The Noble Servant by Melanie Dickerson

The Noble Servant by Melanie Dickerson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Source: Requested a copy from Netgalley to Review
Genre: Historical Fairy Tale Retelling

Book Description:  She lost everything to an evil conspiracy . . . but that loss may just give her all she ever wanted.

Since meeting Steffan, the Duke of Wolfberg, at Thornbeck Castle, Lady Magdalen has not been able to stop thinking about him. She knows—as a penniless lady with little to offer in terms of a dowry—she has no real hope of marrying such a highly titled man, so it comes as a great surprise when she receives a letter from him, asking for her hand in marriage.

But all is not what it seems at Wolfberg Castle. Steffan has been evicted by his scheming uncle, and his cousin has taken over the title of duke. Left for dead, Steffan is able to escape, and disguised as a shepherd, hopes to gain entry to the castle to claim the items that will prove he is the true Duke of Wolfberg.

Journeying to the castle, Magdalen has no idea what awaits her, but she certainly did not expect her loyal maidservant to turn on her. Forcing Magdalen to trade places with her, the servant plans to marry the duke and force Magdalen to tend the geese.

Without their respective titles—and the privileges that came with them—Steffan and Magdalen are reunited in the shepherd’s field. Together they conspire to get back their rightful titles. But they must hurry . . . or else they risk losing it all to the uncle’s evil plan.



My thoughts: Lady Magdalen is a woman with a good heart. She agrees to travel for days to marry a man that she met at an event two years ago. The book is set in Medieval times, so this is no small feat. She means to marry him to help her people from the escape the poverty they are experiencing, since the copper mines no longer produce.

She is faced with treachery right from the beginning. The funny thing is that this book is full of treachery. Few are who or what they seem.

Steffan is the Duke returning home after a two year absence. He has not idea that his Uncle asked Magdalen to marry him. He is returning home on false pretenses, only to find that treachery awaits him.

This book is full of plot twists. It is engaging and fun to read. I love medieval times. There is something about it that appeals to me, probably because it is so different from the life we have during the present day. I loved the setting, and I love the story of the Goose Girl. This book is a twist on the fairy tale. The characters are well written, and the book felt true to the time period.

There are many great things to recommend this book. It is clean with a tiny bit of kissing. Scriptures are quoted, but it is by no means preachy.

Online Purchase Links:

Amazon * Barnes & Noble * Book Depository

About the Author:  Melanie Dickerson is a New York Times bestselling author, a two-time Christy Award finalist, two-time Maggie Award winner, Carol Award winner, two-time winner of the Christian Retailing's Best award, and her book, The Healer's Apprentice, won the National Readers Choice Award for Best First Book. She is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW) and Romance Writers of America (RWA). Melanie earned a bachelors degree in special education of the hearing impaired from The University of Alabama and has worked as a teacher in Georgia, Tennessee, and Ukraine. She lives with her husband and two children in Huntsville, Alabama.

Visit her WEBPAGE.