Title: The Silent Songbird
Series: Hagenheim (Book #7)
Year: 2016
Author: Melanie Dickerson
Summary: Evangeline longs to be free, to live in the world outside the castle walls. But freedom comes at a cost.
Evangeline is the ward and cousin of King Richard II, and yet she dreams of a life outside of Berkhamsted Castle, where she might be free to marry for love and not politics. But the young king betroths her to his closest advisor, Lord Shiveley, a man twice as old as Evangeline. Desperate to escape a life married to a man she finds revolting, Evangeline runs away from the king and joins a small band of servants on their way back to their home village.
To keep her identity a secret, Evangeline pretends to be mute. Evangeline soon regrets the charade as she gets to know Wesley, the handsome young leader of the servants, whom she later discovers is the son of a wealthy lord. But she cannot reveal her true identity for fear she will be forced to return to King Richard and her arranged marriage.
Wesley le Wyse is intrigued by the beautiful new servant girl. When he learns that she lost her voice from a beating by a cruel former master, he is outraged. But his anger is soon redirected when he learns she has been lying to him. Not only is she not mute, but she isn't even a servant.
Weighed down by remorse for deceiving Wesley, Evangeline fears no one will ever love her. But her future is not the only thing at stake, as she finds herself embroiled in a tangled web that threatens England's monarchy. Should she give herself up to save the only person who cares about her? If she does, who will save the king from a plot to steal his throne? (from Goodreads)
Evangeline is the ward and cousin of King Richard II, and yet she dreams of a life outside of Berkhamsted Castle, where she might be free to marry for love and not politics. But the young king betroths her to his closest advisor, Lord Shiveley, a man twice as old as Evangeline. Desperate to escape a life married to a man she finds revolting, Evangeline runs away from the king and joins a small band of servants on their way back to their home village.
To keep her identity a secret, Evangeline pretends to be mute. Evangeline soon regrets the charade as she gets to know Wesley, the handsome young leader of the servants, whom she later discovers is the son of a wealthy lord. But she cannot reveal her true identity for fear she will be forced to return to King Richard and her arranged marriage.
Wesley le Wyse is intrigued by the beautiful new servant girl. When he learns that she lost her voice from a beating by a cruel former master, he is outraged. But his anger is soon redirected when he learns she has been lying to him. Not only is she not mute, but she isn't even a servant.
Weighed down by remorse for deceiving Wesley, Evangeline fears no one will ever love her. But her future is not the only thing at stake, as she finds herself embroiled in a tangled web that threatens England's monarchy. Should she give herself up to save the only person who cares about her? If she does, who will save the king from a plot to steal his throne? (from Goodreads)
Main Characters:
~ Evangeline
~ Wesley le Wyse
~ Evangeline
~ Wesley le Wyse
Review: This book honestly surprised me. It thoroughly reawakened my interest in Melanie Dickerson retellings. Yes, I very much enjoy her stories, but some of them were getting to the point where they felt bitterly cliche. However, this one had some new life to it. For those of you who know me, you know I love fairy tale retellings. But there haven't been very many good, *clean* Little Mermaid retellings that I can get my hands on. So, when I saw that Melanie Dickerson was working on a story inspired by the Little Mermaid, I actually got a little bit excited. And so when I could get a copy, I read it.
In about a day.
It's not perfect, granted. But it was exactly what I was hoping for in a Little Mermaid retelling by this author.
Evangeline is the king's ward, and while that entitles her to a fine life, she hates it. Along with being noble and rich comes imprisonment. But she's able to content herself with singing out the window (hence the title of Songbird) and watching life go by without her. That is, until the king informs her that he's betrothed her to an older and somewhat dangerous man. Evangeline fears this marriage, and thus makes the decision to flee the castle. Because her voice is so remarkable and recognizable, she pretends to be mute.
In some ways, this felt very much like Little Mermaid. I was skeptical at first how some of those elements would fit into the story - I mean, come on. This didn't have mermaids; it didn't have a sea witch; it didn't even have an ocean! But Melanie pulled it off quite nicely. True, she had to chop out those mermaid-y things, but even so - I was impressed. There are still several distinct nods to the fairy tale. Even some almost-subtle hints toward the original fairy tale - NOT the Disney version. Imagine that, folks. But I will refrain from spoilers.
Anywho, lots of action, good characters, etc. so I'll let the high praise stop there. If you're looking for a non-sea, non-fish Little Mermaid retelling, put this on your list.
In about a day.
It's not perfect, granted. But it was exactly what I was hoping for in a Little Mermaid retelling by this author.
Evangeline is the king's ward, and while that entitles her to a fine life, she hates it. Along with being noble and rich comes imprisonment. But she's able to content herself with singing out the window (hence the title of Songbird) and watching life go by without her. That is, until the king informs her that he's betrothed her to an older and somewhat dangerous man. Evangeline fears this marriage, and thus makes the decision to flee the castle. Because her voice is so remarkable and recognizable, she pretends to be mute.
In some ways, this felt very much like Little Mermaid. I was skeptical at first how some of those elements would fit into the story - I mean, come on. This didn't have mermaids; it didn't have a sea witch; it didn't even have an ocean! But Melanie pulled it off quite nicely. True, she had to chop out those mermaid-y things, but even so - I was impressed. There are still several distinct nods to the fairy tale. Even some almost-subtle hints toward the original fairy tale - NOT the Disney version. Imagine that, folks. But I will refrain from spoilers.
Anywho, lots of action, good characters, etc. so I'll let the high praise stop there. If you're looking for a non-sea, non-fish Little Mermaid retelling, put this on your list.
Advisory: Some violence, but typical of this author's stories.
Also, romance. Evageline, true to her original character inspiration, thinks a lot about kissing the guy. There were some scenes when I'm fairly sure I could hear Sebastian singing in the background. It got on my nerves a little, just because it came up so much. However, I can read that as a nod to the original, given the infamous kiss the little mermaid has to obtain to stay human. As far as actual kisses go, there weren't many that I could remember, but obviously a few to take note of.
Also, romance. Evageline, true to her original character inspiration, thinks a lot about kissing the guy. There were some scenes when I'm fairly sure I could hear Sebastian singing in the background. It got on my nerves a little, just because it came up so much. However, I can read that as a nod to the original, given the infamous kiss the little mermaid has to obtain to stay human. As far as actual kisses go, there weren't many that I could remember, but obviously a few to take note of.
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
