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The Merchant's Daughter (Fairy Tale Romance Series Book 2) Kindle Edition

by Melanie Dickerson (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 1,548 ratings
See all formats and editions

An unthinkable danger. An unexpected choice. Annabel, once the daughter of a wealthy merchant, is trapped in indentured servitude to Lord Ranulf, a recluse who is rumored to be both terrifying and beastly. Her circumstances are made even worse by the proximity of Lord Ranulf’s bailiff—a revolting man who has made unwelcome advances on Annabel in the past. Believing that life in a nunnery is the best way to escape the escalation of the bailiff’s vile behavior and to preserve the faith that sustains her, Annabel is surprised to discover a sense of security and joy in her encounters with Lord Ranulf. As Annabel struggles to confront her feelings, she is involved in a situation that could place Ranulf in grave danger. Ranulf’s future, and possibly his heart, may rest in her hands, and Annabel must decide whether to follow the plans she has cherished or the calling God has placed on her heart.

Previous page
  1. Book 2 of 11
    Fairy Tale Romance Series
  2. Print length
    254 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  5. Publisher
    Zondervan
  6. Publication date
    November 29, 2011
  7. Reading age
    15 - 18 years
  8. Grade level
    10 and up
  9. File size
    1902 KB
  10. Page Flip
    Enabled
  11. Word Wise
    Not Enabled
  12. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
  13. See all details
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Popular Highlights in this book
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  1. “Mercy and love are greater. For us mortals, love is greater than justice.”
    Highlighted by 362 Kindle readers
  2. “Love tears out your heart, but pain is better than bitterness.”
    Highlighted by 330 Kindle readers
  3. “For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love, and self-discipline.”
    Highlighted by 247 Kindle readers
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Editorial Reviews

Review

'True, readers will peg the happy ending at the start, but the progression of Annabel’s honorable love affair will have the rapt attention of Christian-fiction fans.' - Courtney Jones, Booklist Review -- Booklist Review

'A virtuous romance with characters who “fall in love with each other’s inner beauty in spite of outward appearance.” - Kirkus Review -- Kirkus Review

About the Author

Jude Mason was born and bred in England, and started her career in Radio. An award-winning producer and presenter across BBC and commercial radio stations, she brings her acumen as a professional storyteller to the world of Audio Books. Now based in Nashville, Tennessee with her husband and children, Jude splits her time between writing, reading, parenting, teaching pre-school spanish and not cleaning the house as often as she should. She dreams of retiring to The Magic Kingdom and becoming a professional Fairy Godmother.

Melanie Dickerson is an American author of historical romances. She is a 2-time Christy Award finalist, a 2-time Maggie Award winner, winner of The National Reader's Choice Award for 2010's Best First Book, and winner of the 2012 Carol Award in Young Adult fiction. She earned her bachelor's degree in special education from The University of Alabama. Now she spends her time writing and taking care of her husband and two daughters near Huntsville, Alabama.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B004PYDM4I
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Zondervan (November 29, 2011)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ November 29, 2011
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 1902 KB
  • Simultaneous device usage ‏ : ‎ Up to 5 simultaneous devices, per publisher limits
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 254 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 1,548 ratings

About the author

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.
Melanie Dickerson

Melanie Dickerson

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Melanie Dickerson is the New York Times bestselling author of happily-ever-after romance. She believes in love, laughter, afternoon tea, and the power of story.

With a million books sold and numerous awards, including two Christy Awards, two Golden Quills, a National Readers Choice Award, Christian Retailing’s Best, and Book Buyers’ Best Awards, her books have hit #1 in her category on the New York Times bestseller list.

When she’s not writing, Melanie can be found watching While You Were Sleeping for the hundredth time, cozying up to her handsome hero husband, or shaking her head at her slightly unhinged Jack Russell terrier. She lives in the beautiful foothills of the Appalachians near Huntsville, Alabama.

Customer reviews

4.5 out of 5 stars
4.5 out of 5
1,548 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

R. Miller
5.0 out of 5 stars 4.9 stars: The Merchant's Daughter by Melanie Dickerson
Reviewed in the United States on November 10, 2016
Verified Purchase
When the new lord, Ranulf, comes to the demesne, Annabel is made his indentured servant to pay for her family's laziness; their complex relationship is further complicated when troublesome Bailiff Tom is injured.

(Though reviews are inherently subjective, I prefer to provide some organization to my opinions through the use of a personal rubric. The following notes may contain spoilers.)

Plot and Setting: 5 -- Plot has many unique elements, no major holes, and a sense of focus. This is a beautiful, believable retelling of the 'Beauty and the Beast' story, with the added wonder of someone who seeks God experiencing the joy of reading the Bible for the first time. Suspenseful, romantic, and thoroughly enjoyable. Setting is clear, believable, and consistent. The timeline is easy to follow, and I enjoyed the interesting details about what life and law and justice were like in 1300's England.

Characters: 4.5 -- Relatable, realistic, interesting, dynamic characters. A lot of wonderful depth and realism to both Ranulf and Annabel, in their pain and joy and confusion. Some minor characters have depth, while others may be slightly stereotyped or simplified. Villainous characters (Tom, Maud, Annabel's family) are fairly one-note, while we get more complex and interesting looks at others, like the coroner. Definite strong points in the relationships between characters. I especially enjoyed how the coroner slyly collected clues about the relationship between Annabel and Ranulf, and Stephen.

Mechanics and Writing: 5 -- Few, if any, typos or word errors. One typo (in the very first line!), and 3 spots where paragraph breaks aren't quite right. That's all! Intelligent use of POV (Annabel and Ranulf). Skillful writing that adds to the story. Not to mention obviously well-researched.

Redeeming Value: 5 -- Well-developed, central, uplifting themes. Annabel learns that the local priest doesn't even own a Bible, but her deep desire to read God's word is met through Ranulf--and she takes joy in learning a true picture of God through the Word. She also overcomes her fear, through faith and love. Ranulf and the coroner learn that mercy and love can sometimes supercede justice, and Ranulf releases some long-held bitterness and lets himself feel loved by God and Annabel. Sex, alcohol, violence, etc, are not glorified at all, though present: both Annabel and Ranulf are faced with violent attacks and unwanted sexual advances and/or accusations of sexual impropriety, though it avoids becoming graphic or crude.

Personal Enjoyment: 5 -- I loved it. It made me feel in all the best ways, and leaves me content and satisfied. One I'll definitely read again.
23 people found this helpful
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Sarah
5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful Read
Reviewed in the United States on March 7, 2012
Verified Purchase
I love the Middle Ages, and I am always looking for books set in that time period. I had seen a lot of really good reviews for The Merchant's Daughter by Melanie Dickerson, so I decided to get this. I even got a great deal, only $2.99 for the Kindle edition.

This book drew me in and didn't let me go. The characters were well developed and believable. The setting felt so real and very well researched without the author getting carried away with what she knew. My only complaint is that this book was so good, I got very frustrated, because I couldn't sit down are read it in one sitting. Why did God give siblings the uncanny ability to interrupt at the most pivotal parts of the story? I mean, when I wanted to take a break my siblings were doing things on their own. When I was reading they needed me.

Some of my favorite parts.
I loved the faith the characters have in this book. So many Christian books have a sappy faith, but that was not the case in this book. I loved how God used Annabel's situation as an indentured servant to grant her the deepest wish of her heart.

Okay, for all of you who think I scorn romance I will admit that sometimes the girly-girl part of me comes out. I really liked that this was a re-telling of a fairy tale. Beauty and the Beast is one of my favorite tales, so the fact that this book retold that story made it all the better.

Things you might want to know before you read.
There is a man that tries to force himself on Annabel, however Melanie Dickerson handled it so well that it didn't really bother me. However, younger readers may want their parents to look over the book first.

For my readers who avoid romance, this book is a romance book, and there is kissing, so you wouldn't like it.
2 people found this helpful
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sunbean72
4.0 out of 5 stars Fairy tale retelling with a christian/historical setting
Reviewed in the United States on March 6, 2016
Verified Purchase
This re-telling of Beauty and the Beast in a historical-fiction setting with a lot of Christian themes was a good effort but left me with some mixed feelings.

Likes: Annabel was an interesting character. At times I found her a bit tiring but mostly I was intrigued with her struggles of being a woman in a time when women were often forced into loveless marriages or outcast if there's a slight taint to their reputation. I think her struggle to conform to societal expectations of propriety and her own concepts of being righteous and keeping her own standards while at the same time rejecting the idea it's her duty to give her body to someone who doesn't love her in order to "save" her family was portrayed well. I never like it when feminist ideas are too strong in historical fiction, because it minimizes the struggle that women went through being oppressed for so many thousands of years... it was a process to get to where we are, that we don't accept it. That's not to say that women didn't rebel against oppression throughout history, but it's unrealistic to take 2015 thinking and interject it into a story in the 1300s. Annabel carried a knife, and sought to protect herself and I think that's awesome. Even if she felt guilty and afraid, I think that's reasonable. I liked that she didn't instantly fall in love with the Beast, although three weeks or whatever to fall in love and completely overcome all their respective baggage is pretty fast, still. I know some people dislike all the references to God and the Bible, but I found the different perspective refreshing and historically accurate. I know our culture today doesn't appreciate a strong religious focus, but it hasn't always been that way.

Dislikes: A lot of the secondary characters were poorly developed. Like, really bad. I almost put it down because her brothers and mom were so blah. And Tom, ug. There's nothing there, no depth, no real humanity or insight into him just a very bland and annoying villain kidnapping the maiden for his lecherous plans. And there was one accident/tragedy after another, it got a bit annoying, felt maybe a bit melodramatic. And the preacher, ug, that was annoying; why would Annabel be interested in learning about God and the Bible if that was her only exposure to religion? Makes no sense. I disliked the end of the book where all that goes down with Tom and the villagers.**** SPOILER***[ First he loses his memory, then it comes back and it's perfectly fine and capable of leading a rebellion despite being comatose for some days; then Annabel shuts down the rebellion with her words, and then he gets sick and dies. No. This is... no. Just change pretty much 75% of this character *****end spoiler*****] So the beginning and end were meh and the middle was pretty good.

Overall it was a pretty good book that was thought provoking but not without its flaws.
2 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

rothkehlchen
3.0 out of 5 stars Not my cup of tea
Reviewed in Germany on December 15, 2023
Verified Purchase
I was curious how a well known tale would be retold from a christian point of view. Sorry to say, that I was disappointed. It just did not meet my expectations, although it is well written and the characters believable. Romance is not my favourite genre, but if it is yours, you surely will enjoy it.
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Luna
5.0 out of 5 stars Perfect satisfactory highly recommended
Reviewed in Australia on December 6, 2020
Verified Purchase
Just perfect as expected. Highly recommended. Arrived safely on time
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Lalla91
5.0 out of 5 stars seriously amazing
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 2, 2014
Verified Purchase
A beauty and the beast like book but with many original features I love the storyline and read it in one sitting Melanie Dickerson is truly an incredible author who always leaves you wanting to read more from her immediately.
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Reedy
4.0 out of 5 stars As expected
Reviewed in Canada on May 28, 2019
Verified Purchase
The book arrived in good condition.
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Mr. B. E. Priest
5.0 out of 5 stars second book in the series Annabel an adorable women Liked it so much bought remaining three books ...
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 17, 2018
Verified Purchase
second book in the series
Annabel an adorable women
Liked it so much bought remaining three books of series
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