This was incredibly fun! A thrilling mix of fairy tale tropes and themes all mashed into one enjoyable tale!

Princess Anya has a problem. Her older sister's latest suitor has been turned into a frog by their evil step-stepfather, and she has made a Sister Promise to save him. Now Anya is on a special quest with the frog prince, a royal magical dog, a half boy/ half newt and an otter turned human to make a magical lip balm, turn the frog back into a prince and save her kingdom from her evil step family.

This was very fun and whimsical, and I thoroughly enjoyed the silliness of this romp of an adventure. I'd highly recommend the audiobook of this as it was a delight to read and the narrator was really good with voices and different accents.

I loved Princess Anya - she is very much not a damsel in distress and was such a great female character, particularly a young one who knows her own mind and is great at taking charge of a situation. The play on different fairytale tropes and stories was very fun in this one such as Beware the Giant, and Snow White (the wizard) and the Seven Dwarves. I also highly enjoyed the glimpse we got at the coven of witches.

I obviously very much loved the Royal Dogs, and I would like one very much or would like to promote Roci and Dezzie to be my Royal Dogs.

I was initially interested in reading this book, however my tastes have shifted and I do not think I will be able to get to it now. Many thanks to the publisher for sending me a digital copy!

I really enjoyed this! It tells the story of Anya, a princess who is far more at home in the library than the ballroom. When her evil stepstepfather transforms her sister's boyfriend into a frog, Anya must go on a quest to change him back. I loved the tone of this book. It is very tongue in cheek and really appealed to me as an adult reading a children's book. The story is great fun and the characters were really well drawn. Anya is smart and sassy but not at the expense of likeability and she often takes advice from others who know better than she does. The periphery characters are great - I particularly enjoyed the Gerald the Herald character and Snow White. All in all, this is a really well written and fun book that will appeal to children and their parents alike and is great for anyone who likes fairy tale re-tellings.
I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

A wonderfully entertaining fantasy that can be enjoyed by the young and young at heart. Garth Nix is a genius and never disappoints.

I received a copy of Frogkisser from Netgalley and the publisher, Bonnier Zaffre (Piccadilly Press) in returns for an honest review. Frogkisser is everything I wanted it to be and more with a fantastic cast of characters hosting a fierce Princess, a talking dog and an accidental Newt; it has action, adventure and more laughs than I ever expected. I really enjoyed it and flew through it so let's get into the review...

I have never read any Garth Nix before but I know he's a huge author. I was completely taken in by his effortless writing style. I completely believed whatever appeared in the story from talking dogs to people that turn into owls, the lot. I honestly adored the entire story and for a book for the slightly younger reader, it's impressively long and it had so many elements to it. The only way I can think to describe it is Disney meets The Wizard of Oz meets The Chronicles of Narnia. It's whimsical, it's fun, it's dramatic. I loved it. 

It was a really nice bit escapism. It was nice to follow Anya and watch her on her Quest and forget about all the problems in the world for a while. I laughed, I smiled, I gasped, I was worried, it was a whirlwind and t was nice to sit and feel like a kid reading again, where for the first time in ages I fully disappeared into the world that Garth Nix created. 



By far though, my favourite aspect of this book (besides the gorgeous cover) was the character of Anya. She was such a fierce and fabulous Princess. There's a LOT on her shoulders but she deal with it wonderfully. One of my favourite quotes from the book was when she says to her buddy and talking do Arden: "I don't expect to need rescuing. I'm not that sort of Princess." I just love this and I think it sends a great message to younger readers, both male and female and it's really nice to see such a great, forthright female character in this kind of literature. That being said, though, Anya's sister is a very typical Princess and a great source of comedy in the story! 

All in all from all the talking creatures, to the female great wizard, a great character arc in such a short space of time and a nod to all your favourite fairy-tales, my first Garth Nix book has earned itself a place as my current best top 10 books of 2017! I'm really hoping it will be turned into a film because it would be simply wonderful!
I loved this, as you can tell. I would love to see more books in this style! Do you know of any? 

Overall rating: ★★★★★

Have you added Frogkisser to your TBR? Let me know down below!

I don't think Garth Nix has produced a single book I didn't love. Frogkisser was charming, funny and witty with a great heroine and whimsical, loose retelling of the frog prince. Refreshingly there is no romantic plot and the story instead examines becoming yoursrlf and gaining freedom through acceoting yourself. A lovely story. Highly recommend.

I didn't manage to read this from NetGalley but I did buy a copy of the book to review. Frogkisser was a brilliant read and reminded me of the works of Diana Wynn Jones

Well, I was intrigued by the idea of a modern fairy tale based on the original story of the Frog Prince and was pleased to be offered a galley copy. I had hoped it would suit the younger audience - 5-9 years old that I intended to read it to. However, I felt the book was aimed at an older audience, early teens upward as it was a much longer text than I had expected, of some 400 pages. Despite this the children I read it to did find parts of it funny and liked the characters of Anya and Morven. I felt it was just a bit too wordy and long-winded for them to fully engage with.
Following the traditional format the story includes an evil stepfather and has two princesses, Anya, the younger of the two sisters taking a leading role as she sets out on her Quest to make a magic lipbalm to change frogs back into princes.

This book was amazing. I have loved every book that Garth Nix has written so far and I wasn't disappointed by this one. The Royal dogs were my favourite characters in the book especially ardent.

I'm usually a huge fan of Garth Nix but I found the plot of Frogkisser! to be a little too meandering and slow moving. It was a little too 'cutesy' which felt a little condescending to middle-grade readers in places. I found myself skimming through a lot of the narrative just so I could start my next book, and if it couldn't keep my interest with its length I don't hold out much hope for young readers with shorter attention spans than me. Great concept, and generally strong plot, but I feel it could have done with a bit more depth and a little less cute.

A nice and pacy read, with a great protagonist - and no romance! I love Anya - and Nix's best character trope, the loyal talking dog, makes another excellent appearance. This is a low middle grade read - aimed at 9 and over, I would say. I was expecting a little older, so didn't enjoy it as much as I could, but as always Nix is very funny. It's a great romp all round.

This was such a fun and entertaining read. I am a huge fan of this author so I fully expected to enjoy this and I did. The pacing is a little slow at times and overall it is quite simplistic but I just really enjoyed this adventure. If you are looking for a fun, quick read then you should check this out. It is definitely aimed at younger readers but I think it can also be enjoyed by adults. Overall I really liked this.

Anya is a Princess, for what it’s worth. The world she lives in is a patchwork of tiny kingdoms, after a terrible magical accident, and Princesses (and Princes) seem to be fairly thick on the ground. She’d rather be in the library, learning about sorcery, than anything else but her stepstepfather (it’s a long story) is a real sorcerer and, therefore, quite evil and she finds herself having to undertake a Quest to save her sister, her sister’s Princely suitor who has been transformed into a frog, her own life and, along the way many, many other things. She is accompanied by a talking Royal Dog, a boy thief who has been transformed into a giant newt and the aforementioned frog-Prince and must hunt for the ingredients for a magical lip-balm which will return the Price (and the thief) to their original forms. Along the way she meets some very cool wizards, seven dwarves, river otters and some highly responsible robbers but gains a lot of extra aspects to her Quest. The whole book is really funny but you also end up learning that Princessing is hard work if you are going to do it right.

Garth Nix studded my childhood with magic. As an adult, Netgalley gave me the opportunity to read FrogKisser for free in exchange of an honnest review. Nix has yet to loose his creative genius. A new spin on a classic. Children and YA alike will love this new book.

This was a really fun read, taking on the tropes of Fantasy in a particularly chuckly tongue - in - cheek way, and my first book of Garth Nix. It wasn't what I expected, and neither is it - I suspect anyway - his usual foray into novels? But after getting used to the language and dialogue in the beginning it was quite fun!

Princesses Anya & Morvan have an evil sorcerer of a stepstepfather who is trying to be king in Morven's place. He turns Morven's beloved of the moment into a frog and Anya is forced to promise that she will find him to be kissed and turned back.

This was such a joy to read. There are frogs to be kissed, but I think this is a whole new tale that Nix envisioned with poking fun at classic stories of course. Half the fun is recognizing which details are from known stories & how they have been twisted. With such flair & dry humor, it is fantastical to the degree of being on a fairy tale sugar high.

Royal dogs that can communicate & read, a librarian that turns into an owl when stressed, a nice geriatric moat monster and so much more is Nix's imagination creating a hilarious, full of magic, sweet story of Anya's quest to get red of the evil Duke. A story for children of all ages, so colorful as if Baz Luhrmann directed it.

The naming of things, like Fairly Reliable Transmogrification Reversal Lip Balm just made me smile. Oooh and dogs especially royal ones, make everything better.

Lovely book, great message, but alas doesn't really allow for older readers quite so well, in my opinion, which was a little disappointing as I love the author's other work. Full review on my blog (link included).

This book is humorous, entertaining and beautifully feminist. Princess Anya is a wonderful twist on the fairy tale princess, embarking upon a quest, which soon because more like a series of entwining quests, in order to fulfill her sister promise and change her sister's lover back from frog form. And all she really wants to do is get back to the warmth of her library and her books.

The characters were wonderfully quirky and all had their own characteristics that set them apart. I think my favourite was probably Ardent, the dog, who is excitable, easily distracted but very, very loyal, as all good dogs are.

Despite the humour that surrounded all the characters, they were not only stereotypes and when they were, they had some sort of twist to make them different from the characters that are normally seen in fairy tales. They also each have so many wants that take the story in different directions and create conflict. It made it so that the story was not at all predictable, but at the same time, completely logical for each of the characters.

This really is a beautiful story and would be perfect for younger readers who have an interest in fairy tales. Though people of all ages who can appreciate humour and ingenious twists.

This book has all the ingredients for an entertaining modern day fairy story. It written by Garth Nix an author whose fantasy books for adults I am a fan of. There is an evil stepstepfather (not a misspelling) who is the Duke, Royal talking dogs and an apparently well balanced princess who needs to kiss a frog on behalf of her sister. The sister - older and due to inherit the throne - may be less well balanced. Throw in a librarian who turns into an owl when stressed and some other very good characters indeed and the stage is set.

The princess who needs to kiss a frog (and maybe not just one…) is Anya. She sets off on her quest - sorry Quest with a capital letter - together with one of the dogs and a frog to be kissed. This is the story of that Quest. This really does have all the aspects of a fantasy fairytale that you need. The characters were entertaining, at least those who were not evil anyway. The journey is classic quest stuff with people who may or may not be able to help out popping up from time to time.

I'd suggest that this is probably going to be enjoyed most be pre teens or early teens however it is an entertaining read for adults too. Personally I read it quickly and it kept me interested in a light way. The stage is definitely set for book two which should appeal to those who enjoyed this one. A very solid 3.5/5 as far as I'm concerned.