Title: Tales of Faith series
Author: Amanda Tero
Major Themes: Christian Living, Faith, Retellings, Fantasy
Synopsis: Three stories based on well-loved tales, set in the middle ages, with a delightful Christian twist and spiritual lessons in each one.
I’ve enjoyed almost all of the books I’ve read by Amanda Tero immensely, and the Tales of Faith series is no exception. Some didn’t strike me as much as others, but all have their little lessons that are both beautiful and thought-provoking. I think my favorite so far that I’ve read by her is Protecting the Poor, the third book in this series, but her Wedding Score was also very good.
This series is made up of two fairy tale retellings and one folk tale retelling.
Book #1, Befriending the Beast, is inspired by the Beauty and the Beast story. This one was probably my least favorite of the series; I may have been distracted while reading it, or it wasn’t quite as interesting to me as the others, but it was still a good story. I loved Belle’s determination to do what was right, and her desire to honor her father and show him love, too.
Book #2, The Secret Slipper, is inspired by Cinderella. Although this wasn’t my top favorite, I really enjoyed this story. I think I must have something of a morbid fascination with really sad, difficult things, but I loved the picture of a father searching for his daughter here, bad things almost happening to her, and then the ending was special, too. A very fun book!
Book #3, Protecting the Poor, however, blew the first two out of the water in my opinion! I loved this story! Based on Robin Hood (who, granted, is someone I’ve been enchanted with for a very long time—don’t ask me why), this story takes that original inspiration and carries it to an entirely new level. The main theme is, of course, a bad guy out to get the good guy who is a great bowman and is hiding in the wood with his loyal friends—but there’s so much more to this story and the faith element was superb in here. If you enjoy Robin Hood, I’d recommend you read this—even if you haven’t read the others in the series. There are a few spoilers in this for the other books, but, truthfully, I struggle to remember a lot about the others so those spoilers didn’t bother me a bit.
If you enjoy old retellings or are looking for good, solid, yet still clean Christian stories, check out the Tales of Faith series. I wouldn’t have trouble handing this to any teenager, and, aside from one scene in Protecting the Poor (see the review’s warnings for that), I think they would all mostly be suitable down to age 10 or so. I appreciated these books, and I am looking forward to more by this author!
I was given free review copies of these books over the years, but this review is my honest opinion of the series.
WARNING: See individual book reviews for their warnings.
Age levels:
Listening Level—Ages 10 – 12, Family Friendly
Reading Independently—Ages 10 – 12, 12 – 15, 15 and Above
Links to buy this series:
See individual book reviews for links.
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