care for her, even if I liked the woodcarver she meets in the Marketplatz.

Frederick is the son of a farmer who dreams of being something more. His father is an abusive man, who takes all his anger out on his son. Frederick prefers this to the anger being directed at his mother or younger sisters. I respect him. He's kind and gentle, yet extremely protective. When the opportunity comes for him to show his woodcarving work to the Bishop in Hagenheim, it is one he cannot pass up. When the bishop offers him a job carving the new doors to the cathedral, it feels like a dream he never could have dreamed for himself. Then he meets Adela and a new life, one he never dared hope for is within reach. Clearly you can tell which of the two I like better 😉

As Adela and Frederick begin to meet in secret and a friendship blossoms into love, a whole other story plays out in the background. There is always something that tears the two apart: Adela not telling Frederick she's the duke's daughter, an attempted kidnapping while she is out with Lord Barthold, Frederick's awful excuse for a man father, and well you get the picture. Despite the constant action, I really struggled staying focused on the story. The writing is good, the plot is okay, but I had zero connection with the main characters. I could not focus on their story or feel anything really about what happened to them as the plot progressed. While I received an arc from Netgalley, I did purchase the audiobook hoping that switching to listening would help, but it didn't, and that is of no fault to the narrator. Jude Mason did breathe a little life into the story, and without her narration, I probably would have DNFed instead of finishing.

Overall, The Peasant's Dream is neither a great story or a bad story. It's just okay. It didn't excite me or cause me to skip meals or stay up late reading. The Cinderella connection is tenuous at best, though you can see it in the mean father and the disparity between their social classes. For me, this was a 2.5 star read generously rounded up to three.

Over the last few years, my daughters and I have enjoyed the Hégenheim Series. This book is the love story of the Duke's youngest daughter Adela and a reverse Cinderella named Frederick.

I thoroughly enjoyed the depiction of Frederick and his determination in life and the choices he made. I will admit that I didn't see as much of the Cinderella line as I would have liked too.

Adela's deceptive nature didn't do much for me. I felt as if her parents had backtracked in their growth arcs from where they were a few books ago, when I felt the Duke was more about the content of a person's character than their bloodline.

The story moved well enough along, but lacked the excitement of some earlier books in the series. Sadly, this was not one of my favorite books in the series: 3.5 Stars rounded up.

I received a copy from the publisher via NetGalley and this is my honest opinion.

Oi, this one was slow-going. Not until the last few chapters did it really grab my attention. I usually like these particular retellings, but this one was probably my least favorite.

Adela is the youngest daughter of the Duke and Duchess of Hagenheim, and as such she knows what is expected of her. She’s to paint nice scenes, embroider cushions and marry well. The son of the Duke of Grundelsbach, Lord Barthold, has come to seek her hand and court her, but she doesn’t feel a connection to him because he is a bit cold and reserved. For once, she just wants to get out of the castle and see what normal people do. One day she decides to go out on the Marketplatz in disguise as a maid where she meets a young woodcarver who seems to be a brilliant artist. He is nothing like the Duke’s son, he is open and gentle and understands her love for art. She knows a relationship beyond friendship isn’t a good idea, but she cannot help how she feels for this gentle and hardworking man with his eye for beauty.

Frederick first sees Adela in the healer’s hut while he is attempting to help his neighbor’s son overcome a sickness. Frederick is a poor farmer’s son, and his father is abusive towards him and his mother. He wants more than anything to get his mother, sisters and himself out from under his father’s thumb. When he takes the risk of going to the Marketplatz in nearby Hagenheim to sell his precious carvings, he isn’t sure where this risk will take him. The Bishop of Hagenheim sees his carvings and decides to employ him to carve a new door for the cathedral. While he is making these new work connections, he sees Adela again, not knowing that she is the daughter of the Duke. The two strike up conversations and they begin to realize how much they have in common. Adela arranges for housing for him and his mother and sisters in Hagenheim, and they finally escape his father, Stenngle.

To further add to their troubles, the steward to the Duke of Grundelsbach is determined to keep his power. He is in the habit of undermining the duke, and finds out that Frederick is a threat to the duke’s son Barthold. He takes Frederick by force to the dungeons of Grundelsbach, and brings Stenngle to Hagenheim where he drunkenly reclaims his wife and daughters. But Frederick’s mother has a secret about him - but will this secret be of any help to get Frederick free? How can Adela and Frederick be together when there are so many troubles plaguing them?

I wasn’t a huge fan of these characters. I like a stronger female and a broody male lead. Frederick wasn’t broody at all and Adela was kinda blandly written. I liked the bit of suspense towards the end of the book and I like Basina’s arc. That’s the only reason this was a 3-star rating from me instead of 2. It was just okay for me, but I didn’t hate it.

Melanie Dickerson is at it again! This Christian fairy tale is wholesome and clean with a reverse Cinderella story spin on it. Adela is a Duke's daughter, whereas, Frederick, is a poor peasant. Both are very noble and sweet characters who get caught in the cross hairs of some vile characters. I really enjoyed the plot and the characters and there were a few exciting plot twists that made the ending very rewarding! I couldn't put the book down and finished it quickly. Dickerson is an excellent writer and I can always count on her novels to deliver a sweet, well written story without language or inappropriate scenes and this story delivered! If you have not read any of her novels before, you are sorely missing out and should definitely read this. If you have, then you must add this one to your have read as well because it is too good to skip!!

Since childhood, my favorite fairy tale has been Cinderella. I’m drawn to adaptations of the story, so it was no surprise that The Peasant’s Dream by Melanie Dickerson would pique my interest. In this version, the narrative is somewhat reversed, in that the “Cinderella” is actually a poor farmer’s son who falls in love with a duke’s daughter. The male protagonist is Frederick, a wood carver who has in his life characters similar to an evil step-parent and two troublesome siblings. While there is no fairy godmother, no transforming pumpkins or glass shoes, this is still a delightful story and a fine addition to Dickerson’s Hagenheim series. The eleventh and final volume of this particular collection of fairytale adaptations, The Peasant’s Dream features the romance between Frederick and Adela, the duke’s daughter. Unlike the traditional story, this imagining features more action and internal thought, allowing for greater suspense building and a bit of character development. Incidents and individuals from other episodes in the Hagenheim series are mentioned, but knowledge of those other books is in no way required to enjoy this specific novel.

The book could be categorized as Christian YA fiction, so the content is very family friendly. The romantic content is fairly modest, the violence measured and without gory details. Dickerson’s style is not as complex as you would find in most adult titles, which makes it very accessible to younger readers and a quick page-turner for those of us in the ‘mature’ category. Topics regarding Christian faith do emerge from time to time, providing important lessons within the story. I appreciated the themes of redemption, forgiveness, and humanity’s ability to choose righteousness even when surrounded by evil. God is not seen as a “fairy Godfather in the sky” granting all our wishes, but Someone who will be with us through our trials, sometimes providing deliverance, and sometimes providing strength to endure hardship instead. That said, the spirituality of the story is not heavy-handed, and could easily be read by those from outside the faith.

I reviewed Dickerson’s The Beautiful Pretender four years ago, and while I think I enjoyed that title a bit more, The Peasant’s Dream was still very entertaining. Not only did I enjoy the trajectory of the main characters' lives, but I appreciated the development of their family members and loved ones as well. There's even a romantic royal ball at the climax of the story! If you enjoy fairy tale adaptations or any of the other titles in the Hagenheim series, this one would make a pleasant addition to your “To Be Read” list.

I feel that had I known this was part of a long-standing series, I may have enjoyed it more. Overall it was an easygoing read, and while I was not fully invested, I can certainly see a number of our students enjoying the story should they choose to pick it up.