The Golden Braid by Melanie Dickerson

From the publisher:

Rapunzel can throw a knife better than any man. She paints beautiful flowering vines on the walls of her plaster houses. She sings so sweetly she can coax even a beast to sleep. But there are two things she is afraid her mother might never allow her to do: learn to read and marry.

Fiercely devoted to Rapunzel, her mother is suspicious of every man who so much as looks at her daughter and warns her that no man can be trusted. After a young village farmer asks for Rapunzel’s hand in marriage, Mother decides to move them once again—this time, to the large city of Hagenheim.

The journey proves treacherous, and after being rescued by a knight—Sir Gerek—Rapunzel in turn rescues him farther down the road. As a result, Sir Gerek agrees to repay his debt to Rapunzel by teaching her to read. Could there be more to this knight than his arrogance and desire to marry for riches and position?

As Rapunzel acclimates to life in a new city, she uncovers a mystery that will forever change her life. In this Rapunzel story unlike any other, a world of secrets and treachery is about to be revealed after seventeen years of lies. How will Rapunzel finally take control of her own destiny? And who will prove faithful to a lowly peasant girl with no one to turn to?

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I was impressed more and more as I read this book. Melanie Dickerson has this gift for taking a fairy tale that we are all familiar with and deepening and broadening.  The spiritual aspects of this book were the best parts to me, the way the characters turn to God and grow in Him through encouragement of others was really uplifting and challenging to read.  

I loved the way Dickerson developed Rapunzel and Gerek.  The things they felt and did were realistic and the author showed this through her writing.  She did not just tell you how they were or felt but really developed them.

I read this book in one day because I couldn't put it down.  I wanted to read more and more and see how things turned out.  Even though the fairy tale is familiar there were twists and turns and surprises along the way that kept you wanting to read.  

I received this book from the publisher in exchange for my honest review.