The Merchant’s Daughter by Melanie Dickerson

In Melanie Dickerson’s The Merchant’s Daughter, an adaptation of The Beauty and The Beast, medieval land owners, societal outcasts, and damsels in distress entwine. Dickerson outdoes herself in this rewarding read.

Annabel, the merchant’s only daughter, flees from the unwanted advances of Bailiff Tom, a scoundrel and leech. She longs to join a nunnery, to read the Bible, to keep her distance from men and their advances. Instead she finds herself snared by the new lord’s household and a kindness only she sees in him.

Lord Ranulf fights against his past, the memories and nightmares of the guilt he fears he’ll carry till the grave. When beautiful Annabel reads her way into his heart, he becomes unnerved and hopeful. Both war for his attention and perpetuate the gruff exterior Ranulf uses to keep the world at a distance.

Can the two find common ground? Resolve the obstacles that separate them? These questions and more pull the reader through this well-written story. It was a joy to read, one that kept me up late, so I could finish it.

I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 <[...]> : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”