The Healer's Apprentice

The Healer's Apprentice by Melanie Dickerson
Zondervan, 2010
243 pages
Fairy Tale; YA; Historical; Romance; Christian
3.5/5 stars
Read for ebook challenge

Source: Free ebook from Barnes & Noble

I did not realize that this was a retelling of Sleeping Beauty so that was a pleasant discovery for me.  I also did not realize how much Christian content there was, a not unpleasant discovery but the way it was deployed was less pleasing to me, more on that later.

Rose is the daughter of a poor woodcutter but has been fortunate to be taken in by Frau Geruscha as her apprentice in the healing arts.  She has also caught the eyes of Lord Hamlin and his younger brother Lord Rupert.  Sadly Lord Hamlin is already betrothed to a duke's daughter who is under threat from an evil magician but he struggles with his feelings toward Rose, knowing they are inappropriate as he is unavailable. I approved of his efforts to forget Rose but far too much time was spent on that struggle.  Instead Rupert pursues her, attempting to overcome his womanizing ways.  Rupert's wooing did not appeal to me, especially in light of the strong character of his brother.

The Christian content comes in to play as the characters pray to God and rely on His providence for the future.  The climax of the story is that Rose ends up afflicted by demons and the solution is found in God; that answer paled in epicness to, for example, Disney's "Sleeping Beauty."

Overall: An interesting retelling of Sleeping Beauty but not my favorite.

Cover: I picked this book solely because of the cover (I especially love the font for "Healer's" and the dress) so obviously I think it's pretty solid.