Bargain Ebooks: Inspirational Fairy Tales by Melanie Dickerson

The Fairest Beauty and The Captive Maiden by Melanie Dickerson are both on sale in ebook format for 99 cents each. They have been on sale previously but are usually in the $5 range and this is the lowest price they have ever reached.

These are currently reduced to help promote the next title in Dickerson's fairy tale series--there are currently four books in print--which will be release in November. The fifth book, The Princess Spy, is a retelling of The Frog Prince and the description for how the Frog Prince plot devices are used are rather clever. I'm always fascinated with people's imaginations. I'm also thrilled that Frog Prince is getting an interpretation. I keep waiting for authors to be inspired by it but the only regular modern playfulness of it tends to come in picture book fractured tales--there's not even that many straightforward versions of it in picture books. Nor did Disney's Princess and the Frog spike a resurgence of this tale from publishers, very unusual.

Book description for The Fairest Beauty:

Sophie has long wished to get away from her stepmother’s jealous anger, and believes escape is her only chance to be happy. Then a young man named Gabe arrives from Hagenheim Castle, claiming she is betrothed to his older brother, and everything twists upside down. This could be her chance at freedom—but can she trust another person to keep her safe?

Gabe knows he defied his parents Rose and Wilhelm by going to find Sophie, and now he believes they had a right to worry: the orphan girl has stolen his heart. Though romance is impossible—she is his brother’s future wife, and Gabe himself is betrothed to someone else—he promises to himself he will keep her safe, no matter what.

When the pair are forced to run to the Cottage of the Seven, they find help—but also find their feelings for each other have grown. Can they find a way to protect Sophie while also safeguarding their hearts?

Book description for The Captive Maiden:

Happily Ever After …
Or Happily Nevermore?

Gisela’s childhood was filled with laughter and visits from nobles such as the duke and his young son. But since her father’s death, each day has been filled with nothing but servitude to her stepmother. So when Gisela learns the duke’s son, Valten—the boy she has daydreamed about for years—is throwing a ball in hopes of finding a wife, she vows to find a way to attend, even if it’s only for a taste of a life she’ll never have. To her surprise, she catches Valten’s eye. Though he is rough around the edges, Gisela finds Valten has completely captured her heart. But other forces are bent on keeping the two from falling further in love, putting Gisela in more danger than she ever imagined.