Summary
Princess Anya and her sister lost their mother once upon a time. Their father remarried, and their step-mother was not evil, but she was prone to getting lost in her work. Then the king died. The girls’ stepmother remarried. And their “stepstepfather” was an evil sorcerer, consumed with growing more powerful and taking over the kingdom. And he has a habit of turning potential suitors into frogs!
Princess Anya promises her sister that she will find the latest prince-turned-frog. This leads her on an epic quest to brew a lip balm potion to restore her stepstepfather’s victims. Along the way she’ll meet robbers who steal from the rich and give to the poor, a Good Wizard, seven dwarves and an old wizard called Snow White, and a group of witches. She’ll also be challenged to put the former days of law and order back in place. But Anya can only do that if she can defeat her stepstepfather once and for all.
Review
I liked this! Princess Anya is smart, compassionate and dedicated to her quest and to keeping her word. The typical fairy tale pieces are given a creative twist – like magic carpets that roll their riders inside to fly or Snow White being an old, male wizard with a long white beard.
The quest was long. Anya picked up several companions on the journey. And she promised to help lots of folks. She had to secure a lot of potion ingredients. And at the same time, she had to avoid her stepstepfather and protect herself from those who would try to deceive or betray her.
The story dragged at times. There was just so much tied into the quest. I started to wonder if the quest would span over multiple books, but the story arc was resolved by the end. The world is interesting enough and the cast large enough for a sequel, but this story will stand alone. If you are – or you know – a fan of re-imagined fairy tales, have them give this one a try.