I hate to say it but I really didn't care for The Merchant's Daughter (Hagenheim #2) by Melanie Dickerson though I did like the historical setup. I haven't read many books set in this time period so the feudal system with the village working for their lord was interesting. Sadly, that was about the only thing I liked. It took me a long time to sort out the reason and I think it was mainly because there is a sad dearth of likeable characters in the story. Annabel is miserable; the bailiff is despicable; everyone around her is surly, mean, or depressing (including the hero). She has exactly one friend that I recall and he's not really someone she can count on. Any likeable characters are so overshadowed I have completely forgotten their existence. The other Hagenheim books feel like sunshine, flowers, forests and meadows - they are airy, breathable, lighter books even during darker moments. This book felt like torch-lit, dank, stone manors - it was dismal. 
 I also didn't feel the romance at all and even worse was when (slight spoiler!!) she confessed her love to him first. It may be old-fashioned but I tend to have issues with the woman approaching the man (though in well-done situations it may not bother me). I rolled my eyes through the entire climactic ending, too. Beauty and the Beast is one of my favorite fairy tales and this retelling just didn't come close to cutting it for me. Honestly, if this had been my first Dickerson book, I may never have picked up another. But since I loved The Healer's Apprentice so much, I ended up jumping from this one straight to the 3rd of the series hoping it would restore my faith in the series.