Historical Fiction for the Holidays: A Review of Castle of Refuge by Melanie Dickerson

Hello, Book Nerds! Welcome back to Reading Has Ruined My Life or welcome if you are new. As always, my name is Hannah and I am your captain on this journey into my bookcases.

I recently, and by recently I do mean two months ago at this point, went to a local overstock shop. Luckily for me, and unluckily for my bank account, this store sells books at really cheap prices. So I picked up like half a dozen interesting sounding titles. One such title promised me romance, historical fiction, and a retelling of The Ugly Duckling.

Please give a warm welcome to Castle of Refuge by Melanie Dickerson!

As always, a spoiler alert is in order. If you’ve read any other review on this site then you will know I simply love to spoil the entirety of the books I read. This is your one and only warning. Also, a quick content and trigger warning. Castle of Refuge deals with physical, emotional, and mental abuse. This topic is very prevalent to the plot so please take care while reading. With that, let’s get to the synopsis.

Ever since she was born, Audrey’s older sister Maris has hated her. Maris blames Audrey for their mother’s death. Maris also blames Audrey for pretty much anything bad that happens. One day, their father begins searching for a husband for Audrey. It is the 14^th century and it’s Audrey’s job to social climb. But as their father began looking for a husband for Audrey instead of Maris, Maris as the older sister takes this as a major slight against her. She knows her father thinks her mad and will never allow her to marry, so she will do everything she can to hinder Audrey’s chances. Hence why she burns Audrey’s face by tripping Audrey and causing her to fall into a fire.

After this incident, Maris is sent away to a convent and Audrey lives in fear of her sister. But one day, four years after the attack, Audrey’s father tells her some terrible news: Maris is coming home and he’s found a husband for Audrey. She is not having this. After one night of Maris being home, Audrey flees. Soon she finds herself lost, robbed, sick, and in need of help.

As luck would have it, Audrey passes out outside of Dericott Castle. The Lord, Earl Edwin Dericott, brings her in, allows her to stay until her illness is over, and then hires her as a servant. Audrey never reveals her identity to Edwin. Though the longer time goes on, and the more time Edwin and Audrey spend together, the more Edwin questions Audrey’s identity. She’s too well-educated to have been a traditional servant before arriving at Dericott Castle. But Audrey’s past doesn’t really matter to Edwin as he’s head over heels for her.

Maris is not gone though. She sets off in search of her sister in order to torture her some more. Can Audrey hide from Maris? Can she get Maris to leave her alone? And can Audrey and Edwin become a couple and find their happily ever after? Find out in Castle of Refuge.

I was pleasantly surprised by Castle of Refuge. Now listen, I picked this one up on a whim because I did think the story sounded interesting, I did not anticipate enjoying it as much as a I did. I found Audrey and Edwin to be a pair of sweethearts and was rooting for them to get together from the start. And Castle of Refuge works wonderfully as a standalone novel. It was only after beginning Castle of Refuge that I realized this was the second book in a series. I found the story to be very easy to follow, readers could start this series at any point and it wouldn’t matter–at least that’s what I believe, I’ve never read any other entry to the series–as each entry could seemingly be read as a standalone novel. There were many references to events which occurred in the first book of the series, but Melanie Dickerson did a fantastic job at relaying the necessary exposition without it being overwhelming to new readers or drivel to returning ones.

Let’s discuss Edwin and Audrey in detail now because I believe their relationship is really what made this story. They have a very sweet relationship. They’re both very compassionate people, and together they are both learning how to trust again. Audrey and Edwin need each other as they’re working to overcome their physical insecurities. They’re cute together, in my opinion. They're growing together and be each other's much needed support system.

They're cuties.

That being said, Audrey and Edwin are incredibly flat characters. The pair did have some character growth, but not much. Maris is a fairly one dimensional villain too, for that matter. Maris is evil and Audrey is good and that’s that. There’s not much depth to any of the characters within these pages. No one exhibits much, if any, character growth. All the characters left me wanting more. They are fairly static, flat characters; two things no literary character should be.  

I still have other faults with Castle of Refuge. Melanie Dickerson isn’t the greatest at showing instead of telling. Very often I found Audrey noting how she thought her burn scares made her ugly or how she didn’t want others to see them. How about instead of flat out stating her insecurity, readers see it instead. How about Audrey constantly fixes her hair to cover the side of her face? Or she always wears some sort of head covering? How about as her relationship with Edwin progresses, Audrey fixes her hair to cover her face less and less? Just a thought.

Showing instead of telling? Very, very bad sign.

Audrey’s insecurity is not the only aspect or plot point that Melanie Dickerson tells instead of shows. There are other things as well, namely Maris’s vindictiveness and Audrey’s fear of her sister. I don’t need Audrey to state how evil her sister is every time Maris is brought up, I need to see Maris being abusive towards others and Audrey cowering in fear. There is far too much telling and very little showing.

The overall story of Castle of Refuge was enjoyable if a tad predictable. As I said, I found myself liking this book more than I anticipated. I do find the main couple cute, the story reads fast and it is engaging, alas there are some glaring issues with the read that brings the quality of the book down quite a bit.

With that, I shall bid you all adieu. Thank you very much for joining me today, Book Nerds. I will see you all again next week with one final review of 2025. If you can’t wait that long then give Reading Has Ruined My Life a follow over on Instagram (@ReadingHasRuinedMyLife). I post there almost daily so come back often to revel in literary goodness. You can also follow the blog on Twitter and BlueSky (@RHRMLBlog). Want something not related to books? Why not check out my podcast Nothing to See Hear. The show stars me and two of my dearest friends as we talk everything and anything. You should listen to my Barbie series. We’ve been slowly watching every Barbie film and our review of Barbie of Swan Lake just went live. You can currently listen to the show on Spotify and YouTube.

Until next time, stay safe, wash your hands, and read some good books for me.

See y'all then, bye!