Reviewer's bookshelf: "The Huntress of Thornbeck Forest" by Melanie Dickerson

Book Summary (from Goodreads): "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?

My thoughts...
I must begin with this beautiful cover!  I'm a visual person and when I see a cover like this, it draws me in, makes me curious about what the story is behind the young woman on the front, and takes me to another place.  I love it.

Melanie Dickerson's books are like a breath of fresh air.  Each time I've read one, it has been a refreshing reminder of how sweet young love can be.  In a day where books geared towards adults are filled with profanity and freely giving themselves physically to someone else, not to mention what books for young adults have in them, it's nice to read a book that is romantic but still keeps the innocence of the main characters intact.  

Another aspect of this story that stood out to me was the theme of integrity.  Even though Odette truly felt that her lawbreaking was justified because she was helping others, the story takes her on a journey to see how important it is to have integrity with all things.  For Jorgen, he also had to have integrity and stand for what was right even if it might hurt the one he cares about the most.  Several of the characters had to be held accountable for their actions.  The margrave, who was seen as very harsh and often cold, didn't abuse his position, but administered fair justice as well as grace to those he was in authority over.  What a great message in a day and age that often encourages to do just the opposite: lie, steal and cheat to get what you can to get ahead.

This is the sixth book of Melanie's that I've read, and I have yet to be even a bit disappointed!  When I finished the last page of The Huntress of Thornbeck Forest, I had so many good things to take with me to think about beyond just a lovely romance.  Jorgan and Odette's desire to risk almost all they had to help the outcasts and low in their community made me think of how my attitude should be for those in my own path in life. So many people we come in contact with have a history that we may know nothing about, and a small, or big, act of kindness towards them can change their life.  I was reminded that wealth is a blessing, and it can be there one minute and gone the next.  We must be thankful and use the provisions God has given us wisely.  These things and so many more have stuck with me.  I would definitely recommend this book!

Happy reading!