The Merchant's Daughter - Melanie Dickerson

After reading The Healer's Apprentice, a book based on the fairy tale of Sleeping Beauty, I was pleased to see that the author had out another book.  I was even happier when I found out this one was based on Beauty and the Beast.  That's pretty much been my favorite for quite a few years.  Honestly, I actually have a picture of myself with Belle at Walt Disney World!

On to the book.  Annabel's family has been shirking their duty since the death of her father.  It's been three years since they paid their dues and now the new lord is coming.  They are sentenced to an impossible amount of restitution or one of the family has to be a servant for 3 years.

Annabel's brothers are pretty useless, so it's up to her to save the family, even though they hardly appreciate it.  The family is trying to convince her to marry a horrid lecher.  To escape, she decides to be the servant, wondering if the lord could be as horrible as everyone says he is.

Lord Ranulf has gone through some pretty rough stuff.  His hand, arm and eyepatch have made him scary to the villagers.  He seems to even have more scars on the inside from his deceased wife.

The lecherous Tom doesn't seem to want to take no for an answer and Lord Ranulf is there most of the time to save Annabel.  Things get dangerous later on and through it all, Lord Ranulf proves himself to be more than his scars.

The only unfortunate thing I have to say is that this is the only other book by the author.  I really enjoyed both of her books and hope that I'll see more in the future.  I'd love to read more of her creative takes on fairy tales!  This one is still up for $2.99 - I wholeheartedly recommend picking it up!  Good Book!