Review of THE FROG-PRINCE'S DAUGHTERS by Wendy Palmer

Review of THE FROG-PRINCE'S DAUGHTERS by Wendy Palmer (see her website)

BooksForABuck.com, July 2009

Princess Anura has it all figured out. She's sixteen so her prince will come. He'll be a third prince (of course) and, as she's the only child, he'll inherit her father's kingdom. Instead of a prince, though, a wizard in the form of a dragon invades her garden and throws a fireball at her. Only quick reaction by Anura's cousin, Rana, saves Anura from sudden death--and there's not a prince in sight.

Intelligent Rana discovers that Anura is not the first princess to be killed, not the first whose prince failed to show. After some difficult negotiations, Rana, Anura, and Anura's step-mother set off to find the truth. But the wizard hasn't given up and if physical violence doesn't work, he'll try other approaches to ending the threat he sees in Anura.

Author Wendy Palmer (see more BooksForABuck.com reviews of fantasy by Palmer) has fun playing with the structure and internal rules of the fairy tale, while introducing clever plot twists, developing a growing romance between Rana and the wizard, and delivering a solid adventure. The fairy tale is a well-established source of inspiration for fantasy authors, and Wendy Palmer definitely rivals the very best of them. Highly entertaining.

Four Stars

Reviewed 7/13/09

THE FROG-PRINCE'S DAUGHTERS is no longer available from BooksForABuck.com.

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