The Healer's Apprentice

Rose is anxious to prove her worth as a healer-in-training, but is rather squeamish; then the Duke's sons come home and while both Rupert and Wilhelm are attracted to her, the one she really loves is betrothed to a woman he has never met.(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: 4 -- Plot has unique elements and no major holes, but a few shaky bits and/or a slight lack of focus. It's a retelling of Sleeping Beauty, and I did enjoy it a lot, but in changing the magical elements into something more plausible, it ended up being a bit soap-opera-ish. I'm often hesitant about stories that bring in demons, but in this case I felt that aspect could've been played up a bit more, and the drama regarding Rupert toned down. Setting is clear and believable. Timeline may be a bit hard to follow. Some good points of reference at the beginning and end, but it was a bit unclear in the middle.Characters: 5 -- Relatable, realistic, interesting, dynamic characters. Rose's image of herself and her goals changes multiple times through the story, and Wilhelm undergoes some turmoil and change, too. They are both definitely good people, but their struggles make them easy to relate to and dynamic in great ways. I liked their strengths and their vulnerabilities. Even minor characters have depth, as do the relationships between characters. I feel like we get to know multiple facets of quite a few minor characters, from Rupert to Hildy and even Moncore.Mechanics and Writing: 4.5 -- A handful of typos, punctuation issues, or word errors, but nothing that seriously hinders understanding. A few issues with compound words (eg towns people that should be townspeople), but mainly some trouble with formatting near the end, when a lot of paragraph breaks got misplaced. I also wished the breaks between sections were a bit more obvious. Intelligent use of POV (mainly Rose and Wilhelm, plus a few bits of Moncore near the end). Skillful writing that adds to the story.Redeeming Value: 5 -- Well-developed, central, uplifting themes. Lessons on worth, duty, and trusting God to make his plans clear rather than trying to force things to go as we wish. Also a glimpse of Moncore summoning demons--and Wilhelm banishing them in Jesus' name. Sex, alcohol, violence, etc, are not glorified at all; they are present, but with clear moral guidelines. On the negative side, Rose and Hildy fight off attacks from men, Gilbert sought violent revenge (which he soon came to regret), and Rupert asks Rose to be his mistress. More positively, Wilhelm loves Rose, but recognizes that he shouldn't even think about her too much while he's engaged to Salomea.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.

I enjoyed it. Beautiful clean romance 🥰 Enjoyable plot and characters. Lovely setting. Not much to complain about, I really enjoyed it. It’s not a complex story and the source of angst is relatively based on cliches, but I really appreciate that there was never a dull moment, the book was a page turner start to finish, and overall it was well done. I do recommend.

I borrowed two books from my granddaughter out of state. It was less costly to buy these from Amazon and send them to her then send back the original books. I highly recommend.

Wow! I could not believe this was Melanie Dickerson’s debut novel…Within a few minutes, I was lost in an enchanted world with castles and cobblestones… until the very end.I loved how Lord Hamlin noticed Rose – right from the start! Even though he visited her – and danced with her – he always remained chivalrous, even though he wanted to be with her.But honestly, I wanted to smack Rose when she let herself be deceived by someone she had been warned was not honorable… but handsome young men can be very persuasive – and young, innocent girls are easy prey. Rose may have enjoyed his supposed affection for her, especially after feeling unloved by her mother, but thankfully she never allowed herself to go too far with him.This story reminds me that evil exists – and it’s not always ugly, but sometimes can be wrapped up in a pretty package. The right path is not always the easy path, but it’s the right choice. Melanie did a wonderful job showing how difficult it can be to make the right choice, especially when others are urging you to take the other path.Melanie Dickerson’s characters are perfect – well written, entertaining and represent the same values and flaws of the heroes and villains that inspired them.Melanie is such an awesome writer! It is amazing how she weaves stories from classic fairy tales, creating her own stories – believable stories – and uses them to tell a story of hope, love and faith.If you enjoy reading exciting, medieval fiction… with a happily ever after, don’t miss this wonderful series!

Age Appropriate For: 15 and up for scary scenes, mild romance, and violenceBest for Ages: 15 and upYet another brilliant tale from Melanie Dickerson! I have yet to be disappointed by her books. I only have one book of hers that I haven't read and I look forward to it.I was very curious as to how Melanie was going to pull off a retelling of Sleeping Beauty. I was very impressed with the creativity of this tale. Although there are many things that are not a surprise (after all, this is a well-known fairy tale), there were many points in the story where I was on the edge of my seat.Rose was a sweet character. I loved the struggle within her between becoming a healer and her revolution at the sight of blood. I also really loved that she makes some mistakes when it comes to love, without doing the wrong thing. I think that their needs to be more stories like this to encourage young girls that you can make mistakes, but you can always start to make the right ones.Lord Hamlin was another honorable hero that I just loved. I really loved his tug between his feelings for Rose and his resolution to remain faithful to his betrothed that he has never met. The contrast between Lord Hamlin and his brother was wonderful.I must admit, some of the scenes with Moncore and dealing with demons were a little creepy at times. However, I loved that God was stronger than anything that the villain can do. Parents of younger readers might want to read the book first and discuss these scenes with their children.I highly recommend this book for those who love good morals, fairy tales, and characters you can really cheer for.

Love this book so much! I've read it at least 10 times, its just one of those books.

This book was really good and well written. I wish Lord Hamlin and Rose spent more time together; what Lord Rupert did was not honourable

Product: new,as described .This book is a wonderfully captivating story that's enjoyable to read.Delivery :. QUICK!!! Book was packaged nicelyService was lovely, will be buying more books from seller again!!!

Fantastic book, gripping and interesting, yet innocent - a truly wholesome book, very refreshing to read!

Loved the slow realization of the plot and characters throughout this story. Thank you Melanie. I couldn't put it down!!