Description: Evangeline is gifted with a heavenly voice, but she is trapped in a sinister betrothal until she embarks on a daring escape and meets brave Westley le Wyse. Can he help her discover the freedom to sing again?
Desperate to flee a political marriage to her cousin King Richard II’s closest advisor, Lord Shiveley—a man twice her age with shadowy motives—Evangeline runs away and joins a small band of servants journeying back to Glynval, their home village.
Pretending to be mute, she gets to know Westley le Wyse, their handsome young leader, who is intrigued by the beautiful servant girl. But when the truth comes out, it may shatter any hope that love could grow between them.
More than Evangeline’s future is at stake as she finds herself entangled in a web of intrigue that threatens England’s monarchy. Should she give herself up to protect the only person who cares about her? If she does, who will save the king from a plot to steal his throne?
My Thoughts: Melanie's latest novels have been hit or miss for me. I loved The Beautiful Pretender and The Golden Braid, but this one felt overly forced and simplistic. I couldn't relate to the characters and though I finished it, I didn't at any point really enjoy it. From the first, Evangeline was a Mary Sue with her only "issue" being that she believed herself to be too selfish. Yet this never seemed to affect the way she behaved or the decisions that she made.
The villains of this story were also fairly lackluster. Evangeline's evil betrothed is something we have already seen in Melanie's other books and the other villains felt as though they were evil for evil's sake. The only character with much depth seemed to be the friend Nicola, who stood up for Evangeline as well as forgave her deception.
I might suggest this for younger teens, or even preteens. There is enough conflict and romance to entertain children in those age groups, while also containing only a couple kisses and little so far as described violence. I myself just could not get into it.
I have provided an honest review after having received this book through the Fiction Guild.
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