Release Day Review! The Peasant's Dream by Melanie Dickerson

The Peasant's Dream (Hagenheim #11) by Melanie Dickerson
Genre: Young Adult  (Christian Fiction/Historical Fiction/Romance/Fractured Fairy Tale)
Date Published: July 7th, 2020
Publisher: Zondervan

In this reverse Cinderella story, a poor farmer’s son, who dreams of using his talent as a woodcarver to make a better life for himself, falls in love with a duke’s daughter and must fight for a chance to win her heart.


Adela is the youngest daughter of Duke Wilhelm of Hagenheim and is never allowed outside of the castle walls. She loves her family, but she sneaks away one day to the market in the town center. There she meets a handsome young man and wonders what it might be like to fall in love with a poor farmer with a kind heart instead of marrying the man her family is suggesting for her.

Frederick earns the income for his family and defends his mother from his father’s drunken rages. He also uses his talent and creativity to carve figures, animals, and scenes into wood, and he's asked to carve these scenes into cathedral doors when his talent is noticed. Frederick is inspired by the sweet and beautiful Adela, but he has no knowledge of her true identity. When he gets swept up into a plan to kidnap the duke’s daughter, both are shaken by what they learn about the other.

With the heartbroken Adela resigned to an arranged marriage with her noble suitor, Frederick must decide what he’s willing to risk for love.

The Peasant's Dream is the eleventh book in the Hagenheim series by Melanie Dickerson. This is a Cinderella retelling, except this time, Cinderella is male. I thought that was a fun and unique little spin. Actually, this story was completely it's own as there were similarities to the traditional Cinderella story, but they were subtle. So, you don't feel completely like you're reading something you've read over and over again already. You also get to know some of the supporting characters quite well through subplots surrounding the main characters. I've read this series way out of order, which goes against my reading rules, but you can do that with this series as each book stands alone just fine.

The Arc of The Peasant's Dream was kindly provided to me by the publisher through NetGalley for review. The opinions are my own.

Have you read other books in this series?

Check out my review of another book by this author!

Melanie Dickerson is a two-time Christy Award finalist, two-time Maggie Award winner, Carol Award winner, two-time winner of the Christian Retailing's Best award, and her book, The Healer's Apprentice, won the National Readers Choice Award for Best First Book. She is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW) and Romance Writers of America (RWA). Melanie earned a bachelors degree in special education of the hearing impaired from The University of Alabama and has worked as a teacher in Georgia, Tennessee, and Ukraine. She lives with her husband and two children in Huntsville, Alabama.

To learn more about Melanie Dickerson and her books, visit her website.You can also find her on Goodreads, Facebook, Google+, Pinterest, Instagram, and Twitter.

Buy this book at: