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3.94 AVERAGE
3.94 AVERAGE
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Ok. This is a hard one to review. It started out kinda slow but it was one of those books that you kept finding yourself pick up and reading. Then all of a sudden everything speed up with the whole business with the scar and all. It looked like it was about over until the end.
Spoiler- I'm glad it took so long for Sir Gerek to find Rapunzel. Things were just getting too easy and it was kind of frustrating. And the conflict with Sir Gerek not being able to marry Rapunzel was great. It kept me reading and I had to skip to the end to make sure they did get married.
-end spoiler
So, it was an okay read and I am glad I gave it a try. I loved the Christian theme throughout.
Spoiler- I'm glad it took so long for Sir Gerek to find Rapunzel. Things were just getting too easy and it was kind of frustrating. And the conflict with Sir Gerek not being able to marry Rapunzel was great. It kept me reading and I had to skip to the end to make sure they did get married.
-end spoiler
So, it was an okay read and I am glad I gave it a try. I loved the Christian theme throughout.
I've read The Healer's Apprentice and The Princess Spy by Melanie Dickerson, but this book is my favorite of the three books by her that I've read. The story was very sweet and it was hard for me to put it down. There were so many good messages! I definitely recommend this book.
Sweet romance with heavy Christian themes
This was a well-done retelling of Rapunzel.
Rapunzel is a strong heroine. She's been mainpulated, controlled and abused her whole life, and still continues to fight, stand her ground and take care of herself.
Gothel was a truly horrible character. Unable to think of anything but her own feelings and desire for revenge, and willing to do anything to achieve those goals.
It was great to watch Rapunzel turn her fierceness against her "mother" and stand up for herself.
One point I didn't enjoy was the Christianity. It was overdone.
At the end of the book Gerek searches for Rapunzel for weeks and doesn't find her. Then, he prays and is magically told where to find her as an answer to his prayers. I wish the climax of the book involved the characters getting their way out of troubles themselves, instead of religion magically guiding them and solving their problems.
There are many such mentions of religion and the savior and being helped out of hopeless situations throughout the book. It was too much. It felt a bit forced and very unecessary.
In fact, I'd say the book's themes were:
1. Trust in the savior.
2. Men are corrupt. If you fall for them you will likely end up pregnant and with no one to turn to for help. Very few can be trusted with your heart.
Other than that, the characters, relationships, and plot are great. The romance between Rapunzel and Gerek is sweet. Gothel is unpredictable, immoral, corrupt villain. And, Rapunzel is an interesting, courageous, admirable main character.
This book can be read as a standalone. I read it after reading [b:The Huntress of Thornbeck Forest|22574726|The Huntress of Thornbeck Forest (A Medieval Fairy Tale, #1)|Melanie Dickerson|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1424817984l/22574726._SY75_.jpg|42042285] and [b:The Beautiful Pretender|25891581|The Beautiful Pretender (A Medieval Fairy Tale, #2)|Melanie Dickerson|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1446051744l/25891581._SY75_.jpg|45773198] and without having read the rest of the Hagenheim series. I didn't feel like I was missing anything.
This was a well-done retelling of Rapunzel.
Rapunzel is a strong heroine. She's been mainpulated, controlled and abused her whole life, and still continues to fight, stand her ground and take care of herself.
Gothel was a truly horrible character. Unable to think of anything but her own feelings and desire for revenge, and willing to do anything to achieve those goals.
It was great to watch Rapunzel turn her fierceness against her "mother" and stand up for herself.
Spoiler
One point I didn't enjoy was the Christianity. It was overdone.
At the end of the book Gerek searches for Rapunzel for weeks and doesn't find her. Then, he prays and is magically told where to find her as an answer to his prayers. I wish the climax of the book involved the characters getting their way out of troubles themselves, instead of religion magically guiding them and solving their problems.
There are many such mentions of religion and the savior and being helped out of hopeless situations throughout the book. It was too much. It felt a bit forced and very unecessary.
In fact, I'd say the book's themes were:
1. Trust in the savior.
2. Men are corrupt. If you fall for them you will likely end up pregnant and with no one to turn to for help. Very few can be trusted with your heart.
Other than that, the characters, relationships, and plot are great. The romance between Rapunzel and Gerek is sweet. Gothel is unpredictable, immoral, corrupt villain. And, Rapunzel is an interesting, courageous, admirable main character.
This book can be read as a standalone. I read it after reading [b:The Huntress of Thornbeck Forest|22574726|The Huntress of Thornbeck Forest (A Medieval Fairy Tale, #1)|Melanie Dickerson|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1424817984l/22574726._SY75_.jpg|42042285] and [b:The Beautiful Pretender|25891581|The Beautiful Pretender (A Medieval Fairy Tale, #2)|Melanie Dickerson|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1446051744l/25891581._SY75_.jpg|45773198] and without having read the rest of the Hagenheim series. I didn't feel like I was missing anything.
Re-read. My favorite in the Hagenheim series (that I've read thus far), which might be because it was the first Dickerson book I ever saw in the library. I like that Rapunzel has the knife-throwing, plus the tie in of her songs and painting. Also, I never realized the first time around that this book ran parallel to Margaretha's; how cool! Just an all around fun read.
Story Enjoyment Rating: 9.5/10 Christian Faith Rating: 3/3
The Golden Braid by Melanie Dickerson is a medieval, young adult, Christian, historical fiction book. The story is part of her Hagenheim series, and it is a retelling of the fairytale Rapunzel.
I loved this book. I loved getting back into the Hagenheim series, and I particularly loved that it took place at the same time as the previous book — The Princess Spy (I definitely recommend reading that one first, as this book has big spoilers for the plot of the previous story).
This book follows Rapunzel, who is living with her mother. Her mother is overly protective of her, and when a young man shows interest in Rapunzel, her mother takes her away to Hagenheim. On the way, they are attacked, and a knight called Gerek rescues them. Rapunzel then has to rescue him. She wants someone to teach her to read but is forced to do so secretly because of her overbearing mother.
I enjoyed revisiting the story of the Princess Spy again, seeing it from a different character’s perspective. I loved the two main characters and also the difficult relationship between Rapunzel and her mother.
The story was dramatic, full of action, and the pacing was good.
The faith content played a large role in the story. I enjoyed watching the characters develop throughout the book.
The Golden Braid by Melanie Dickerson is a medieval, young adult, Christian, historical fiction book. The story is part of her Hagenheim series, and it is a retelling of the fairytale Rapunzel.
I loved this book. I loved getting back into the Hagenheim series, and I particularly loved that it took place at the same time as the previous book — The Princess Spy (I definitely recommend reading that one first, as this book has big spoilers for the plot of the previous story).
This book follows Rapunzel, who is living with her mother. Her mother is overly protective of her, and when a young man shows interest in Rapunzel, her mother takes her away to Hagenheim. On the way, they are attacked, and a knight called Gerek rescues them. Rapunzel then has to rescue him. She wants someone to teach her to read but is forced to do so secretly because of her overbearing mother.
I enjoyed revisiting the story of the Princess Spy again, seeing it from a different character’s perspective. I loved the two main characters and also the difficult relationship between Rapunzel and her mother.
The story was dramatic, full of action, and the pacing was good.
The faith content played a large role in the story. I enjoyed watching the characters develop throughout the book.
I liked this book! I’m a sucker for sweet, simple, fairytale retellings and this one is no exception! I can’t wait to get into the rest of the books in this series!
3.5 Stars
Although I have read all of Melanie Dickerson’s books, and will likely continue to do so, they have been something of a mixed bag for me. It is interesting to read an alternative representation of fairy tales from a Christian perspective, stripped of the magical and ‘fairy godmother’ type content. However, some of the content can also be a little clichéd, implausible……and romantic mush in any novel by any author is starting to wear a little bit thin for me. I really don’t want to read about characters admiring one another’s lips or physique, or having some ‘warm’ feeling when they kiss. It’s just eye-roll inducing…
Anyway, I was eagerly anticipating The Golden Braid although I had some reservations based on the synopsis (I worried it might be overly politically correct). In the first half, I was pleasantly surprised by the well-drawn characters who were obviously harbouring secrets and baggage, but also the historical details. I was rather pleased to see that the author went some way towards questioning the assumption that it was ‘heresy’ to read the Bible in one’s own language in the Medieval period. (This was not considered heretical in and of itself).
The relationship and developing friendship between Rapunzel and Sir Gerek was quite sweet and endearing- one might say rather refreshing for being free of romantic mush. He taught her to read to pay her back for helping him, and she was able to get over her distrust of men to learn about faith. Also, although she was strong and able to look after herself, Rapunzel was not one of those militant proto-feminist heroines with a chip on her shoulder against the whole world, like you see in some stories.
As the story progressed however, there was some crossover with one of the previous novels The Princess Spy, with the story covering a lot of the same ground and content. This did not continue for too long- but I felt that towards the end, after about three quarters of the way through, the story started to become somewhat rushed, choppy, and weaker than it was before.
Rapunzel gets locked in a tower (to follow the fairy tale) but it was rather a minor aspect of the story that was dealt with better elsewhere. In some ways, Mother Gothel’s control and demands on Rapunzel were more of an imprisonment. Also, there came to be some details that seemed rather- far-fetched- like Gerek just happening to pull a ‘tarp covered’ torch out of his saddlebag. Seriously? Was tarpaulin even invented then? Also, I found the idea of a war-hose being spooked by a hare a bit much- they were meant to be highly trained so as not to be easily scared. An animal like that would be pretty much useless on the battlefield, so why would an experienced knight even keep it.
Also, things got a little mushier later on in the story in terms of romance- with more kissing and touching. Although it was interesting to see the characters wrestling with one another’s revelations and feelings for one another, as well as to forgive those who wronged them.
Overall, The Golden Braid was a satisfying and interesting story which holds the attention of the reader. In spite of some weaknesses, I would say it was one of the better stories in this continuing series. Although, perhaps later novels might be better for including newer characters and storylines not related to the family and region of the others.
Thanks to Booklook Bloggers and Thomas Nelson for providing me with a free kindle edition of this book for review. I read this alongside listening to the audiobook (which I purchased of my own volition), I was not required to write a positive review and all opinions expressed are my own.
Although I have read all of Melanie Dickerson’s books, and will likely continue to do so, they have been something of a mixed bag for me. It is interesting to read an alternative representation of fairy tales from a Christian perspective, stripped of the magical and ‘fairy godmother’ type content. However, some of the content can also be a little clichéd, implausible……and romantic mush in any novel by any author is starting to wear a little bit thin for me. I really don’t want to read about characters admiring one another’s lips or physique, or having some ‘warm’ feeling when they kiss. It’s just eye-roll inducing…
Anyway, I was eagerly anticipating The Golden Braid although I had some reservations based on the synopsis (I worried it might be overly politically correct). In the first half, I was pleasantly surprised by the well-drawn characters who were obviously harbouring secrets and baggage, but also the historical details. I was rather pleased to see that the author went some way towards questioning the assumption that it was ‘heresy’ to read the Bible in one’s own language in the Medieval period. (This was not considered heretical in and of itself).
The relationship and developing friendship between Rapunzel and Sir Gerek was quite sweet and endearing- one might say rather refreshing for being free of romantic mush. He taught her to read to pay her back for helping him, and she was able to get over her distrust of men to learn about faith. Also, although she was strong and able to look after herself, Rapunzel was not one of those militant proto-feminist heroines with a chip on her shoulder against the whole world, like you see in some stories.
As the story progressed however, there was some crossover with one of the previous novels The Princess Spy, with the story covering a lot of the same ground and content. This did not continue for too long- but I felt that towards the end, after about three quarters of the way through, the story started to become somewhat rushed, choppy, and weaker than it was before.
Rapunzel gets locked in a tower (to follow the fairy tale) but it was rather a minor aspect of the story that was dealt with better elsewhere. In some ways, Mother Gothel’s control and demands on Rapunzel were more of an imprisonment. Also, there came to be some details that seemed rather- far-fetched- like Gerek just happening to pull a ‘tarp covered’ torch out of his saddlebag. Seriously? Was tarpaulin even invented then? Also, I found the idea of a war-hose being spooked by a hare a bit much- they were meant to be highly trained so as not to be easily scared. An animal like that would be pretty much useless on the battlefield, so why would an experienced knight even keep it.
Also, things got a little mushier later on in the story in terms of romance- with more kissing and touching. Although it was interesting to see the characters wrestling with one another’s revelations and feelings for one another, as well as to forgive those who wronged them.
Overall, The Golden Braid was a satisfying and interesting story which holds the attention of the reader. In spite of some weaknesses, I would say it was one of the better stories in this continuing series. Although, perhaps later novels might be better for including newer characters and storylines not related to the family and region of the others.
Thanks to Booklook Bloggers and Thomas Nelson for providing me with a free kindle edition of this book for review. I read this alongside listening to the audiobook (which I purchased of my own volition), I was not required to write a positive review and all opinions expressed are my own.
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
It started out a little slow for me but once I got passed that, this book checked off every box for a 5 star read. Probably the first book of 2024 that I actually bawled my eyes out over. This story will live rent free in my mind forever.