Sunday Woodcutter, the youngest sibling of a group sisters named for the other six days of the week, doesn’t especially feel like she lives up to the saying, “But the child who is born on the Sabbath Day is blithe and bonny and goody and gay.”
In fact, most of the time she feels overlooked. That could have something to do with the fact that she has a tendency to wander off into the forest whenever she has a chance and do the one thing that brings her the most happiness – write stories. Though she has to be careful, as there is a history of them coming true…
It is during one of her forays into the woods that Sunday meets the frog. Not any frog, but an enchanted frog that was once a man. He asks her to tell him her stories. They talk. Sunday finds she feels more comfortable with him than she does anyone else. It seems… magical.
But one evening Sunday leaves him with a kiss – and when she gets a chance to return, he’s gone.
What Sunday doesn’t realize is that she had love inside of her when she kissed him goodbye – and she caused him to transform back into his true self. And his true self is Rumbold, the crown prince of Arilland – part of the family the Woodcutter’s loathe.
Deeply in love with her, Rumbold is determined to make Sunday fall in love with him - again. Now that he is back to being a man, though, are there too many obstacles for them to regain the simplicity of their friendship in the woods?
And is there more at play in the magical kingdom than either of them realizes?
First off, I love the cover of Enchanted. I don’t usually mention my opinion of covers, though I do enjoy a good one, because I like to focus primarily on the story itself in my review. But this time I can’t help myself. :)
The wonderful thing is that the awesome cover is a gateway to an initial intro to this fairy-tale land where a frog, a cursed human, is no surprise to passersby. This is a fairy-tale world, through and through, with an authentic air of whimsy and fun.
I was kinda loving the weaving of multiple familiar tales into an entirely new story, mixed in with a smidgen of darkness and grief. It reminded me a little of the TV show I’m a fan of, Once Upon a Time, minus any of the time in the contemporary time period.
A few times, for some reason, I did get a bit confused on details. I felt like I missed some important passing information that might’ve explained some of it, so it’s probably my own fault. But even near the end I was perplexed on a few things – as if Enchanted got a little jumbled here and there.
But overall I found myself completely charmed and taken with Enchanted! I’ve always been a fan of fairy-tales, and to be honest I don’t think enough are written anymore. With a darker side to deepen the story but a continued eccentricity to keep lightness as well, I found it to be very, very gratifying!
Happily, I visited Alethea Kontis’ website and I’m delighted to see that she is show two more books in what is called the Woodcutter series! I would love to follow more adventures of magic and “twoo wuv” in the world that she has created!
How about you?
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