Lady of Disguise was a fun read that gave me an evening of entertainment. It’s been far too long since I’ve curled up with a Melanie Dickerson book. Reading this one made me want to go reread the whole Hagenheim series. I love those ones so much🥰
.
The story was fast paced enough to keep me interested and turning pages later than I should be. It was a fun adventure story with a cast of interesting characters and sweet romance. I was rooting for the main characters the whole time. 
I have not read the rest of the Dericott Tales so this can be read as a standalone. 
.
.
.
*I received a free copy in exchange for a honest review. I was not required to post a positive review. All thoughts expressed are strictly my own.*

The sixth installment from The Dericott Tales, Lady of Disguise, is just what I would expect from Melanie Dickerson. It was great. Five stars.

This review was made possible via an ARC through NetGalley.

Lady of Disguise by Melanie Dickerson is a historical romance reimagining of Jack and the Beanstalk that opens up with the MC, Louisa, concerned that she or her younger sister will get married off to a much older man. Louisa decides to go after a treasure that is guarded by a giant by dressing as a boy and going by the name Jack. 

Sir Charles, the love interest, is a knight who loved the daughter of his lord but her engagement to another lord reveals that she was more interested in the ideas of courtly love and being loved than she was in a relationship with Charles. 

What I appreciated was the atmosphere and the worldbuilding as it did feel relatively accurate to the time period from what I know about it and the use of period accurate Christian prayers and attitudes.

The romance felt a bit rushed to me as Charles got his heart broken and very quickly fell for Louisa after meeting her as well as immediately seeing through her disguise. I was also a bit disappointed at how quickly Louisa stopped dressing as a boy as that was a chance to explore gender further in that time period. 

I would recommend this to fans of YA historical romances who are OK with Instalove. I would not recommend this to readers who do not enjoy Instalove or who need more gender exploration when a character dresses as another gender than the one they are assigned at birth.

In the fourteenth century, Louisa and her 12-year-old sister live with their vile uncle whose only interest in them is how high a bride price he can receive for them. Determined to escape and find a rumored treasure, Louisa disguises herself as a boy. She comes across Sir Charles Dericott, an honorable knight who sees through her disguise and watches out for her. They meet interesting people along the way and come to the giant who supposedly guards the treasure with a Fee Fie Fo Fum challenge.
This is a version of Jack and the Beanstalk for young adults. Part of a series following the Dericotts through fairy tales. Good versus evil that should appeal to teens.

Lady of Disguise by Melanie Dickerson starts out with the heroine wanting to find a buried treasure in the side of the mountain. As the journey begins, she leaves dressed as a boy in order to keep hidden. Then she meets the hero and the plot pushes forward from there. Many moments were the hero must save the damsel in distress, which of course, the heroine finds enduring and sweet. The plot kept throwing the hero and heroine into dangerous situations because of the supporting cast. Of course, as the plot moved forward; the romance moved forward also. Really didn't feature many of the Dericott siblings that were prominent in the previous books in this series. This reads more like a standalone novel to the series. According to the synopsis, this story is a Jack in the Beanstalk remake. There is elements of the familiar story with climbing to a high place with a giant protecting the prize. But there are differences too. Nice giant who has been taken advantage of by the people in the low lying village. Overall, Lady of Disguise by Melanie Dickerson features a protective hero who shows his devotion to the heroine while flipping Jack in the Beanstalk on its head. 

I received a complimentary copy of Lady of Disguise by Melanie Dickerson from Thomas Nelson Publishing, but the opinions stated are all my own.

Content warnings: emotionally abusive guardian, attempted robbery, being forced into marriage

Louisa and her sister are orphans living under the guardianship of their aunt and uncle. When their guardians start parading 12-year-old Margaret out to meet potential husbands, Louisa makes a desperate attempt to save them both -- she cuts off her hair to travel as a boy and goes off in search of Viking treasure.

Like the other books in the series, one of the many Raynesford brothers of Dericott happens upon Lousia and feels it's his knightly duty to protect the young woman from brigands. They pick up several companions along the way and discover a plot that is a great service to the kingdom of England and all are handsomely rewarded by the king. Like the other Dericott novels, this is a very loose retelling of Jack and the Beanstalk (without the beans).

Recommended for fans of the series. Fun fluff with very PG romance that's formulaic but might have teens swooning.

Representation: orphans

It's hard to find good fiction for teens these days. Most have inappropriate topics or innuendos. Enter Melanie Dickerson. She has written a series for teens that is clean and set in Medieval times. Lady of Disguise is the retelling of the classic fairy tale, Jack and the Beanstalk. 

Louisa and her younger sister, Margaret, are wards of an unkind uncle and aunt. Her uncle only thinks of money and plans to marry both sisters off the richest men he can find. Louisa feels that her only choice is to sneak away and try to find the rumored giant's treasure so she and Margaret can live independently. After cutting her hair and dressing as a boy, she meets with Sir Charles, a young knight of King Richard. She tells him her name is Jack. Charles knows she a girl but feels duty bound to help keep her safe. The two of them begin an adventure filled with danger, interesting characters and a clean love story.

This book is good for teens. It is clean and wholesome. Adults might feel it is a sappy, puppy love story. Charles and Louisa kiss but there are clear boundaries and restraint. This book is also about compassion for others less fortunate than you.

This book was simple. Too simple to be considered historical fiction. So much so that I had to go back and double check the genre. It's labeled historical fiction/teen YA. Louisa is on a quest to find a hidden treasure to save her sister and her from being married off by her greedy uncle. The problem with the story is, Louisa is way too old to be chasing after a treasure...and fighting off a giant...  It all felt very much like a fairy tale. If you like that sort of story, then you'll be happy to have found it.

Louisa and her sister, Margaret, are sent to live with their aunt and uncle following their parents' death. The girls are treated barely better than the servants in the castle. The uncle has resolved to marry them off quickly and of course, the girls will receive none of the estate to which they are entitled. Louisa has always dreamed about the "Giant's Treasure" and resolves to run away, find the treasure and return and save her sister. So she sets out. In the 1300s a female traveling alone could find herself in a lot of trouble, so she camouflages herself and travels as "Jack." Along the way, she meets Sir Charles. He was fooled only briefly by her disguise and decides to travel with her to meet the Giant. Along the way they help several others who also travel with them. 

This is another installment in the Dericott Tales (Sir Charles is the Dericott in this story). The budding romance between Louisa and Sir Charles is sweet and the kindness they share with their fellow travelers adds a lot to the story. We come to learn that the Giant is not the villain he is made out to be.

Another hit from Melanie Dickerson! I would absolutely recommend this book to any friends and family!

This book teaches you to think of others. Even if they are cruel or monsters. It is the perfect example of kindness to others. It displays how even when we are not like someone else we can still appreciate them and in situations where we are treated badly we can not return the favor.

"Lady of Disguise" is the 6th book in Melanie Dickerson's "The Dericott Tales" series. While I haven't read the previous books in the series, I was still able to jump right in to this book without missing anything. Louise and her sister are under the custody of their Uncle, who is determined to make a lot of money off of their marriages. Upon learning of her uncle's evil schemes, Louise runs away to achieve independence and get help for her younger sister. Charles, a knight, encounters Louise while she's on the run and offers to help her.  When her Uncle discovers her deceit, he sends his men to capture her and Charles and Louise must fight for their lives.

I appreciated the themes of sisterhood, sacrifice, and loyalty in this book. I was a little disappointed that the storyline was rather simple and straightforward, but that's due to it being a YA-focused book which I did not realize upon requesting it. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

An arranged marriage, A skimming uncle, and A buried treasure guarded by monster! Lady of Disguise is another wonderful medieval romance and adventure from Melanie Dickerson!

This is a sweet story.  Louisa is caring and compassionate, wanting to help those in need, a good example of true Christian values.  Charles is honest and noble, taking seriously his duties as a knight and faithfully serving both his earthly and heavenly king.  The most beautiful part of the story is Morten, Sybil and Elias.  Although the acceptance that Louisa and Charles show Allistor is also quite special.

Four stars based on this being geared for Young Adult/Middle Grade literature. Lady of Disguise is book #6 in the Dericott Tales. And (gasp) I read this out of order as part of the advanced copy I received. I never read things out of order--especially in a series, but from experience with other books by Melanie Dickerson, I suspected it could be a pretty good stand alone. My ONE concern was that it would be like book 1 which I never finished because i got annoyed with it.

And the answer is...yes. You could easily read this out of order and not be left high and dry with any holes. There are things mentioned in passing, but they are more background events and not pertinent to the current story.

Okay now the plot. So Lady of Disguise is a VERY loose rendition of Jack and the Beanstalk. In this case, Louise (aka Jack) is escaping her uncle's house in order to try to find the legendary Viking treasure which is guarded by a supposed giant. But even though she dresses as a boy and lops of her hair--it doesn't take her long to realize she made a mistake thinking it was going to be easy. she quickly meets Sir Charles...

And the rest of the book is about the journey she and Sir Charles take to the legandary location of the giant and his treasure--as well as the journey their relationship takes. Neither of them desire marriage--louise dreads one to an unknown man to be used as a babymaking machine--and Sir Charles was fooled by a vapid self-centered noble lady and believes all women are the same. So they learn a lot about each other and the role that faith can have in someone's life.

It's a fun story. And it's a good reminder about what life was like for women during the time period. It's not a deep story. No big things to overcome. But it's written for the under 18 crew so that's okay. It does still have a great message of faith.

As a YA middle grade book, I give it 4 stars. I may go back and catch up the other 5 books now.

*I received a copy of this book as an ARC from the publisher and NetGalley. i wasn't required to write a positive review and all the opinions are 100% my own.

Melanie Dickerson is one of my most favorite authors.  I may own all of her YA books, and to read Lady of Disguise was just the icing on the cake.  She is a master of all fairytale retellings and historical fiction (and beautiful book covers). Loved this book so much.

Thank you Thomas Nelson Fiction for this ARC of Lady in Disguise. 

I understand this is a YA novel, but I decided I wanted to read the series anyway.  I have very much enjoyed the whole series of The Dericott Tales Series.   Great stories bas3d in fairy tales.  

This story was based on Jack and the Bean stalk.   

This are good stories that anyone can read. 

I just reviewed Lady of Disguise by Melanie Dickerson. #LadyofDisguise #NetGalley

I was given an e copy of this book, to give my honest opinion, the following is my honest opinion. 
I really enjoy Melanie Dickerson's books, and this one is no different. This beautiful heart warming story of the love between Louisa and her 12 year old sister who live in England during the middle ages. Louisa is determined to do whatever it takes to protect her sister, even if she has to face a "Giant".
 I absolutely loved this book. It is inspirational and encouraging.  I highly recommend this book.

3.5

I did not realize this was a part of the Dericott Tales series when I requested it but thankfully I wasn’t lost. This can be read as a stand-alone.

It’s cute. Not as obvious of a retelling as some of her other books which was in its favor actually. But I feel like it lacked spark. Nothing grabbed me. I was also hoping there would be a lot more Scotland than there was. And Yorkshire is not even in Scotland so what is up with that? I was kind of disappointed.

Still, it was a cute story and I’m not sad I read it. If you’re looking for a sweet story you might want to pick this up.

Thank you so much to the author, NetGalley and the publisher for the complimentary copy in return for my honest review. I love the way Melanie Dickerson re-imagines fairytales. It's an engaging, fun take on Jack and the Beanstalk with romance mixed in. It was a really nice, clean, easy read- didn't take me long to finish at all. Well suited to the target audience of teens/YA with a male main character who is everything you'd want a chivalrous knight to be!