Prince Nolan is betrothed to one of those girls, you know the kind - brainless and spineless. At least that's what it seems like from her letters. He decides that he must meet her and get to know her, but he must go in disguise so that she won't know that it's him. He has an old herb woman turn him into the most disgusting creature that he can think of, a frog with warts and all, so that he can see if she's as mindless as she seems to be before he has to go through with the wedding.
Meanwhile Princess Blythe is just as annoyed with Prince Nolan's letters. The latest one is just as selfish as any of the others, all about his accomplishments, never once asking about her accomplishments, hopes, or dreams. She knows that she can't marry such a selfish man. She throws his letter into the pond. And then, as she's tossing her ball made of crystal, it also falls into the pond. She knows that her mother will kill her if she ruins another beautiful gown, so she despairs of ever seeing the beautiful ball again. Until she hears a deep voice. She's startled when she realizes that there is a frog talking to her, but happily makes a bargain that she will take the frog to the castle if he gets her ball back. She plans on doing it to, until she hears the bell for tea and realizes that her mother will not be happy when she realizes that Blythe is at the pond yet again. It's an honest mistake, but the frog hops unhappily to the castle and calls her on it. Her mother agrees that she must live up to her bargain. But will it be as dreadful as either one of them is thinking?
This is such a cute fairy tale! I love the way Jenni James writes these fairy tales. I love that you are able to see both of the points of view. The characters are fantastic, the romance is sweet (and clean), and the plot is familiar without being too trite. I also like that I am able to read these stories quickly. This one is my favorite of her fairy tales that I've read yet!
I was sent an e-copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.Labels: Clean Romance, fairy tale re-tellings, Jenni James
