C. Rae D’Arc’s first entry in her Dreaming Princesses, Dreaming Beauty, focused entirely on Emer, a combination Sleeping Beauty and one of the Twelve Dancing Princesses characters. With her newfound ability to control plants, Emer has recently awakened in her kingdom Somnus and found it in ruins. The awakened princess is determined to find her other sisters (i.e. the other Dancing Princesses). That quest is taken up in this follow-up novel, Fairest and the Frog.

The second novel of the series follows Emer along with two of her sisters: Marin and Pearl. Both were put into a deep sleep after being poisoned. The “dream” they have transports them to Earth in modern times, allowing the reader to view our world through a fairytale character’s eyes. For example, Marin’s examination of a kitchen and Pearl’s dinner of spicy food make for great segments. Each dreaming princess must accomplish a goal to return to Somnus. The two narrative threads follow their fairytale origins closely, I won’t spoil it to tell you which ones. Marin’s sequence follows her original plot more closely than Pearl’s. Pearl’s segment is more of a side adventure within her fairytale. Both have action, romance, and humor.

Marin’s segment is at the start of the novel. She was married before entering the dream so her tale continues with her husband, Ranae, joining her on Earth. But Ranae, in particular, comes over transformed. This setup opens the door for humor and mystery which allows the narrative to glide along as the characters do on a boat on the ocean. I enjoyed having a main character in a fairy tale who was already married as it shook up the traditional boy-meets-girl plot. This narrative also is more like a quest with a puzzle at the end Marin has to solve. That said, this character’s part feels short, and because of the setting, the enjoyable segments of a fairytale princess discovering our modern way of life isn’t as prominent as it was in the first novel.

My complaints are addressed in Pearl’s half of the book. With Pearl, author D’Arc nails the voice of an innocent royal-born-yet-still-teenage girl. In Pearl’s section, she adopts an identity with a guardian and a job at Warwick Castle. Her adventures are a bit more engaging because she interacts far more in our world with characters from the first novel. The scenes with the other characters come off charming (pardon the pun), and her plight by the end of the novel makes the reader feel for her.

The two parts are interlaced with Emer and her band of heroes searching for her sisters while avoiding villainous ogres. Emer is afraid that her beau, Caden, may be more interested in one of her more beautiful sisters. It’s a bit of a stretch as the first novel cements Emer and Caden’s relationship, but Emer’s fears offer an interesting reflection on how our society views women, in particular, what we value as “beauty.”. Her concern about Caden’s affection is a clever bit to add to a fairytale narrative.

Filled with great love for fairytales, the twist of having them interact in our world, and a series arc that progresses, I found Fairest and the Frog hard to put down. If you are a fan of fairy tale princesses and what “comes after,” you’ll love this series.

Link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BT4KCZ6H

First in the series: Dreaming Princess.