My only complaint about this book is that I would have liked more of an epilogue. I rooted for Sophie and Gabe and was so happy with how the story ended. The Fairest Beauty's love story was so sweet, so tender, that it made my heart melt. It was such a neat surprise to get to see Rose, the main character from The Healer's Apprentice. Dickerson's writing is evolving with each book, and she just keeps improving. Each one was so unique and well-characterized. They come to the Cottage of the Seven (which, if you haven't figured it out by now, is the Seven Dwarves' home) and take refuge there. He and Sophie escape the castle and are on the run in the woods. But Gabe is determined in his quest to discover if Sophie is in fact the daughter of a duke, and will not be dissuaded. Instead, Sophie fears for Gabe's safety and tries to convince him to leave, to escape the duchess's wrath.

I liked that she didn't just fall into his arms and go along with him without even thinking. When Gabe arrives to rescue Sophie, she does not immediately trust him.

And it was all done in a non-preachy way, which felt very natural. Instead, Sophie prayed and asked God for guidance, and worked at letting go of her negative feelings. I love it when I can say that about a main character! I loved that Sophie struggled with her thoughts and had to work at not holding hatred in her heart towards the duchess. She was such a sweet, good-natured young woman, and I genuinely liked her. I loved that Sophie was much more than your typical damsel-in-distress. And Dickerson did not disappoint me: I loved The Fairest Beauty just as much, if not more than her other two books. Having loved both of her previous books, I happily accepted The Fairest Beauty for review, expecting another great read.

If you're interest, read my reviews of The Merchant's Daughter here and The Healer's Apprentice here. I'm a big fan of Melanie Dickerson, and love her historical Christian fiction retellings of classic fairy tales.

The fairest beauty by melanie dickerson