Adventure Between the Pages: The Princess Spy

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Age Appropriate For: 13 and up for mild romance and mild violence
Best for Ages: 13 and up

Description: Margaretha has always been a romantic, and hopes her newest suitor, Lord Claybrook, is destined to be her one true love. But then an injured man is brought to Hagenheim Castle, claiming to be an English lord who was attacked by Claybrook and left for dead. And only Margaretha---one of the few who speaks his language---understands the wild story. Margaretha finds herself unable to pass Colin's message along to her father, the duke, and convinces herself 'Lord Colin' is just an addled stranger. Then Colin retrieves an heirloom she lost in a well, and asks her to spy on Claybrook as repayment. Margaretha knows she could never be a spy---not only is she unable to keep anything secret, she's sure Colin is completely wrong about her potential betrothed. Though when Margaretha overhears Claybrook one day, she discovers her romantic notions may have been clouding her judgment about not only Colin but Claybrook as well. It is up to her to save her father and Hagenheim itself from Claybrook's wicked plot.

I didn’t think that any of Dickerson’s book would ever come close to The Captive Maiden. After all, I love Cinderella, and her retelling of that story was just so wonderful. However, The Princess Spy has taken the spot of my #1 favorite fairy-tale book.

Margaretha was my favorite female character in all of Dickerson’s books, maybe even one of my top 10 of the year. She had so much spunk and fire, while still being lady-like. Too often, when writers write about spunky girls, they make them tom-boys. Margaretha was a wonderful exception. I loved her fault of talking too much at times, and how Dickerson wove that into the story.

Colin was pretty awesome himself. Some readers might remember his grandparents from the book The Merchant’s Daughter. He had come to Germany from England to avenge the death of a friend, only to find his enemy threatening the only person that spoke English, Margaretha.

I don’t think that I have read a book that did as good a job showing the difficulties of the language barrier. Margaretha constantly has to repeat things in English for Colin, and there are some words that she doesn’t know in English (which is often humorous).

I don’t think I have laughed so hard with any of Dickerson’s books. Not only did the difference in language make for some very funny scenes, but Colin and Margaretha where just the perfect mix for humor. I laughed so much during this book that a couple of my siblings said that they had to read the book as soon as I finished. However, even though it was funny in parts, it also kept me on the edge of my seat wondering what was coming next

I loved the faith element in this story, and the romance was even sweeter than normal. Colin’s love for Margaretha, despite her faults, was so wonderful.

I highly recommend this book to those who love fairytales, romance, and exciting stories that keep you turning pages.


I received this book from Zondervan in exchange for my honest review. I was under no obligation to write a positive review. The opinions in this review are entirely my own.

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