I always enjoy the author’s approach to historical fiction and seeing iconic figures in a new light. Her latest work is a genderbent retelling of Cinderella dives into the idea of what makes true love and how to see the depths of an individual. This is the final story in the Hagenheim series and now I feel the need to start the series over from the beginning and relive the enchantment of the stories and their developments.

I didn’t realize this was the 11th book in a series when I requested this book from Netgalley. Perhaps I would have enjoyed it more if I had read the first 10 books. But I doubt it. For me as a new reader, it was a simple, predictable, extremely religious fairy tale. The characters were flat, and the plot was so dull it was a slog to finish it. The romance was very very not-very-romantic. This is supposed to be YA but if I didn’t know otherwise I would guess it was written for children as a read-by-yourself chapter book.

Fans of the author may love it. Otherwise I can’t recommend it.

I read an advance reader copy from Netgalley.

Content: Mild suspense and danger. Religion/Christianity is deeply ingrained in the story. No sexual content or profanity of any kind.
12+

Things I loved about this book:
The setting.
The constancy of the main characters.
I liked everyone I was supposed to like and disliked everyone I was supposed to dislike.
The way the author used the German language.
Positive family relationships as well as negative ones.

Things I did not love about this book:
I'm religious, but I feel like this story borders on preachy.
The dialogue is choppy and you don't often get the feels from it that I wish you did.(You meaning me, of course.)
It reads like a rough draft.

I can't tell you how much I wanted to love this book. And I don't have any real complaints, I guess. But a story that could have evoked some really strong feels failed to do so because the way it reads prevented it.

Here’s a unique twist on the Cinderella theme. Lady Adela, daughter of the duke of Hagenheim, sneaks from her family’s castle to visit the local market alone and meets Frederick, a woodcarver and son of a poor farmer who drinks his life away. The young people are drawn together, but each face troubles, and obstacles threaten to keep them apart. Of course, Adela is expected to marry a wealthy peer no matter whom her heart longs for. The story develops slowly in the first half, allowing readers time to experience and appreciate the historical setting and intriguing characters. The novel does ramp up and the pace and the tension increase as the tale unfolds, with plenty of excitement before the end occurs. I love the way characters from other books in the series are included and the ways their lives tie together. I’m sorry to see the series conclude. I received a copy from the publisher. All opinions are my own.

"And love is much more important than wealth. If you have to live without wealth, you might have some difficulties, but living without love ... that would be tragic indeed."

Melanie Dickerson always writes captivating fairy tale retellings filled with adventure, complex plot with twists and turns, beautifully heroic characters, and gentle spiritual reminders. The Peasant's Dream is a reverse Cinderella story but the villains are not necessarily related to the main characters. Frederick is a poor farmer's son who has a gift at wood carving and desires nothing more than to use his gift. He is passionate, creative, loyal, loving, and humble. Adela is the youngest daughter of the Duke of Hagenheim who is a bit flighty and slightly spoiled (even in her own words) but compassionate and tender. She desires to travel outside of the castle to paint and explore and to find true love like her older siblings. Their providential meeting and subsequent adventure to fulfilling their calling and finding love is fraught with opposition, danger, and secrets. This is book 11 in the Hagenheim series but can be read as a stand-alone. There are snippets of Adela's older siblings' stories and their happily-ever-afters throughout the book which will satisfy the fans who have been following this series but will not confuse those readers who are new to the author's books.

If you enjoy YA historical romance, especially medieval fairy tale retellings, you will absolutely adore this book. The entire series is incredible and highly recommended. I received a copy of the book from Thomas Nelson via NetGalley and was under no obligation to post a positive review. All comments and opinions are solely my own.

I made a mistake with this book - I started it too late in the evening! What ensued was me staying up way too late on a night when I needed to get up for work the next day, The book was incredible!

I loved this twist on Cinderella with its Christian focus.

Lady Adela wants adventure and the ability to travel so she can pursue her art. Frederick wants to be a woodcarver and escape his terrible father.

The two characters have fantastic chemistry and are drawn to each other, first as friends. Frederick finds himself in trouble and his integrity is challenged. The story is full of marvelous twists and turns with a little adventure thrown in for Adela. It wouldn't be a fairy tale without the happily ever after.

I highly recommend this book which was an easy read, I just started it too late in the day. When I got to the time I should stop, I couldn't put it down at that point.

I received an eARC from NetGalley to read and review.

Adela, the daughter of the Duke of Hagenheim just wants an adventure. She's tired of not being allowed to go anywhere or do anything. Her sisters had grand adventures, why shouldn't she? She dresses as a peasant and sneaks away to the market to see what life is like outside the castle walls. On one such excursion she meets Frederick, a peasant who dreams of being more than just a farmer. He desires to get himself and his mother away from their abusive father/husband and finds work as a carpenter doing what he loves most. Adela and Frederick strike up an unlikely friendship. She doesn't really know much about him and his past and he has no idea that she is the Duke's daughter. The adventure Adela seeks soon unfolds but not quite how she imagines it would be.
This is the 11th book in this "series". However, this book could stand alone without any prior knowledge of what occurred before Adela's story. With that being said, I really wanted to like this book. I have read many of Ms. Dickerson's novels and honestly this one was not my favorite. I found the characters to be shallow, the plot to be maddeningly slow at times, and just overall very predictable. The characters said a lot of the same things over and over again. I would read something a character said and think "oh she/he said that many times already." I know that it was a reverse telling of Cinderella but felt that this story was just not quite the best at the telling. I do appreciate that this was a clean romance story. I would have no qualms about recommending to pre-teen and YA readers. Thank you to NetGalley and Thomas Nelson Publishers for the ARC copy of this book. All opinions herein are my own.

This series is tired. Each new addition reads like the last one. Perhaps readers who pick and choose depending on the specific fairy tale retelling won't pick up on the repetitive nature of the series, but 11 books in and it feels like the same story is being told each time.

I loved Melanie Dickersons the Healers Apprentice a few years back and was excited to get into another one of her fairytale retellings. This one was sweet, and innocent and I think it would be a lovely book for preteens looking for a clean, Christian based book to add to their summer reading list. It didn’t hold my attention due to its more simplistic content and dialogue. I tend to gravitate towards more complex fantasy and romantic relationships but I won’t shy away more reading more of her books in the future. 3.5 stars thanks to the publisher for sending me an early copy to read!

I always love Dickerson’s writing. She does a wonderful job of interconnecting her stories while making them also be able to be read as a standalone. This book does a good job of creating a world that a reader can visualize themselves being a part. Many books lack this simple yet complex action and that is what sets this book apart from all the others. The opening chapters deal with a family in a village having issues with a birth and sending a fellow village boy to get a healer or a remedy to prevent the death of the baby or the mother. While getting the remedy the boy met a girl and started to feel something for her but did not fully understand what was going on. The girl started to wonder about the boy and hoped that the birth went okay and how the boy might be doing. This leads the boy and girl on a series of adventures that has the reader enjoying everything right alongside the characters. Really enjoyed the book and will highly recommend this book to my family and friends.

Initial Thoughts

I was excited to read this gender bent Cinderella story. I hadn’t heard of or read any of the other books in the series, but I was told I could read them separately without issue.

Some Things I Liked

Cinderella in an unexpected way. I had never read a gender bent Cinderella story before and was excited to see how that would work. There were many familiar elements but I liked what elements were left out because they simply were unfeasible with a male main character.
A sweet romance. I liked that the romance in this story was very clean and the story would be appropriate for readers of a younger age.
Religion worked into the story in an appropriate way. I’m not overly religious and I have read books in the past where the religious themes are forced down the reader’s throat. I thought the balance was well done here and the religious references and elements felt organic to the setting and time period.

One Thing I Wasn’t Crazy About

While I mentioned that the romance is appropriate for younger audiences, there is a theme of physical and emotional abuse in this story that might not be suitable for younger audiences. Please take note that abuse is both a theme and a featured portion of the story. While I understand the purpose of this, I found it to be cruel and unnecessarily detailed for the nature of the story.

Series Value

I enjoyed this book. While this one contains spoilers for the others that came before it, the nature of this series essentially spoiled those stories before I even read this. (Effectively, I assumed these all have happy endings, therefore, knowing if they did, isn’t really a spoiler for me.) I would read the other books in the series.

Final Thoughts

I liked this book and I want to read the others in the series. I’m glad I stumbled upon this series.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Recommendations for Further Reading

The other books in the Hagenheim series. If, like me, you read this one out of order, definitely check out the other books in the series.
Rogue Princess by B.R. Myer – if you enjoyed the Cinderella retelling angle but wanted a sci-fi setting, try this February 2020 release.

The Peasant's Dream is set up to be a reverse Cinderella story, and I think that it was in a way, but I wouldn't suggest going into this book thinking it's a retelling. It's more that the story was influenced by Cinderella. Adela is the daughter of a Duke with a lot of restrictions on her life. She sneaks out and meets Frederick.

This was a fun romance that I think fans of Melanie Dickerson will love. Like all Dickerson's books, this cover was absolutely fabulous! The plot wasn't a letdown, but I did find it a bit slow. It seemed to take a while to really get moving in the story, so I struggled through the beginning. When things finally start happening though, the story really picked up speed, and it was a good read!

I would recommend this for anyone interested in a slow-burn romance.

I was provided an advanced reader's copy of this book for free. I am leaving my review voluntarily.

My Rating : 3.5🌟
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Kindle/Netgalley/ July2020
#mabookyardchallengeJuly2020
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Thankyou so much Netgalley for the copy in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own and not influenced in any way.
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I've read The Healers Apprentice by this author, and I really loved that book, so decide to pick this up. But, I didn't realize it was a kind of part of retelling series (This one is gender reversed Cinderella) and when I read it, I was really pleasantly surprised!! It's the 11th book in the Hagenheim series ( I need to start from the beginning because they sound really good!). That book cover is gorgeous and the blurb was intruiging. I loved the characters in it and how they were portrayed, (I might be slightly in love in Frederick too.. who knows!) . I loved his personality and how both the main characters, Adela & Fred, developed their chemistry. There were common interests and a lot of conversation so it wasn't forced. The plot was slightly familiar, but it was done in a very good way. I loved the chapters leading to that ending and even though I might think that ending was kinda easy, it still made me happy! If you are a fan of historical fiction, then give it a go!

The Peasant's Dream is the eleventh book in the Hagenheim series by Melanie Dickerson. This is a Cinderella retelling, except this time, Cinderella is male. I thought that was a fun and unique little spin. Actually, this story was completely it's own as there were similarities to the traditional Cinderella story, but they were subtle. So, you don't feel completely like you're reading something you've read over and over again already. You also get to know some of the supporting characters quite well through subplots surrounding the main characters. I've read this series way out of order, which goes against my reading rules, but you can do that with this series as each book stands alone just fine.

Wow! What an adventure! I loved returning back to Hagenheim to see what happens to the youngest daughter, Adela. Adela feels trapped in her pampered life at the castle. She longs to be seen as something more than the spoiled rich girl. I love her tender artistic heart. Frederick is an amazing man with an unrealized talent and a integrity that sets him above other men. The story started off kind of slow as we learned about the characters. The plot gains momentum after Frederick and Adela meet. Adela keeps her identity secret from Frederick initially which adds a twist to the story. Many other twists kept me engaged in the story. I recommend this book to those that love clean romance and wish their life could be different.
I received a copy of this book from Thomas Nelson through NetGalley. This is my honest and voluntary review.

First off, I like the characters. I connected with Adela on a couple of levels. Like her, I grew up in a big family (though I was the oldest rather than the youngest), my parents were fairly strict so I was somewhat sheltered, and I always had to urge to go off on my own to do things. I connected with Frederick, because growing up, my family was also poor. I appreciated all the good qualities Frederick had – he was loyal, dependable, and trustworthy, and this is not always the case for YA heroes.

There was a little bit of insta-love or at least insta-attraction, as both Adela and Frederick couldn’t stop thinking about one another after having only met once, and with hardly any conversation between them.

I enjoyed the way Melanie seamlessly weaves her faith into this story, as she is able to do with all of her stories. I liked the gender reverse fairytale spin, and of course, I’m always a sucker for happy endings! This is a clean YA, so it’s suitable for younger teens and even pre-teens. Fans of Jessica Day George’s books and of the movie Ever After will enjoy this book (there’s no magic, but there’s a lot of interesting historical tidbits included).

Adela, the youngest daughter of the Duke of Hagenheim longs for adventure and true love, just like her older siblings have found before her. When Adela hears that yet another suitor, the son of the Duke of Grundelsbach, Lord Barthold will be calling on her she decides to leave the castle unguarded and dressed as a peasant. While at the market, she meets Frederick. Frederick is a peasant who works tirelessly on his father's farm where his drunken father often beats Frederick and his mother. In his free time Frederick hones his wood carving skills and has found a job carving for the bishop of Hagenheim. Adela and Frederick ease into one another's company as they talk of art and their families. However, Frederick doesn't know of Adela's true identity and when some boys from the countryside hatch a plan to kidnap the Duke's daughter for some extra money, Frederick becomes caught up in their plan and his future as well as his relationship with Adela are compromised.


The Peasant's Dream is the eleventh book in the Hagenheim series. While reading the previous books will help fill in some details, it is not necessary to read them all in order to enjoy The Peasant's Dream. In this reversal retelling of Cinderella, Adela and Frederick are able to find love on their own and form a deeper and meaningful bond than simply meeting at a ball. There were enough elements from the Cinderella story to make it recognizable, but also plenty of new twists to add excitement and suspense. Adela and Frederick's character's both had depth and interesting backstories. I really enjoyed that they were able to bond over art and tales of their family even though they were from such different backgrounds. The suspense and excitement was kept heightened as the plan to capture Adela goes awry, Barthold's jealousy takes over and Lord Conrat begins to meddle further. One thing I didn't particularly enjoy was the addition of the overly religious themes. I understood its place in Frederick's wood carvings, but it seemed overbearing at points. Overall, The Peasant's Dream is a fast-paced, enjoyable fairy tale retelling and a pleasant addition to the world of Hagenheim.


This book was received for free in return for an honest review.

The Peasant's Dream is the 11th book in Melanie Dickerson's Hagenheim Series. It tells the story of Duke Wilhelm and Lady Rose's youngest daughter, Adela, as she dreams of following in her siblings' footsteps in finding a love and adventure of her own.

Adela has suitors a plenty, but she has yet to find one who makes her heart flutter, or even understands her. She longs to travel and paint beautiful things, and no one seems to understand her need to create. Everyone wants to keep her sheltered, when she desperately wants to experience the world around her.

Frederick has been raised by a man who abused both him and his devoted mother. His sisters only added to their father's abuse. He has a talent for wood carving, and longs to escape his stagnant farm life and make a living pursuing his art. But how can he leave his family in his horrible father's hands?

This gender-swapped Cinderella meets Amanda Bynes' What a Girl Wants was delightful. The first half of the book was fairly slow-paced, but around halfway through the book picks up its pace and takes a turn I was not entirely expecting. I love the strong women represented in this book, and also appreciated that Adela's other suitor was portrayed as a normal man, not some horrible person to contrast with her main love interest.

Thank you to NetGalley and Thomas Nelson (HarperCollins Christian Publishing) for sending me an eARC of The Peasant's Dream in exchange for an honest review. The opinions in this review are mine alone.

Frederick's woodcarvings seemed lovely! My husband once showed me a book with pictures of amazing carvings by Albrecht Dürer. I couldn't help but picture those as I read. I especially loved his interpretation of Biblical stories through his work and the stories they told.

I liked the way the friendship between Adela and Frederick was exactly that. A friendship. Theirs was no insta-love, though they were drawn to one another.

Frederick was a gentle giant of a man, who had grown up with an abusive father. His dreams of finding a living doing what he loved best, woodcarving, seemed so far away. I loved his protective nature towards his mother and even his sisters who were often less than kind.

There were a few things that detracted from the story. I felt that Adela was constantly talking about how no one could understand her because she was an artist - until Frederick. This might not have bugged me quite so much if it wasn't reiterated. Frederick's father was abusive. It did seem like the violence he enacted on Frederick and his mother was spoken of often - perhaps a little too much.

Overall, this was a good story with hints of spirituality.

What a great companion to the other books in this series. The characters are well developed, you feel for them and root for them. The resolution is better than could be expected, with years of pain coming to a close. I hope we will still see more of these, even though the family is running out of children. Perhaps the grandchildren will come into play!