The Healer's Apprentice by Melanie Dickerson

A friend recommended this author and this series, so I was happy to be able to get a copy of The Healer's Apprentice to review. Medieval times fascinate me, even though I'm not a big fan of fairy tale romances. The Healer's Apprentice was interesting and enjoyable, but not great. The settings were detailed beautifully and the characters were fairly complex, but the overall writing style seemed a bit choppy and even awkward at times. Also, what should have been a surprising plot twist was easy to figure out fairly early on in the book. The relationship between Rose and Frau Geruscha was especially touching and well written, as were the themes of friendship, loyalty, courage, humility, and honesty.

So, all in all, it was an okay read.

The Medallion by Cathy Gohlke

World War II fiction is my favorite, and I'm always excited to find a new book from that era/genre. The Medallion was quite a pleasant surprise, and a new favorite! Set mostly in war-torn Poland, this book checks all the boxes. It's heartwarming, romantic, tragic, hopeful, historically accurate.... The characters are believable and easy to relate to, and every setting is described so that you feel like you're there. Though lengthy, the story never gets dull. As expected in a book about the holocaust, some parts of the book were hard to read because they were so raw and heartbreaking, but a thread of hope runs throughout. I was a little confused but the seeming change of the main character, Sophia, toward the end of the book, but I think I can understand it in the context of the trauma she went through. That was really my only complaint--that she seemed like a different person from the first half of the book. The ending was so well done, but that's all I can say without spoilers.

I don't remember reading anything by Cathy Gohlke before, but I'm excited to read more from her now. I really enjoy her style; it reminds me of Brock and Brodie Thoene's.