"The Healer's Apprentice" is a charming Christian teen romance novel set very loosely in 1386 AD Germany. While the author did work some "what life was like" historical information into the novel, it had more of a fairytale feel due to some of the details and since it wasn't tied into the larger historical picture.

Lord Hamlin was too good to be true and most of the characters didn't have much depth to them, but I did like the characters and enjoyed reading about them. I also liked how Rose learned from her choices. However, during the dance scenes near the beginning, I was confused by how Rose thought one way ("I don't trust him or like him, but I must be polite") but acted another (she flirted with the guy). I wasn't sure what the author was trying to portray: naivete, confusion of feelings, or what. Though Rose often acted contrary to her thoughts, the reason for it was more clear in the later scenes.

Christian faith played a continuous but low-key role in the story. I liked that Rose's and Lord Hamlin's trust in God grew throughout the novel and that they listened to His subtle guiding. However, it's unlikely that a healer (even a ex-nun healer) would really have a complete, personal copy of the Bible in 1386 AD. Also, some of the Catholic church elements seemed slightly off, and our Catholic main characters sometimes behaved more like Protestants. So that part didn't seem highly historically accurate.

There was no sex or bad language. One character was a "conjurer" of demons, but there was no fantasy/fairytale magic. Overall, I'd recommend this novel as charming, clean reading.


I received this book as an Advanced Readers Copy from the publisher.