The Orphans Wish by Melanie Dickerson

 "I want to make my fortune, to prove I am not just a poor orphan foreigner"...

Hey Readers,

Happy first day of Summer!
I wanted to take a second to show you my latest "Must Read" for this month, The Orphans Wish by Melanie Dickerson! The really cool thing about this series of books by Mrs. Dickerson is that she takes fairy tales such as Aladdin, Snow White or Rapunzel and intertwines bits of those stories into her books without the magic or sorcery that is typically in fairy tales. :)

I would recommend this book if you:

• Like to read any books by Melanie Dickerson,

• Like to watch TV shows like Once Upon a Time,

• would like to read a romance novel full of courage, loyalty and friendship,

• Just want to check out a new book!

So here is the story

Ala ad'din was orphaned when he was about 5 years old.  A "Street Rat" as he was called by some - and he would still be on the streets if it weren't for the grace he was shown by Priest when he was spared the punishment for stealing. Priest took Aladdin (because Priest could not say his name correctly, it was changed from Ala ad'din to Aladdin) from his home in the Holy Land to live in the town of Hagenheim. Shortly after he arrived in Hagenheim, Aladdin had the opportunity to meet the Duke's daughter, Lady Kirstyn who was a couple of years younger than he was and he was positive that she was an angel!  The two of them became best of friends and were inseparable while they were kids, especially after Aladdin saved Lady Kirstyn’s life. Now that they are older, Aladdin wants to leave Hagenheim so that he can make his fortune and hopefully become worthy enough to marry Lady Kirstyn.
Lady Kirstyn's heart felt like it was ripped out of her chest the day that Aladdin decided to leave. She begged him to stay but understood that he felt like he had to leave so he could find his way in the world and then he would no longer be seen as a "Street Rat".  However several days after Aladdin left, Lady Kirstyn was betrayed by someone close to her and kidnapped while attending a festival with her family.  Will she be able to escape? Will her family or Aladdin find her before it is too late?
Meanwhile Aladdin feels blessed on his journey, because shortly after he left Hagenheim, he met with and saved a merchant from Luneburg who was being robbed. Herr Kaufman was so thankful for Aladdin and Sir Sigmund that he invited Aladdin to live with him and become his steward. Seeing this as an amazing opportunity and a way to earn his fortune, Aladdin goes to live with Herr Kaufman and after a short time became an amazing steward. But all that changed when he hears that Lady Kirstyn was kidnapped months prior and no one has seen her since. He takes leave from his job and searches high and low for her for months until the trail is too cold and it appears that Lady Kirstyn was killed. Aladdin feels like his heart has been torn in too because he never once told Lady Kirstyn that he loved her… Was it too late to save her?  Wouldn’t he know in his heart if she really was dead?


So, what did I think?

So ask I mentioned before, this is Mrs. Dickerson's version of the story of Aladdin and though the book is part of her Medieval Fairy Tale series - it's written to be read as a stand-alone. So I know that typically you should not judge a book by its cover, but I love the cover of this book! The colors, the script for the title and the overall Arabic design - give the book an adventurous feel and it absolutely beautiful. Unfortunately although the book was good and the plot was very well written - it's not one of my favorite books that Mrs. Dickerson has written.  I feel like there were too many flashbacks from when Aladdin and Lady Kirstyn were younger and it caused the story to lag a bit in the middle, However it did pick up towards the end of the book and I loved it when I could I see a piece of the fairy tale intertwined into the story.
Overall, the characters were great and the plot engaging, I give the book 4 out of 5 stars ****



If you would like to check out this book or any of Mrs Dickerson's other books, Here is the link!
http://melaniedickerson.com/my-books.html


Happy Reading! :)

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Thomas Nelson through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.