The Healer’s Apprentice
When destiny sleeps, it can only be awakened by true love’s kiss.
A woodcutter’s daughter becomes the town healer’s apprentice. Rose’s job is to care for the sick and injured in Hagenheim Castle. But she gets sick at the sight of blood and is more suited to making up stories than sewing up wounds. She is determined to overcome her weakness and prove herself a competent healer, or she faces marrying a disgusting old merchant her mother has picked out for her.
Lord Hamlin, the future ruler of the region, is injured and Rose must overcome her squeamishness to save him. He is everything that is noble and good, but loving him is forbidden. He is already betrothed to a mysterious woman in hiding.
With two noble-born brothers vying for her affections, Rose learns that the people of Hagenheim are not always who they seem.
Young adult medieval romantic fantasy
I love fairytale retellings! And what I love about Melanie’s books is that she places them in our world, without the magic. As if they had really happened sometime in the past.
The Healer’s Apprentice is the retelling of Sleeping Beauty in 14th century Germany.
I enjoy historicals and romantic adventures so, needless to say, this book was right up my alley. It’s a realistic retelling, loosely based on (or should I say inspired by), a popular fairy tale but I wasn’t aware of that when I started reading and, even after I knew, it took me a good chunk of the book to figure out which story. I really liked that aspect – that it was such a unique take on the tale that I had no idea where it was going to go.
Almost all of the characters are likeable – even one who ends up being a cad was rather likeable on the surface. He reminded me of Willoughby from Sense & Sensibility – someone you pity because they had such potential. The romance was well-developed and it hit my absolute favorite trope when it comes to romance with simmering attraction that is always held back due to various obstacles.
While not a magical fantasy, it touched upon those spots by containing unique spiritual warfare. It’s a tricky subject and I appreciated the effort though I did have some frustrations with the way a few things went.
SPOILERS FOLLOW: – For those who have already read the book only: Namely, I do not believe Christians can be demon possessed and I believe the Holy Spirit protects us from such attacks. While Rose was never possessed or attacked outright (as it was more of a fear attack?), I had niggles over that whole situation. As for the big bad guy – whatever he sprinkled on Rose didn’t bother me too much. But I didn’t like that her prayers & the prayers of Frau Geruscha didn’t drive the demons from her room in the first place and then that she was so terrified that she couldn’t even pray later and Hamlin had to save the day. And why was Frau Geruscha telling him what to pray? Didn’t he already know? And why didn’t she just pray herself? The man’s gotta do it?
All in all, a highly recommended read! 🙂