Review: Enchanted by Alethea Kontis

Title: Enchanted
Author: Alethea Kontis
Publisher: Harcourt Children's Books
Age Group: Young Adult
Category:  Fairytale Retelling/ Romance
Release date: May 8th, 2012
Pages: 305 (ebook)
Rating: 4.5 out of 5
Source: Netgalley
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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?

Enchanted was a light-hearted and quick paced read filled with the kind of magic you only find in fairytales.  The story appealed to me so much, but as I started to read, I wasn't entirely sure what to make of it.  Over a short amount of time, I fell in love with the main character, Sunday, and each of the stories she had to tell.  Her family was easy to take interest in, since there were so many siblings, each with a completely different personality.  No doubt, the more you read, the more you'll fall for each of them, too.

When Sunday meets a frog that can talk, she's delighted that she finally has someone that she can tell her stories to.  Being the youngest of 7 daughters, it's easy to go unnoticed and begin to feel unappreciated.  Though the frog doesn't remember the man he used to be, he does indeed remember being a man.  In fact, one night when Sunday kisses the frog, he changes back into prince Rumbold and returns to his old life with the girl from the forest on his mind.

Without telling Sunday who he really is, he begins to pursue her as the prince he is.  The romance between the two would leave you grinning like a fool.  Rumbold is very sweet to Sunday and Sunday has one of the biggest hearts I've seen in most characters lately.  Though their feelings seem to be going somewhere, there are still secrets about their families that each of them must uncover in order to move forward.

Kontis was able to weave several fairytales, such as The Frog Prince, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty and more, into an incredibly beautiful and unique story about trust, friendship and love.  The characters were charming, the plot was interesting, and the author's writing suited the story perfectly.  Overall, Enchanted was a delightful piece of work that kept me reading for hours.