The Golden Braid is book 6 of the Hagenheim/ Fairy Tale Romance Series, but it seems to stand well on its own. I received a hardback copy of this book; the cover art is beautiful.

This was an awesome read! The setting was realistic; I felt as if I was actually there. I also enjoyed getting acquainted with the characters. I had a hard time putting it down, once I got started.

Since this is especially written for teens and young adults, I plan to share this book with my daughter. My almost-sixteen year old son might enjoy it, since he is especially interested in the medieval time period.

I definitely plan to read more of Melanie's books! ( )

I can certainly say that Melanie Dickerson has done it again with her latest fairytale retelling of Rapunzel and featuring the medieval Hagenheim. With accurate historical details the reader is plunged into Melanie Dickerson's story world and I would have to say that this book is bound to please readers of medieval adventure stories (like me!). A sweet love story ties the characters together, and Christian themes tie the plotlines together.
If you like Medieval History, adventure and romance, this is the book for you.
Jack Murphy ( )

Wonderful!

Beautiful story!! I have no complaints whatsoever. Rapunzel is a beautiful person although I think she is over sheltered due to Gothel and her controlling nature. Gareth is well-suited to be Rapunzel's future mate. I wish these two could have their own sequel. ( )

3.5 Stars

Although I have read all of Melanie Dickerson’s books, and will likely continue to do so, they have been something of a mixed bag for me. It is interesting to read an alternative representation of fairy tales from a Christian perspective, stripped of the magical and ‘fairy godmother’ type content. However, some of the content can also be a little clichéd, implausible……and romantic mush in any novel by any author is starting to wear a little bit thin for me. I really don’t want to read about characters admiring one another’s lips or physique, or having some ‘warm’ feeling when they kiss. It’s just eye-roll inducing…

Anyway, I was eagerly anticipating The Golden Braid although I had some reservations based on the synopsis (I worried it might be overly politically correct). In the first half, I was pleasantly surprised by the well-drawn characters who were obviously harbouring secrets and baggage, but also the historical details. I was rather pleased to see that the author went some way towards questioning the assumption that it was ‘heresy’ to read the Bible in one’s own language in the Medieval period. (This was not considered heretical in and of itself).

The relationship and developing friendship between Rapunzel and Sir Gerek was quite sweet and endearing- one might say rather refreshing for being free of romantic mush. He taught her to read to pay her back for helping him, and she was able to get over her distrust of men to learn about faith. Also, although she was strong and able to look after herself, Rapunzel was not one of those militant proto-feminist heroines with a chip on her shoulder against the whole world, like you see in some stories.

As the story progressed however, there was some crossover with one of the previous novels The Princess Spy, with the story covering a lot of the same ground and content. This did not continue for too long- but I felt that towards the end, after about three quarters of the way through, the story started to become somewhat rushed, choppy, and weaker than it was before.
Rapunzel gets locked in a tower (to follow the fairy tale) but it was rather a minor aspect of the story that was dealt with better elsewhere. In some ways, Mother Gothel’s control and demands on Rapunzel were more of an imprisonment. Also, there came to be some details that seemed rather- far-fetched- like Gerek just happening to pull a ‘tarp covered’ torch out of his saddlebag. Seriously? Was tarpaulin even invented then? Also, I found the idea of a war-hose being spooked by a hare a bit much- they were meant to be highly trained so as not to be easily scared. An animal like that would be pretty much useless on the battlefield, so why would an experienced knight even keep it.

Also, things got a little mushier later on in the story in terms of romance- with more kissing and touching. Although it was interesting to see the characters wrestling with one another’s revelations and feelings for one another, as well as to forgive those who wronged them.
Overall, The Golden Braid was a satisfying and interesting story which holds the attention of the reader. In spite of some weaknesses, I would say it was one of the better stories in this continuing series. Although, perhaps later novels might be better for including newer characters and storylines not related to the family and region of the others.

Thanks to Booklook Bloggers and Thomas Nelson for providing me with a free kindle edition of this book for review. I read this alongside listening to the audiobook (which I purchased of my own volition), I was not required to write a positive review and all opinions expressed are my own.
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I have read every one of the books in the Hagenheim series. Each fairy tale is exciting and surprising. Even though I know the fairy tale, I am always anxious to see the real life situation. Melanie did a great job weaving in a tower and golden hair. Hard to put down. I'm glad it was the weekend! ( )