Review: THE MERCHANT'S DAUGHTER by Melanie Dickerson(released on 29 Nov)

Courtesy of NetGalley(Zondervan)

Annabel Chapman is a young girl in medieval England. She is forced to serve her landlord, Lord Ranulf le Wyse to pay her family’s debt. She fears her new boss as rumors described him as a tough, unsmiling man with a disfigured face and an injured hand. Yet, when she goes to Lord le Wyse’s manor, she finds herself in the good care of the head servant, Miss Eustacia. Bailiff Tom, an old wicked man has his eyes on her, and tries to force himself on her, but when Annabel is under her lord’s care, Bailiff Tom leaves her alone, or so she thought. When Annabel finds herself having inappropriate feelings for her lord, she hides her feelings and acts indifferently. Little does she knows that her lord has the same feeling for her too, only that he is too aware of his bitter past with beautiful woman. Will the two be together in the end, or will they be separated by fate?

     Dickerson crafted a beautiful tale of love and bravery in medieval England, falling into the history-fiction genre. Moving in a decent pace, The Merchant’s Daughter is full of noble values and forbidden emotions, though lacking of adventure and action.

     The characters of the novel are genuine and highly believable. You get to feel their emotions, thoughts and feelings strongly. Annabel Chapman, the heroine, is very lovable, and almost perfect; a stark contrast to Lord le Wyse, distant and cold, marred and disfigured. Bailiff Tom and the other characters are, as well, very expressive and three-dimensional. You could almost grab them out from the words.

     The relationship between Annabel and the Lord is the complete kind. You could see their relationship develop and bloom, while you hang on every page hoping that they’ll get they deserved. The relationship between the other characters are dynamic too, absolutely reasonable and realistic.

     

     Another thing I like about The Merchant’s Daughter is the way no action, no word is waste. Every word, every gesture made sense and is crucial to the plot development. In simple words, every thing leads to the next.

     In the plot sense, there is no real climax in this novel. There is a lot of building up, leading to the not-so-epic climax. Climaxs, actually. This novel is more focused on the development of a relationship rather than the guts and gore. So those who favor action steer clear of this novel.

     In a nutshell, The Merchant’s Daughter is a heart-grabbing, slow brewing pot of a love tale, set in a beautiful medieval England.

     The cover is pretty, but not so much of my taste, though romantic and very artistic.

Ratings : 4.5 stars

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