The latest novel by Melanie Dickerson, The Beautiful Pretender, opens with Reinhart Stolten, the Margrave of Thornton, returning from hunting down the wolves in the forest on his property. As he enters his home, he discovers that he has received a letter from the king. The king is suggesting that Reinhart marry in an attempt to bring unity between the noblemen of the country. He cannot believe that the King expects him to marry a woman he has never even seen!
Lord Thornton decides to host a party so that he will have time to meet some of the daughters of his fellow noblemen and hopefully find his bride. After Lord Primmwald's daughter, Dorothea runs away with one of his knights, he decides to order her maidservant, Avelina, to fill in and pretend to be his daughter. Avelina also learns that she must not allow the Margrave to propose to her, but only to leave him with a good impression of Lord Primmwald. Unfortunately, Avelina is unable to hold up her end of the deal. Not only is she unable to point Lord Thornton toward another one of the hopeful daughters, but Avelina soon finds herself starting to develop feelings for Lord Thornton herself!
After Lord Thornton actually selects Avelina as his future bride, the truth finally comes out that Avelina is not a nobleman's daughter! When another nobleman, the Duke of Geitbart, attempts to capture Lord Thornton and take control of his property; you will be anxiously waiting for this tale to come to a closure!
This is a great tale for the young-adult audience. The tale is fast-paced as you attempt to put all the pieces of the puzzle together. Enjoy the ride!
I received this book from Thomas Nelson in exchange for my unbiased review.