Teen fiction from Zondervan, The Fairest Beauty is Melanie Dickerson’s third in her fairytale series. For the first time, we get to revisit some characters whom we met in The Healer’s Apprentice, the parents of our intrepid hero, younger son Gabe.

The gist of this Snow White story is that Sophie has a wicked step-mother, a dead, loving father, a prince attempting to save her, and a cottage in the woods where seven misfits live. The twists are that the prince isn’t her betrothed, but her betrothed’s younger brother, her father isn’t dead – perhaps – but missing — perhaps, and Sophie no longer remembers that she is a princess, but believes that she is a servant girl.

I like Melanie Dickerson’s books and this is no exception.  I like the historical details she includes, especially about the Church and religious life at that time. I liked Sophie, her attitude, and her love for the underdog and her fellow servants. I liked the action during the escape from her stepmother.

What I wasn’t so fond of in this story was how the kids responded to their attraction to one another, and then to their prior commitments to others. But I was happy that it worked out for them in the end because I believed their love would survive and flourish.

Thanks, Melanie, for another enjoyable read.