The Merchant's Daughter by Melanie Dickerson

Annabel's family has neglected to do their duties for the lord of the village. Annabel's father was a wealthy Merchant. He has now died after losing all of his ships. Annabel's Mother and 2 brothers have always put on airs and thought they were too good to do any work. It has finally caught up with them when the new lord comes to run the village.

Annabel's brother has a solution to their problems. Marry Annabel off to Bailiff Tom. One problem, Bailiff Tom is a disgustingly older man! But Bailiff Tom has been lusting after Annabel for a long time. He has promised to pay their debt if he is allowed to marry.

The punishment for not fulfilling their duties is that one of their family must become a servant in Lord Ranulf le Wyse's household. Rumor has it that Lord le Wyse is a deformed evil man.  Knowing that she will not marry Bailiff Tom, Annabel goes to Lord le Wyse and offers herself as servant for her family.

Unfortunately being a servant in Lord le Wyse's household does not keep her safe from the advances of Bailiff Tom. Annabel does everything in her power to stay out of his way. One of Annabel's greatest desires is to be able to read the Bible. The local priest doesn't even have a Bible which explains his roaring sermons on the evilness of women. When Lord le Wyse asks Annabel to read for him in the evenings she is greatly pleased when he brings out his own Bible for her to read.

Just when things seem to be finally falling into place for Annabel a horrible event strikes Bailiff Tom down and puts Annabel and her childhood friend Stephen in grave danger with the authorities. Will Lord le Wyse's softening heart  be able to save Annabel and Stephen from this new threat?

I love retellings of fairy tales and this is no exception. Beauty and the Beast is one of my favorite fairy tales and I loved this story with Ranulf and Annabel as Beauty and Beast. I also love the fact that the characters focus on inner beauty rather than on outward appearance. Both Ranulf and Annabel are truly good people inside. Ranulf is misunderstood because he has allowed himself to become bitter with his circumstances. Annabel, although from a formerly wealthy family has a nurturing heart that endears her to people around her. Ranulf learns to see women differently through Annabel's eyes and Annabel is able to see that all men are not lecherous, vile creatures to be avoided. A very well-written love story!

Weekend Report

Hosted by Melanie at Christian Bookshelf Reviews Weekend Report is where we wrap up our week in reading. This week hasn't been very productive for me.

WHAT I'M CURRENTLY READING:

So far I'm loving it!

GAVE UP ON:

Besides the excessive use of God and Jesus as swear words for me this book was just too silly to continue reading. I gave up almost halfway through.

WHAT I READ THIS WEEK:

As I said, I wasn't very productive in the reading department this week. I've been crocheting a project for a friends birthday gift, and I had grandkiddo's visiting. Tina and David was a short 97 page book and I was almost finished with Dawn Comes Early at the beginning of the week so they were quick reads. I spent too much time trying to muddle through the book I gave up on...sigh. So I think I'm behind this month.

WHAT I PLAN ON READING SOON:

Maybe I can start reading these? I have a couple of books coming from publishers though so may not be too productive here. I also need to find in my stash of books from ALA a YA book that suits my fancy. We'll see how it goes.

What's on your shelf for the week?

Tina and David by Joan Tate

Tina is 10 years old when she first meets David. He is an extremely shy young boy who cannot seem to speak to people. Tina is the only one in their classroom that makes an effort to communicate with David. She finds a unique way of helping David to communicate. She begins writing notes to him. Soon everyone is asking Tina to "ask David" whenever they need to communicate with him.

Years have passed and Tina has moved on to a career in a factory. She hasn't thought of David since their year in school together. One day she sees him in the same factory she works in. Soon after as she is waiting for the bus she sees a piece of paper sticking out of a knot hole in a tree. It turns out David has recognized her and has taken up their old form of communication.

David is still the tongue-tied boy that he was when he and Tina were 10. He is able to communicate enough to get by in society but he leads a very lonely life. David is comfortable with Tina, she doesn't try to push him to talk.

This is such a sweet story! It was one of my favorites when I was a young teen. Because I was a shy person the characters struggle with communicating touched a familiar cord in my own young self. I love revisiting books that are old favorites. I re-read this as part of the Contentment Reading Challenge:

Tina and David was first published in 1966, I don't think it is in publication any longer. I'm curious to know if anyone else out there has read it. Let me know!

Dawn Comes Early by Margaret Brownley

Kate Tenney arrives in Arizona Territory to a deserted town. Local outlaw Cactus Joe is up to his old tricks and has everyone in town hiding out. Kate has just arrived from Boston. She's a disgraced dime novelist who has answered an ad in the paper from local cattle rancher Eleanor Walker. Eleanor is looking for an heiress for her cattle ranch. If Kate can survive learning to run the ranch and sign a contract to never marry the ranch will be hers. Kate thinks that will be no problem for her since she has never been given any reason to trust a man. This looks like the perfect opportunity for Kate to provide for her future since she has given up on writing. What Kate doesn't count on is local blacksmith Luke Adams.

Luke is a simple steady man. He and Kate are instantly attracted to each other. But Kate's distrust of men and her stubborn desire to follow through on Eleanor's desire for Kate to never marry stands in the way of any relationship that they could have.

Kate outlasts any other potential heiress much to Eleanor's surprise. Kate even begins to love the land, and it seems like the perfect arrangement for both. Eleanor is concerned though that Kate isn't giving her undivided attention to the ranch. Circumstances happen that cause Kate to begin writing again and she can't seem to deny the attraction she feels for Luke. He is different than any man she has ever known, or is he? When things seem to appear differently Kate is forced to leave all of her dreams behind.

I really liked the characters of this book. From Cactus Joe, Luke, Kate, Luke's quirky Aunts and even Eleanor's bristly self, each one had personality that made me laugh or roll my eyes at. This was a fun and entertaining read and I am looking forward to continuing on with the story in the next installment of The Brides of Last Chance Ranch Waiting for Morning due out in January 2013.

WEEKEND REPORT

This is hosted by Melanie over at Christian Bookshelf Reviews. This is where we wrap up our adventures in reading for the week. Here is mine:

WHAT I'M CURRENTLY READING:

I've been distracted since finishing my last book so haven't been able to delve into this one as quickly. What I've read so far I am enjoying.

WHAT I'VE READ THIS WEEK:

WHAT I PLAN ON READING SOON:

Unfortunately I didn't get to these two books last week. So here they are again on my What I Plan to Read Soon.

So there was my week. How was your reading this week?

Beyond Hopes Valley by Tricia Goyer

Marianna is headed back to Indiana to be with her brother and his future wife, and to marry Aaron. She has convinced herself that he is the man she is supposed to marry. He is a good man and follows the ways of their Amish community; he has built her a home and promises her love and affection.

Marianna has changed though since she has lived among the Amish in Montana. She has learned more about a personal relationship with Jesus and how freeing that is. She has also learned how to live among the Englisch. When she returns to Indiana she once again feels the burden of being watched by her neighbors. She wants to be a good wife to Aaron, but she also cannot deny her growing relationship with the Lord. Another thing she cannot deny is her longing for Montana and one particular person-Ben.

Ben has gone on tour with his music. He’s not happy about once again being thrust into stardom with all of its temptations. He also is longing for Marianna, the girl that he wrote his number one song about. All over the country people are hearing his song to her; it is the highlight of each concert he performs. 

As Ben and Marianna are separated by many miles they both must learn to trust in the Lord more than they ever have before. Both must make life-changing decisions in order to follow what the Lord has revealed to each. 

I really enjoyed this last installment of the Big Sky series. Marianna has such a sweet spirit. She desires only to follow the Lord and do His will, which sometimes goes against all of the rules of the Amish community she was brought up in. I admired her ability to be sweet and stand firm in her convictions. 

Always the Designer Never the Bride by Sandra D. Bricker

Audrey has been designing wedding gowns since she was a young girl. She and her best friend Carly would then stage Ken and Barbie’s wedding. Now Audrey is an adult, she has moved to New York City hoping to build a name for her wedding gowns. Even though Carly has married the man of her dreams, due to his being deployed they didn’t have the wedding of Carly’s dreams. So now Carly is ready to have that beautiful dream wedding. She and her husband are renewing their vows at the Tanglewood Hotel and of course she has asked Audrey to design her dress.

When Audrey arrives at the Tanglewood her life dreams seem to be slipping away. She knows that when she returns to New York she will have to close her shop and search for work elsewhere. Audrey isn’t afraid of moving, after all she really doesn’t like New York, but she is afraid of what the future holds for her. When Audrey meets JR, brother to the groom, she is intrigued. He sports a tattoo and rides a Harley. JR can’t seem to keep his eyes off of Audrey.

When Audrey is asked to design a wedding gown for a plus-sized bride she sees it as her opportunity to once again make a name for herself. All of the sudden Audrey has more options than she ever thought possible. And where does that leave Audrey and JR? JR is a wanderer, never stays in one place very long, will Audrey be able to capture his heart and keep him with her?

I enjoyed Always the Designer Never the Bride very much. From grown up girl slumber parties, witty dialogue between Audrey and JR, heartache and happiness, romance and Harley’s, Always the Designer Never the Bride is a fun ride! And as in each of the other Emma Rae Creation books each chapter has a helpful hint with fashion tips and a couple of yummy recipes thrown in. And did I mention that JR rides a Harley *swoon*! 

I received my copy for review from Abingdon Press through NetGalley. Always the Designer Never the Bride will be released April 2, 2012.