It isn't easy being the rather overlooked and unhappy youngest sibling to sisters named for the other six days of the week. Sunday’s only comfort is writing stories, although what she writes has a terrible tendency to come true.
When Sunday meets an enchanted frog who asks about her stories, the two become friends. Soon that friendship deepens into something magical. One night Sunday kisses her frog goodbye and leaves, not realizing that her love has transformed him back into Rumbold, the crown prince of Arilland—and a man Sunday’s family despises.
The prince returns to his castle, intent on making Sunday fall in love with him as the man he is, not the frog he was. But Sunday is not so easy to woo. How can she feel such a strange, strong attraction for this prince she barely knows? And what twisted secrets lie hidden in his past - and hers?
My rating: ****
I love fairy-tale retellings. I thought this one would be a straight-up Frog Prince story, but boy was I surprised! There are over a dozen fairy tales making up Enchanted (I particularly loved a cameo from "Jack and the Beanstalk") and somehow Alethea Kontis has woven them all together seamlessly. And very enjoyably.
Sunday is the seventh daughter, but she also has three brothers and all of these siblings play an important part in the plot. That's a major cast of characters to juggle and I have to say that Alethea Kontis did it well. They all have such distinctive personalities that I didn't have a hard time telling them apart. I loved the whole story and all the magical elements. And let's be honest. I loved Prince Rumbold.
The romance is very sweet, but it does happen quickly. It's very insta-love, but this is a fairy tale, so I guess things work a little differently. And Sunday and Rumbold do have time to become friends, but that's only because she doesn't realize that he's her one true love.
My only complaint is that the ending left me a little confused. SPOILER (highlight to read): What was up with Monday? Was she really unhappy married to her prince? Why? Did she leave him at the end? I'm so confused. And Jack. WHERE THE RUDDY HECK IS JACK? You can't just leave me hanging like that. There were some storylines I really wanted more closure from (but I suppose she has to leave it open for a sequel some day).
Highly recommended for fans of fairy-tale retellings.
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