Book Review: Cloak of Scarlet by Melanie Dickerson

ABOUT THE BOOK

She was an orphan of no importance . . .

He was an ordinary knight serving the baron . . .

Suddenly the kingdom depends on both of them.

Violet Lambton never imagined herself as anything but average. Adopted as a young child, she’s content with her comfortable life in her small medieval town with her faith, her books, and her baking . . . and the vivid red cloak her grandmother gifted her. Her one dream: to find a love that is pure and true. Then, her beloved grandmother is robbed by the villainous Baron Dunham. Outraged, Violet finds herself in the midst of the action and determines to put an end to the evil baron’s mistreatment of the hardworking people.

Sir Merek, a knight in the service of Baron Dunham, has pledged his life to fighting injustice and defending the weak. But when he encounters the spirited and beautiful Violet and discovers the depths of the baron’s treachery, he realizes that serving his employer is not serving the kingdom—and so he sets out on a daring journey to go behind the baron’s back to expose his deceitfulness to the king.

But before Merek and Violet can act to bring the corruption to light, Violet is captured and brought directly to Dunham—where she shockingly discovers a secret that shakes her entire world . . . and the future she dreams of. Thrown together in the baron’s quarters in a race against time to save the lives of their loved ones and themselves, Violet and Merek must learn to trust each other to expose Dunham’s treachery to the king—all while succumbing to their growing feelings for each other. Can the two find their happily ever after against all odds, or will the wolves amongst them drive them apart?

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BOOK REVIEW

Seeing as how this book is written for YA maybe that can account for the simple language, but I felt this book was missing depth. The story itself was good, but I found the writing to lack detail and it never drew me in, nor did I feel an emotional pull towards either of the main characters. I felt it was almost there, but there was missing information, as if the book was written but needed an emotional edit to take it the full distance.

This was my first book by this author, and I want to read more because I’ve heard good things about her. This book wasn’t what I expected (and you know what happens when you have expectations...), but I plan to read some of her others.

*I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.