The Silent Songbird by Melanie DickersonMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
Source: Netgalley (For Review)
Genre: Historical Christian Romance
Book Description: 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?
My thoughts: This book is full of excellent reading material! Romance, political intrigue, nobility posing as peasants, evil villain, a damsel who is not in distress, and men of honor and integrity.
The Silent Songbird is set during medieval times. That is a plus for me, that time period has always been fascinating to me. Maybe because I grew up with a mother who loved the Arthurian Legend. Put in a castle, feuding land holders, knights, and chivalry - I am hooked.
This book's MC is Eva. She is an illegitimate cousin to King Richard. She is to be used as a political pawn when she is betrothed to a cruel man. She is the damsel not in distress because she takes charge of her future. She leaves the castle, she becomes a servant. The book follows her life as a servant and the consequences to her running away from a betrothal.
I enjoyed the characters. The villains were not over the top, but believable. The book has some violence and kissing.
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About the Author: (Taken from Goodreads) 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.
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This one sounds really good and lucky me it's on my TBR pile! I'll be checking it out.
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