The Frog Prince's Daughters by Wendy Palmer

This is another self aware fairy tale universe similar to Mercedes Lackey's Harlequin Luna series. I tend to like that series and my appreciation is echoed by mine for this series. The characters are interesting and I honestly wanted to know more about them afterward, although I don't think the author has returned to this universe. I loved the romance between Rana and the wizard and getting to see the step-mother become more than she wanted to be. Her character in particular is a tragic figure that deserves a happy ending. I like that the author allows other characters to bring up the bad-side of fairy tales. Such as having 3 sons means the first 2 must die or the stepsisters cutting off their toes to fit into the slippers. Or even the magic that helps all of this along deciding to kill one of the main characters. I should also note that I didn't buy the ebook here since I don't have a kindle. I bought from FW with a 60% off coupon(totally worth full price though). It's a multi-format book over there so you can download the format to fit your needs. I do epub for my sony reader and phone. You know, I've been reading a lot of romances lately, maybe they are like candy and reading this ebook in which the romance is important but not the most important part of the story is remarkably inspiring. Now I want to ready more straight-up science fiction and fantasy titles.

I'm not very good with synopses, but since no one has come before me to do it better, I suppose you must bear with me. Needless to say it is spoilerific.

Rana is the main character and the entire story is told from her perspective. She is the sarcastic, susupicious cousin of the somewhat dense(total dumb blonde) princess Anura. It's very hard to ever gain any sympathy for Anura, but I don't suppose that's what the author wants. Rana takes care of her cousin and sacrifices for her. Rana saves Anura from death in the garden at the hands of a wizard and after other attempts are made(with Rana always saving Anura. The duo along with a childhood friend and the princess's stepmother journey to find 'the three'. During the journey they get clues for the next steps and are attacked a few more times by the wizard with whom Rana is forming an attachment. Their relationship is ... complex. They have the final show-down with the boss(crazy witch lady) and someone is killed, but unfortunately, Anura does get to have her happy ending.

There are still unanswered questions at the end of the novel. For example, why does the king dislike Rana? What happened to her father? They say her mom was killed by a flu, but I'd like to know more about that too and the history fo the world. I wish there was a little more explanation about the origins of the kingdoms. The kingdom Rana lives in is descended from the Frog of the Frog Prince fame and it's stated that this began 200 years earlier, but I want to know more about how it started and what keeps it going. They define a little of what keeps it going and what the world is like outside the magical areas.