Huntress Of Thornbeck Forest

“You could have any unmarried man in Thornbeck, and marriage is made more difficult when you are poor. I am simply trying to look out for what is best for you.”

Odette nodded and stared down at the table. She wanted love, but if she kept poaching, sooner or later Jorgen would find out. Could he love her then?

Book: The Huntress of Thornbeck Forest (A Medieval Fairy Tale) by Melanie Dickerson, Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2015

Genre: Fairy Tale

Target Audience: Girls 16+

Subjects: Truth, Ethics, Love, Charity

Summary: All she wants is for those poor orphans to be fed. The ones like herself. After her parents died, she was on the streets for a few years before her uncle found her and adopted her. Now she wants to use what she has to bless the others. The problem is that she and her uncle don’t have much. His business is getting deeper and deeper into debt. Her only option is to marry a rich man… or to hunt the margrave’s deer. Since there’s no guarantee any of the men she meets will allow her to use their money on orphans, she’s left to her own skills with the bow. At night the beautiful maiden sneaks into the forest, becoming the hated poacher and enemy of the law. The deer are decreasing significantly in number and the margrave’s forester is taking notice. Having lost his father to a murderous poacher, Jorgen is determined to not let this one escape! Justice will be done! Little does he know, the hated enemy he seeks is none other than the beautiful maiden he is losing his heart to!

Notes: The latest in the collection of Fairy Tales by Melanie Dickerson, Huntress Of Thornbeck Forest is a mixture of Swan Princess and Robin Hood. It has the beautiful maiden becoming something else by night. And it has the outlaw robbing from the rich to aid the poor. The spiritual emphasis is well done in this book. Odette is constantly questioning whether or not she is doing the right thing. A scene early on in the book shows her debating with the monk who tutors her, using Scripture to argue with the monk trying to tell her she is not behaving appropriately. She uses this to her advantage and disadvantage as she wrestles with her decision to break the law to help the poor. She feels breaking the law is wrong, but the Bible says to care for the needs of the poor. She knows where the source of truth and ultimate authority can be found, even if she wrestles with how it can support or contradict her decision. She also knows where to turn for help and prays when in trouble. Jorgen does the same thing.

Spiritual Content Recommendation Scale: 4.5/5

Reviewer: J:-)mi

Psalm 119:105 – Your Word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.

James 1:27 - Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.

Romans 13:1 - Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God.

Thank you to the author/publisher for providing me with a free review copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion. I enjoyed it!