Title: The Warrior Maiden
Author: Melanie Dickerson
Series: Hagenheim #9
Age: Young Adult
Genres: Historical Fiction, Romance, Retellings, Christian Fiction
Expected Publication Date: February 5, 2019
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Source: ARC
Purchase: Hardcover | Kindle | Audible | B&N | Kobo | Play Store | iBooks
Synopsis:
From New York Times bestselling author Melanie Dickerson comes a fresh reimagining of the classic Mulan tale.
Mulan isn’t afraid to pretend to be a son and assume her father’s soldier duties in war. But what happens when the handsome son of a duke discovers her secret?
Mulan is trying to resign herself to marrying the village butcher for the good of her family, but her adventurous spirit just can’t stand the thought. At the last minute, she pretends to be the son her father never had, assumes his duties as a soldier, and rides off to join the fight to protect the castle of her liege lord’s ally from the besieging Teutonic Knights.
Wolfgang and his brother Steffan leave Hagenheim with several other soldiers to help their father’s ally in Poland. When they arrive, Wolfgang is exasperated by the young soldier Mikolai who seems to either always be one step away from disaster . . . or showing Wolfgang up in embarrassing ways.
When Wolfgang discovers his former rival and reluctant friend Mikolai is actually a girl, he is determined to protect her. But battle is a dangerous place where anything can happen—and usually does.
When Mulan receives word that her mother has been accused of practicing witchcraft through her healing herbs and skills, Mulan’s only thought is of defending her. Will she be able to trust Wolfgang to help? Or will sacrificing her own life be the only way to save her mother?
My Rating:
Listen to the Audiobook:
My Thoughts:
No words can express how much I have fallen in love with Melanie Dickerson. This is my first book from her and I must say, after reading this beautiful story I immediately went to download all of her other books in the Hagenheim series and her Medieval Fairy Tale trilogy. I am blown away with how she has taken such a timeless fairy-tale and crafted a wonderful romance and action packed YA novel. The writing was seamless and flawless. I was hooked from page one and couldn't seem to control how much I was reading. I got lost in the world.
The Warrior Maiden is the retelling of Mulan with a European spin on it.
Mulan's father has died and her mother wants to marry her off to the town butcher, but Mulan has bigger dreams. She wants to fight, she wants to live life, she wants to experience the world. In an effort to save her mother's home, she goes into the army disguised as a boy. Mulan is a strong-willed girl with a lot of determination. She's a hard-worker and never seeks pity from anyone. She was quick at learning, brave on the battlefield and had such a strong faith.
Wolfgang, the son of a duke, wants nothing more than to be a knight with his brother Steffan, but quickly learns that sometimes family most part ways. Wolfgang was a determined, sweet guy. I loved how tender he was toward people. I loved seeing him on the battlefield. He definitely had some pride issues in the beginning, but he learned to become humble pretty quickly.
Steffan, Wolfgang's brother, was a piece of work. The wayward son if you will. He made me so frustrated with how he chose to act out. He lashed out, rebelled and blamed everyone for a mistake he made in his past. I can't fault him for his ways, but I still do at the same time because Wolfgang didn't turn out like him. In the end, however, his change of heart and character growth was awesome.
The faith aspects in this book pulled me in! I adored the scriptures that were quoted and how much faith the characters each had. Even the two opposing armies, their faith was so amazing to read, especially in a YA novel. The fact that God was the center of all of their thoughts made me so happy.
The romance between Wolfgang and Mulan was just so sweet. I loved seeing them form feelings for each other and try to embrace it. They pretty much kept things friendly until the end which I loved. Clean romance with the most adorable kisses!
The action was amazing. I loved the writing of the battle scenes and how I was pulled into the action. I felt as if I was their on the battlefield with each character. The sounds, the environment...it was all written intricately enough that I felt as if I was there. Amazing.
Overall, I am truly excited to dive into book one and read this series from the beginning. Great YA read!
About the Author
Giveaway
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