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    The Huntress of Thornbeck Forest
    The Huntress of Thornbeck Forest
    The Huntress of Thornbeck Forest
    Audiobook8 hours

    The Huntress of Thornbeck Forest

    Written by Melanie Dickerson

    Narrated by Jude Mason

    4/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    In the Robin Hood reimagining, a beautiful maiden poaches to feed the poor, while a handsome forester is on a mission to catch her.

    The margrave owns the finest hunting grounds for miles around—and who teaches children to read, but by night this young beauty has become the secret lifeline to the poorest of the poor.

    For Jorgen Hartman, the margrave’s forester, tracking down a poacher is a duty he is all too willing to perform. Jorgen inherited his post from the man who raised him . . . a man who was murdered at the hands of a poacher.

    When Jorgen and Odette meet at the Midsummer festival and share a connection during a dance, neither has any idea that they are already adversaries.

    The one man she wants is bound by duty to capture her; the one woman he loves is his cunning target . . . What becomes of a forester who protects a notorious poacher? What becomes of a poacher when she is finally discovered?

    From New York Times bestselling author Melanie Dickerson, The Huntress of Thornbeck Forest is a story of danger and love.

    Praise for The Huntress of Thornbeck Forest:

    “The Huntress of Thornbeck Forest reminds me of why adults should read fairy tales. Author Melanie Dickerson shoots straight to the heart with a cast of compelling characters, an enchanting story world, and romance and suspense in spades. Reaching The End was regrettable—but oh, what an ending!” —Laura Frantz, bestselling author of The Lacemaker

    “Melanie Dickerson does it again!  Full of danger, intrigue, and romance, this beautifully crafted story will transport you to another place and time.” —Sarah E. Ladd, bestselling author of The Governess of Penwythe Hall

    “Melanie Dickerson’s The Huntress of Thornbeck Forest is a lovely, romantic read set during one of the most fascinating time periods. Featuring a feisty, big-hearted heroine and a hero to root for, this sweet medieval tale is wrapped in a beautiful journey of faith that had me flipping pages well after my bedtime. Delightful!” —Tamara Leigh, USA TODAY bestselling author of Baron of Godsmere

    “Melanie Dickerson weaves a tantalizing Robin Hood plot in a medieval setting in The Huntress of Thornbeck Forest. She pits a brave heroine with unique talents against a strong, gentle hero whose occupation makes it dangerous to know him. Add the moral dilemma and this tale makes a compelling read for any age.” —Ruth Axtell, author of She Shall Be Praised and The Rogue's Redemption

    “For stories laden with relatable heroines, romantically adventurous plots, once-upon-a-time settings, and engaging writing, Melanie Dickerson is your go-to author. Her books are on my never-to-be-missed list.” —Kim Vogel Sawyer, author of When Mercy Rains

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherThomas Nelson
    Release dateMar 16, 2021
    ISBN9780785261315
    The Huntress of Thornbeck Forest
    Author

    Melanie Dickerson

    Melanie Dickerson is a New York Times bestselling author and two-time Christy Award winner. Melanie spends her time daydreaming, researching the most fascinating historical time periods, and writing and editing her happily-ever-afters. Visit her online at MelanieDickerson.com; Facebook: @MelanieDickersonBooks; Twitter: @MelanieAuthor; Instagram: @melaniedickerson123.

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    Reviews for The Huntress of Thornbeck Forest

    4/5

    58 ratings7 reviews

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    • 4/5
      I love the story, but I was disappointed that the audio reading skipped two major parts. For some reason, those parts were just gone. Otherwise, it was wonderful!
    • 5/5
      Great short story. Cool to see an author not use the “oh he’s a mysterious dangerous rogue who only falls in love with little on me” formula. Very Christian as well, has catholic vibes ( ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ ) , but glory was given to Yah.
    • 4/5
      A wonderful retelling of Robin-hood and The Swan Princess spun together! I really liked the characters, thought the narration wasn’t super believable during some of the more emotional scenes.
    • 3/5
      Good book!

      Not my favorite book, but I was pleased with the story and its progression. Good character development. I was hoping for a little bit of a banter between Odette and the Forrester.
    • 4/5
      For me, The Huntress of Thornbeck Forest was a breezy, adorable female Robin Hood-esque tale. The main characters, Jorgen and Odette, are quickly drawn to one another at a Midsummer festival. Turns out, both are orphans with a heart for helping children. However, Odette has a deep secret. At night, she goes into the forest and poaches deer to feed the poor. It may be wrong, but she's doing it for the right reasons. When she learns Jorgen is the new margrave’s forester, it seems their attraction will never work. Jorgen is dedicated to catching the mysterious poacher.

      I really enjoyed Jorgen's character. As an inspirational hero, he was perfect: steadfast and honorable. Not quick to anger.

      Odette slightly frustrated me, but mostly because of the plot. For the huntress of Thornbeck Forest, she spent a lot of time in town and at home. As a farm girl trapped in the city, I wanted to "escape" to the forest, and Odette just wasn't in the forest enough. For me, it felt like her point-of-view started after she returned from the forest.

      So, in summary, if you want a sweet, inspirational fairy-tale romance, yes! If you want to vicariously be in the forest, book a trip.
    • 5/5

      "Swan Lake" meets Robin Hood when the beautiful daughter of a wealthy merchant by day becomes the region's most notorious poacher by night, and falls in love with the forester.

      Jorgen is the forester for the wealthy margrave, and must find and capture the poacher who has been killing and stealing the margrave's game. When he meets the lovely and refined Odette at the festival and shares a connection during a dance, he has no idea she is the one who has been poaching the margrave's game.

      Odette justifies her crime of poaching because she thinks the game is going to feed the poor, who are all but starving, both in the city and just outside its walls. But will the discovery of a local poaching ring reveal a terrible secret? Has the meat she thought she was providing for the poor actually been sold on the black market, profiting no one except the ring of black market sellers?

      The one person Odette knows can help her could also find out her own secret and turn her over to the margrave, but she has no choice. Jorgen and Odette will band together to stop the dangerous poaching ring . . . and fall in love. But what will the margrave do when he discovers his forester is protecting a notorious poacher?

    • 4/5
      The first in Melanie Dickerson's new series of Adult fairy-tale retellings did good homage to the Robin Hood stories. I for one think that a historical story which casts a woman in a traditionally male role can be problematic, and can end up being clichéd or contrived, or the character possessing various unpleasant characteristics, treating everyone else as stupid or inferior.

      Such was not the case here. The story was perhaps a tad simplistic, and some other reviewers have called out the lack of action- but I do not think a good story needs to be action-packed, if it is well told and tightly plotted.I think I enjoyed this one for the story's sake, and that of some of characters- as as it the Romance element taking the back foot- at least in the first half, before some of the kissing at really inappropriate moments, and other Romance tropes.

      The Internal monologues of some of the characters were- a little on the repetitive side and I would have liked to have seen a little more of Swan Lake, which this novel was meant to be based partly on- which is a great story. Yet the Romance was (mostly) not too mushy, and many of the characters dilemmas believeable enough - even if their responses to them seemed annoyingly double minded at times. Yet what 20 something isn't a little irresponsible at times?

      My only other gripes were some language was too modern, and a few Americanisms, though the book seemed generally historically authentic and evoking the spirit of the time (aside from a couple of hiccups- a reference to Tarpaulin which I'm fairly sure they did not have in the Middle Ages for instance). That said, some of the details about the hunting didn't strike me as entirely realistic.
      For instance an entire hunting party was not able to find a single deer in hours- yet Odette almost always finds one every night- and usually more than one. Also, though I don't remember exactly whether the type of Deer being hunted was bought up, but I recall it somewhere being mentioned that they were European Red Deer. (Though I may be wrong). The stags of this species can grow to huge sizes and weigh up to 500 pounds- sometimes more- so killing one would yield enough meat to feed a lot of people for quite a while- certainly a few dozen people (mostly children) for more than a day- otherwise they’d have to be eating several pounds each at a single sitting.

      Overall though- The Huntress of Thornbeck Forest is a good and enjoyable story that does not demand too much from the reader, and has a sound Christian theme without being too preachy. Worth reading more than one. I personally look forward to the next one, which is about the Margrave of Thornbeck Castle- a character I rather warmed to, even though he was the potential enemy of the heroine and may have a 'Dark Side'.

      I received an Ebook version of this novel free from Thomas Nelson via Booklook Bloggers for review. I was not required to write a positive and all opinions expressed are my own.