No Place for Magic By E. D. Baker Release Date: Buy it Today! Bloomsbury Ratings Action Romance Characters Overall Purchase on Amazon. Purchase at Powell’s. Find independent bookstores near you.

Princess Emma and Prince Eadric have been through a lot in their relationship over the last three books. Their friendship began as frogs, when Eadric’s Frog Prince curse backfired on Emma when she kissed him, and they joined forces to escape the swamp, as Emma finds that learning to hop and catch flies is harder than one might imagine. Next came the quest to turn her aunt’s love back into a human (he was an otter at the time), and after that the curse that was destined to turn Emma into a mean …uh… *witch* after the age of sixteen if she ever touched a flower.

That last one involved a bit of time traveling to fix. Along the way, Emma and Eadric have come to realize their love, as well as find a few odd friends, such as the bat, Li’l Stinker, her vampire mate, and a young dragon named Ralf.

After all of that, even Eadric’s parents’ hatred of magic isn’t going to be enough to stop these two from getting married.  Still, Emma would like to have their permission, or at least be able to say that she tried. His mother is less than pleased, however, to find out that her son is still determined to marry her.  There are bigger problems in Eadric’s kingdom, though, as his younger (and rather obnoxious) brother has apparently been taken by trolls. Afraid to use magic because the trolls can track her through it, Emma must help Eadric find his brother through the use of her wits instead.

This is the fourth book in the Frog Princess series. While the book is very enjoyable, I would recommend reading the first three books before this one. The series has maintained an entertaining tone through four books now, and each book does stand on its own. This one is no different, but there are lots of little things that will be more enjoyable if you know the series.

One thing I appreciated about this book and the series in general is that the romance is well constructed, even after four books. There are some side couples, but the central two are Eadric and Emma, who met in the first book as frogs, and now in this book get married. Their friendship and relationship progress through the books and reads as realistically as a romance can when you’re turned into a frog, sent back in time, and suffering from curses.

Unlike the earliest book in the series, No Place For Magic doesn’t draw on any particular fairytale origins. Instead it takes place in a world that works by fairytale rules. Fairies attend the wedding, trolls kidnap Eadric’s brother, and witches practice “good” and “bad” magic.

This book takes Emma into Eadric’s kingdom where magic is feared and gives her new prejudices to deal with.  Back home, she is the Green Witch and respected by the citizens–they know she will protect them in times of need.  Here magic is avoided, and she must hide her normal usage of magic and learn to rely on herself instead. In typical fairytale fashion, Emma and her magic skills are accepted once she saves the kingdom, just like Rudolf got to play with the other reindeer once he saved Christmas.

On the downside, the series is not overly unique.  It takes fairytale conventions and turns them around, sometimes in different ways, and other times in the same old ways.  Emma is your standard “doesn’t want to be a passive” princess and Eadric is a sweet, “charming” prince, who cares as much about where his next meal is coming from as fighting, and likes to flirt with Emma (though the flirting might be as much for the fact that it unsettles her and makes her blush, as for other reasons). The other characters that surround them are also fun, but this is a fluffy book.  It’s a “having a bad day and need something to escape reality” read. I do think that as the series goes on, the books find more interesting turns and twists to throw in, and the characters grow a little.

Ratings Reasons:

Action: 4 – Trolls, dragons, and a drunk giant. So all right, only the trolls are ill-natured, and the dragon is of the child variety, but there is still more than enough travel, adventure, and magic in this book to keep the reader going. The first few chapters are a little slow, as they remind the reader of what happened in the other books, but as soon as the plot picked up, I couldn’t put it down.

Romance: 4 1/2 –As stated before, I think this book and the series do a good job of building up the romance over time and with a basis of friendship at the core. By the time this book takes place, Emma and Eadric trust each other and while they might quarrel sometimes, they put their relationship and friendship above that.

Characters: 3 1/2 – The characters are not as deep in this book as in the rest of the series, partially because it relies on the past books to fill in all the many side characters. The main two, Emma and Eadric, are fun, but not overly complex. There is nothing wrong with the characters in the book, but there is not the same kind of detail that one finds in Crown Duel or Artemis Fowl.

Overall: 4 – This book is a fun, light read. The series overall is cute and worth a rereading or two. It doesn’t quite justify a yearly reread, but I know I shall read the series a few more times in my life. I will also be quick to recommend it to those who like fairytale worlds. It also makes a great rainy day read–it’s the kind of book the reader can get lost in for a few hours.

Extras:
E. D. Baker’s website contains the first few pages of each of the books, so if I’ve tempted you to read the series, you can check out the first book The Frog Princess there. You can also send e-cards to friends from the site. The previous books are: The Frog Princess, Dragon’s Breath, and Once Upon a Curse.

In honor of the new book, the publisher has a guideline on how to create a Bridal Shower Event Kit, complete with food and prizes. So for those of your looking for a reading party theme, how about a froggy bridal shower?

Going back to the first book in the series, The Frog Princess, I found some interesting tales from around the world about such princesses. Here is one from Italy. At the bottom of the page is a collection of other links. While really the book deals more with the princess from the traditional Frog Prince fairytale, looking at the female version of these tales is more interesting. Most people have heard about the princess who drops her ball in the golden pond, etc, but I had never heard of the female frog version of the tale. Just a reminder that there are far more fairytales than we ever read children’s books of, and for those writers out there, you can find a wealth of story ideas in the lesser-known tales.

Two more retellings of the “Frog Prince” that readers can check out are: The Prince of the Pond by Donna Jo Napoli and Water Song by Suzanne Weyn. I haven’t read either of these books before, but they both look intersting at the very least.

My editor, Chelsea, would also like to point out the book The Frog Prince Continued by Jon Scieszka, which I had somehow forgotten. This is a very clever book, and I used to love reading it at the daycare, along with the True Story of the Three Little Pigs

Parents:
Ages 10+, there is quite a lot of kissing, but definitely nothing more, to the slight disappointment of the older reader. Readers who enjoy Ella Enchanted will enjoy this series.

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