Melanie Dickerson is the award-winning author of The HealerÆs Apprentice and a member of American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW) and Romance Writers of America (RWA). A graduate of The University of Alabama, she lives in Huntsville, Alabama, with her husband and two daughters. Visit her online at www.melaniedickerson.com .

In this debut romance set in Hagenheim, Lower Saxony, in 1382 and loosely based on "Sleeping Beauty," a lowly woodcutterÆs daughter apprenticed to the town healer falls in love with a handsome nobleman whoÆs betrothed to a mysterious woman. Although she's grateful to the healer for teaching her to read and write and freeing her from the need to marry, 17-year-old Rose quickly loses her heart when she meets Wilhelm, Lord Hamlin. WilhelmÆs equally smitten, but he's promised to a woman heÆs never met and canÆt wed until he captures the evil conjurer whose threats forced her parents to hide her 17 years ago. When WilhelmÆs carousing younger brother insistently woos Rose, she feels flattered but conflicted. Should she forget both brothers and remain single, or could there be a fairy-tale finale? The medieval German setting and fastidious details of period clothing, food, music and dance provide an ideal context for this courtly romance between two young lovers who choose duty, virtue and honor above self-interest. Female readers should savor this romantic fare. (authorÆs note) (Historical fiction. 12 & up) — Kirkus Review