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The Tales of the Frog Princess #2
Dragon's Breath
Emma and Eadric have no sooner turned back into humans (from being frogs) than Emma's mother is in a panic, Aunt Grassina is distracted because she's found her true love turned into an otter, and Emma's magic is so out of control she sends herself to the dungeon by mistake. The neighboring kingdom has chosen this moment to attack, and if Emma can't get Grassina's mind back on protecting the kingdom, life as they know it in Greater Greensward will be in peril. From underwater sea monsters to fire-breathing dragons, this witty pair of young friends manages to sweet-talk, cajole, and race their way to victory. But when it looks as if everything will finally work out, disaster strikes, and Emma finds that magic is not enough-it takes real bravery and a strong, new friendship to succeed.
304 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2003
About the author
E.D. Baker
41 books1,547 followersE.D. Baker made her international debut in 2002 with The Frog Princess, which was a Texas Lone Star Reading List Book, A Book Sense Children's Pick, a Florida's Sunshine State Readers List pick & a 2006 Sasquatch Book Award nominee. The Frog Princess inspired the Disney's Princess and the Frog!
E. D. Baker was born in Buffalo, New York and spent most of the next eighteen years in the Town of Tonawanda with her older brother and her parents. She married her husband while in college, and had two children a few years after graduating from Allegheny College in Meadville, Pennsylvania with a bachelor’s degree in psychology. When her son was four, the family moved to the state of Maryland. With two young children at home, E.D. worked part time in her husband’s business and took writing classes at the local community college. She continued taking writing classes after the birth of her second daughter, but when she and her husband divorced, she went back to school and entered the SIMAT (School Immersion Masters in the Art of Teaching) program at Johns Hopkins University. After graduating, she taught fifth grade until her parents’ health began to fail. Her son had already graduated from college when E.D. and her daughters moved north to be closer to her parents. Having gained a new perspective on what is important in life, E.D. decided that it was time to believe in herself and devoted her time to writing. Her first book, The Frog Princess, was published in 2002. E.D. has written 25 books to date and has no plans to quite writing anytime soon.
Currently E. D. Baker lives on a small farm in Maryland where she and her family breed Appaloosa horses. They also have dogs, cats and goats.
If you have a question or a comment for E. D. Baker regarding her books, you can e-mail her at edbakerbooks@gmail.com and she will try very hard to reply to your e-mails. (Just keep in mind it may take a while before she responds, because she is working on a new book for you to enjoy!) For updates, announcements on upcoming books and daily posts by E.D. Baker be sure to follow her on Facebook.
E. D. Baker was born in Buffalo, New York and spent most of the next eighteen years in the Town of Tonawanda with her older brother and her parents. She married her husband while in college, and had two children a few years after graduating from Allegheny College in Meadville, Pennsylvania with a bachelor’s degree in psychology. When her son was four, the family moved to the state of Maryland. With two young children at home, E.D. worked part time in her husband’s business and took writing classes at the local community college. She continued taking writing classes after the birth of her second daughter, but when she and her husband divorced, she went back to school and entered the SIMAT (School Immersion Masters in the Art of Teaching) program at Johns Hopkins University. After graduating, she taught fifth grade until her parents’ health began to fail. Her son had already graduated from college when E.D. and her daughters moved north to be closer to her parents. Having gained a new perspective on what is important in life, E.D. decided that it was time to believe in herself and devoted her time to writing. Her first book, The Frog Princess, was published in 2002. E.D. has written 25 books to date and has no plans to quite writing anytime soon.
Currently E. D. Baker lives on a small farm in Maryland where she and her family breed Appaloosa horses. They also have dogs, cats and goats.
If you have a question or a comment for E. D. Baker regarding her books, you can e-mail her at edbakerbooks@gmail.com and she will try very hard to reply to your e-mails. (Just keep in mind it may take a while before she responds, because she is working on a new book for you to enjoy!) For updates, announcements on upcoming books and daily posts by E.D. Baker be sure to follow her on Facebook.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 439 reviews
November 20, 2018
Where’s a good Green Witch when you need one?
Grassina, the Green Witch, has recently found the love of her life, Haywood. Unfortunately he was turned into an otter, and freeing him from the curse becomes her top/only priority. With the kingdom of Greater Greensward in danger of an attack, Emma and Eadric set out on a quest to help turn Haywood back to human -- in the hopes that the Green Witch will focus on the task of securing the kingdom.
“Dragon’s Breath” has all the elements of the first book in the series, but is in many ways better. More excitement, with journeys from the mountain top where the dragons live, down to the sea where mermaids and an octopus dwell; more twists; and Emma and Eadric's relationship clearly grows as they endure many trials.
The ending was satisfying but it does end with a cliffhanger. Fortunately, you don't have to wait to read the next book, "Once Upon A Curse".
Grassina, the Green Witch, has recently found the love of her life, Haywood. Unfortunately he was turned into an otter, and freeing him from the curse becomes her top/only priority. With the kingdom of Greater Greensward in danger of an attack, Emma and Eadric set out on a quest to help turn Haywood back to human -- in the hopes that the Green Witch will focus on the task of securing the kingdom.
“Dragon’s Breath” has all the elements of the first book in the series, but is in many ways better. More excitement, with journeys from the mountain top where the dragons live, down to the sea where mermaids and an octopus dwell; more twists; and Emma and Eadric's relationship clearly grows as they endure many trials.
The ending was satisfying but it does end with a cliffhanger. Fortunately, you don't have to wait to read the next book, "Once Upon A Curse".
February 12, 2010
THIS BOOK COUNTS AS 2 BOOKS
After Emma and Eadric were turned back to humans, Emma was trying to figure out how Haywood could turn back into a human[instead of an otter:], so her aunt Grassina and Haywood could be together again and possibly get married. Emma decided that the only way to turn Haywood back would be by asking her grandmother[who was the one who turned him into an otter:]. Grassina, Eadric, Haywood, and Emma travel to her grandmother to ask her. Grassina refuses and puts a spell on Haywood that'll make him forget that he was ever human. If four days go by, then there is no way of reversing the spell. Emma heard her grandmother say the ingredients you need to reverse the spell. She came up with a plan. Grassina would find Haywood and bring him to the castle,and Emma and Eadric would go on an adventure to find the ingredients.
I liked this book beter than the first. It was more interesting and more was going on.
I recommend this book especially for fantasy lovers.
After Emma and Eadric were turned back to humans, Emma was trying to figure out how Haywood could turn back into a human[instead of an otter:], so her aunt Grassina and Haywood could be together again and possibly get married. Emma decided that the only way to turn Haywood back would be by asking her grandmother[who was the one who turned him into an otter:]. Grassina, Eadric, Haywood, and Emma travel to her grandmother to ask her. Grassina refuses and puts a spell on Haywood that'll make him forget that he was ever human. If four days go by, then there is no way of reversing the spell. Emma heard her grandmother say the ingredients you need to reverse the spell. She came up with a plan. Grassina would find Haywood and bring him to the castle,and Emma and Eadric would go on an adventure to find the ingredients.
I liked this book beter than the first. It was more interesting and more was going on.
I recommend this book especially for fantasy lovers.
November 14, 2015
This second book in the Dragon Princess Series of Books was more tedious and far more sexist than the first book. I found it quite tiresome to keep hearing of the endless items Princess Emma kept tripping over, dropping, and/or losing her grip on all sorts of objects, along with the endless number of times she had to be rescued from being so frightened she could not move/speak/think/function and, thus, had to be caught/protected/rescued by Prince Eadric or someone else. There was a huge difference in her personality and ability levels between the first book and the second. In this second book, the most descriptive word that fit Emma, in nearly every situation, was "inept". Her cowardice and tendency to freeze/stop thinking/functioning under stress was both disgusting and stereotypical of classic "feminine" behaviors - which is quite different from how Emma was presented in the first book.
So, this is a book to read if one enjoys brainless, cowering, blundering female idiots who need constant rescuing via their boyfriends and/or adult family members. I have no idea why the author shifted she perspective on Emma's abilities and competence in this book but it's so obvious, there's no way to miss it. Perhaps, the author, herself, was feeling particularly inept when she was busy working on this second book in the series. Fortunately, I've read most of the rest of the books in the series so I know that Emma doesn't remain a brainless idiot in any of the remaining books.
So, this is a book to read if one enjoys brainless, cowering, blundering female idiots who need constant rescuing via their boyfriends and/or adult family members. I have no idea why the author shifted she perspective on Emma's abilities and competence in this book but it's so obvious, there's no way to miss it. Perhaps, the author, herself, was feeling particularly inept when she was busy working on this second book in the series. Fortunately, I've read most of the rest of the books in the series so I know that Emma doesn't remain a brainless idiot in any of the remaining books.
November 15, 2019
Back when I was younger, I read this book first, not knowing it was the 2nd in the series. It still made perfect sense, as the author politely catches up the reader with small details to recap what the first book "Tales of the Frog Princess" was about. The story has all of your fantasy favorites: princesses, princes, kingdoms, witches (no black magic or weird things like necromancy, just sometimes the family curse comes to life and they get cursed as a hag (an ugly old witch)), and dragons. Of course there's dragons. The books play around with transforming into all kinds of animals, curses, family drama, wars, and even a sort of Dragon Olympics. It's a funny, witty tale that took me (as an 8 year old) only a week or so to read, and the audio books are delightful as well. Well worth getting for new readers, or even to enjoy as an adult--they're just that good.
March 5, 2023
omg cliffhanger i’m kinda excited…but actually i can’t stand grassina like it’s never that serious U HAVE A KINGDOM TO PROTECT WHO CARES ABT HAYWOOD
September 2, 2024
this book was really good.
January 25, 2020
kinda cute but not for me! i did not appreciate how persistent eadric was in asking emma to kiss him like,, yikes and they’re 14 and gonna get engaged. also, the writing was like something i’d write when i was in elementary school but slightly better. even the names sounded like things i’d come up with. olivene? i literally made up a character named olinere. anyway, that’s probably why i liked this book when i was younger (except i could never get all the way through it) but now? no thank you!
January 11, 2018
E.D. Baker does it again! Another suspense-filled book.
Things I loved: the characters, Emma's growing relationship with Eadric, and the funny times.
Things I didn't like: nothing. Everything was really well-done. (also I read this book a year ago and don't remember everything (: ha ha)
5 stars and I'm telling everyone to read it!
Things I loved: the characters, Emma's growing relationship with Eadric, and the funny times.
Things I didn't like: nothing. Everything was really well-done. (also I read this book a year ago and don't remember everything (: ha ha)
5 stars and I'm telling everyone to read it!
May 29, 2024
I wonder if I read this all the way through when I was younger - I remember the beginning, but not much of the rest. I’m using this series as a total guilty pleasure read after the Mistborn series. It’s cute and funny, and I the magic is fun and clever. I thought it was really cool how Emma basically leveled up her magic.
January 4, 2021
This one was a fun fantasy quest!
June 11, 2023
Childhood fav 💚
May 28, 2024
Fun fairy tale, good reader on the audio version.
December 24, 2023
Call me a seven year old because I’m entertained.
Eadric is the og book simp and I’m living for it. Grandma can suck my nuts. Done.
Eadric is the og book simp and I’m living for it. Grandma can suck my nuts. Done.
March 10, 2021
Fun sequel to The Frog Princess. Cute story with some nice fantasy elements. I continue to be interested in what happens to the characters, and will probably check out the third in the series at some point.
October 18, 2024
I’ve been having so much fun listening to these audiobooks. They are perfect if you have a middle schooler looking for a light hearted and humorous read full of magic, adventure, romance, quirky characters, funny dialogue, and mythical creatures. This book picks up right where the first one ended and I’m excited to see what happens next. The third one better pick up right where this one ends too! Haha Can I just say I absolutely LOVED the dragons in this book? Their scenes were my favorite part. I feel like the dragons and their culture were unique and it was very entertaining. More dragons please!! This book takes them to a lot of different settings! You won’t ever be bored. The narrator was great with her different voices.
SPOILERS and book notes:
Emma accidentally magicked her way into the castle dungeon where witches ghosts still haunt. The ghosts are hilarious bc look what they do when ever someone comes down for salt etc: “the gruesome historic reenactments that some of the ghosts enjoyed.” Her mom doesn’t want her to be a witch at all so she needs to learn in secret. Lil stinker the bat. Emma can talk to animals bc she was once a frog. Emma’s grandpa is a ghost that’s in the dungeon too! Their family curse is after they turn 16 if they touch a flower they will become a nasty hag. Emma’s goal is to become the green witch like her grandma was before she turned into a hag: “the nicest as well as the most powerful witch around. Those are both requirements for being the Green Witch." Grassina is the green witch now. And if there isn’t one then evil things could invade the kingdom. Every time she sneezes she and Eadric turn back to a frog! Grassina and Haywood (still an otter) are soooo in love. The four G H E Ea flew in a magic carpet to the witches retirement center to get GMA to turn Haywood back human. Emma sneezed again and turned to frogs so she tried to turn them back human but accidentally turned them old people lol. Emma sneezed while in a storm on the magic carpet so her and Eadric fell. She did a spell for a flying to creature to catch them and this creature caught them named Manta who can fly and swim and eats plankton: “"Frogs, huh?" Manta said. "Never heard of frogs before. You must be rare." "As rare as enchanted royalty," Eadric said, puffing himself up. "That's not rare. I wish I had a mouthful of plankton for every enchanted prince I've met.” A little old wizard named Olefat (has a pet parrot named Me Too) stole all the wicked witches memories and stored them in bottles. It has the written ingredients cure for Haywood! Olefat reminds me of professor Lockhart. He is only good at memory spells and so uses them to steal spells from other better witches. Grassina has to go find Haywood whom GMA banished somewhere so Eadric and Emma will find the ingredients! “A gossamer hair from mother-of-pearl.
The breath of a dragon green.
A feather from an aged horse,
The husk of a magic bean.”
They first are going to go to the sea and talk to Coral (a sea witch) for the hair! Yeah we get to meet Emma’s dad the King! A strong serious man! Who found out that King Beltran Prince Jorge's father sent spies in their kingdom. (Gulp) and now with Grassina gone they will attack for land! A little green crab (from the island) named Shelton is tagging along now too. Coral and her beautiful mermaid friends are sirins. So of course Eadric is acting like a buffoon haha. Octopuses make the best butlers. lol. “"Octavius isn't a sea monster, he's an octopus! They make the best butlers. I don't know what I'd do without him. He can do more than one job at a time, and he's all the defense I need." The hair is from the mermaid named pearl’s MOTHER. And she is a nasty sea witch. To get the hair they are performing a task of getting a pearl from a sea monster for her. They went in a “cave” to get the pearl that ended up being the monsters mouth! They battle its tongue!! Oh good I’m glad they give the annoying crab as a gift to coral. After they are attacked by a shark. Now they are going to a magic market through a magic tapestry to buy magic beans. Eadric buys a talking sword named ferdy who would rather be a pen than a sword. They fought a GIANT SPIDER bc Eadric got caught in its web along with a raven and a baby dragon! They defeated it by using giants stepping foot! Ralf (the baby dragon they saved) said he could take them to his gpa the king of the dragons and he could help them find a green one! They are frogs rn so they fly on the baby dragons back! Haha what an image!! Dragons don’t eat frogs so they just can’t have Emma sneeze and they will be fine. lol “Tell me something. What would you have said if someone had told you a few weeks ago that you soon would be riding on a dragon's back with a princess in your arms?" I felt Eadric shrug. "I'd have asked her name. A few weeks ago, I was looking for a princess to kiss. I never imagined I'd be lucky enough to find you." I sighed and settled back against his chest. For a frog who could be all too thickheaded, Eadric could be awfully sweet sometimes.” They get there and there is no such thing as GREEN dragons apparently. Ralf gives them a salve that makes the frogs fire proof and not dry out. They got a horse feather from Pegasus descendent who is old and deaf. This is so epic. Ralf is taking them to the dragon Olympics in a volcano and Ralf’s dad swims in the lava!! Names of dragons: Gargle Snort, Flash Red-Snout. My mother's name is Flame Snorter, but everybody calls her Snorty, Grumble Belly. Ralfs mom won the flame distance competition! Ralfs mom and dad were totally flirting with each other after she won! “"You were super, Mama! You're the best!" His mother laughed and fondled the ridge atop his head. Turning toward the larger dragon, she smiled. "And what about you, Grumblekins?" "You were great, Hot Lips," the big dragon said.” Emma sneezed and turned them into humans ! The dragons don’t like humans and are terrified of them bc they hunt them! It’s all about perspective. But Ralf ate something bad so he is Turing green from sickness so he lets them take his breath! Them Emma heals him with her magic! And hopefully it will help with dragon and human relations and prejudice. The dragon smoke when breathed makes your magic stronger if you are friendly with dragons. So now her magic is strong! and she can change forms at will! The dad gave them a claw and if they say his name he will come help! An epic witch battle between the wicked grandma and Grassina and Emma. Awww the ingredients of the potion worked and Haywood is human again!!! They are in love and kissed! And then beautiful flower petals fell down on them. BUT THE CURSE!!!! Grassina turned into an ugly wicked witch like their grandma! NOOOOO just when they had gotten together again!! And now Emma is the green witch and has to be the one do help defend the kingdom! Grumblebelly is helping them fight the army! Emma keeps turning knights into frogs and mice while flying on a dragon! The invading Jorge army leaves!! And this is what Emma says to Eadric: “"I'm sorry if I seem to take you for granted sometimes. I dragged you into some awful predicaments, but you've helped me more than I could have dreamed possible. I appreciate everything you've done." "Enough to give me a kiss?" "Mmm," I said. The kiss was long and loving and I enjoyed every second of it. After a time, Eadric pulled away to murmur, "You're wrong about one thing. Those were adventures, not predicaments. I like adventures, and maybe that's one of the reasons I'm crazy about you. When you're around, I never know what's going to happen next!" The next book BETTER be about finding a cure for the flower curse.
SPOILERS and book notes:
Emma accidentally magicked her way into the castle dungeon where witches ghosts still haunt. The ghosts are hilarious bc look what they do when ever someone comes down for salt etc: “the gruesome historic reenactments that some of the ghosts enjoyed.” Her mom doesn’t want her to be a witch at all so she needs to learn in secret. Lil stinker the bat. Emma can talk to animals bc she was once a frog. Emma’s grandpa is a ghost that’s in the dungeon too! Their family curse is after they turn 16 if they touch a flower they will become a nasty hag. Emma’s goal is to become the green witch like her grandma was before she turned into a hag: “the nicest as well as the most powerful witch around. Those are both requirements for being the Green Witch." Grassina is the green witch now. And if there isn’t one then evil things could invade the kingdom. Every time she sneezes she and Eadric turn back to a frog! Grassina and Haywood (still an otter) are soooo in love. The four G H E Ea flew in a magic carpet to the witches retirement center to get GMA to turn Haywood back human. Emma sneezed again and turned to frogs so she tried to turn them back human but accidentally turned them old people lol. Emma sneezed while in a storm on the magic carpet so her and Eadric fell. She did a spell for a flying to creature to catch them and this creature caught them named Manta who can fly and swim and eats plankton: “"Frogs, huh?" Manta said. "Never heard of frogs before. You must be rare." "As rare as enchanted royalty," Eadric said, puffing himself up. "That's not rare. I wish I had a mouthful of plankton for every enchanted prince I've met.” A little old wizard named Olefat (has a pet parrot named Me Too) stole all the wicked witches memories and stored them in bottles. It has the written ingredients cure for Haywood! Olefat reminds me of professor Lockhart. He is only good at memory spells and so uses them to steal spells from other better witches. Grassina has to go find Haywood whom GMA banished somewhere so Eadric and Emma will find the ingredients! “A gossamer hair from mother-of-pearl.
The breath of a dragon green.
A feather from an aged horse,
The husk of a magic bean.”
They first are going to go to the sea and talk to Coral (a sea witch) for the hair! Yeah we get to meet Emma’s dad the King! A strong serious man! Who found out that King Beltran Prince Jorge's father sent spies in their kingdom. (Gulp) and now with Grassina gone they will attack for land! A little green crab (from the island) named Shelton is tagging along now too. Coral and her beautiful mermaid friends are sirins. So of course Eadric is acting like a buffoon haha. Octopuses make the best butlers. lol. “"Octavius isn't a sea monster, he's an octopus! They make the best butlers. I don't know what I'd do without him. He can do more than one job at a time, and he's all the defense I need." The hair is from the mermaid named pearl’s MOTHER. And she is a nasty sea witch. To get the hair they are performing a task of getting a pearl from a sea monster for her. They went in a “cave” to get the pearl that ended up being the monsters mouth! They battle its tongue!! Oh good I’m glad they give the annoying crab as a gift to coral. After they are attacked by a shark. Now they are going to a magic market through a magic tapestry to buy magic beans. Eadric buys a talking sword named ferdy who would rather be a pen than a sword. They fought a GIANT SPIDER bc Eadric got caught in its web along with a raven and a baby dragon! They defeated it by using giants stepping foot! Ralf (the baby dragon they saved) said he could take them to his gpa the king of the dragons and he could help them find a green one! They are frogs rn so they fly on the baby dragons back! Haha what an image!! Dragons don’t eat frogs so they just can’t have Emma sneeze and they will be fine. lol “Tell me something. What would you have said if someone had told you a few weeks ago that you soon would be riding on a dragon's back with a princess in your arms?" I felt Eadric shrug. "I'd have asked her name. A few weeks ago, I was looking for a princess to kiss. I never imagined I'd be lucky enough to find you." I sighed and settled back against his chest. For a frog who could be all too thickheaded, Eadric could be awfully sweet sometimes.” They get there and there is no such thing as GREEN dragons apparently. Ralf gives them a salve that makes the frogs fire proof and not dry out. They got a horse feather from Pegasus descendent who is old and deaf. This is so epic. Ralf is taking them to the dragon Olympics in a volcano and Ralf’s dad swims in the lava!! Names of dragons: Gargle Snort, Flash Red-Snout. My mother's name is Flame Snorter, but everybody calls her Snorty, Grumble Belly. Ralfs mom won the flame distance competition! Ralfs mom and dad were totally flirting with each other after she won! “"You were super, Mama! You're the best!" His mother laughed and fondled the ridge atop his head. Turning toward the larger dragon, she smiled. "And what about you, Grumblekins?" "You were great, Hot Lips," the big dragon said.” Emma sneezed and turned them into humans ! The dragons don’t like humans and are terrified of them bc they hunt them! It’s all about perspective. But Ralf ate something bad so he is Turing green from sickness so he lets them take his breath! Them Emma heals him with her magic! And hopefully it will help with dragon and human relations and prejudice. The dragon smoke when breathed makes your magic stronger if you are friendly with dragons. So now her magic is strong! and she can change forms at will! The dad gave them a claw and if they say his name he will come help! An epic witch battle between the wicked grandma and Grassina and Emma. Awww the ingredients of the potion worked and Haywood is human again!!! They are in love and kissed! And then beautiful flower petals fell down on them. BUT THE CURSE!!!! Grassina turned into an ugly wicked witch like their grandma! NOOOOO just when they had gotten together again!! And now Emma is the green witch and has to be the one do help defend the kingdom! Grumblebelly is helping them fight the army! Emma keeps turning knights into frogs and mice while flying on a dragon! The invading Jorge army leaves!! And this is what Emma says to Eadric: “"I'm sorry if I seem to take you for granted sometimes. I dragged you into some awful predicaments, but you've helped me more than I could have dreamed possible. I appreciate everything you've done." "Enough to give me a kiss?" "Mmm," I said. The kiss was long and loving and I enjoyed every second of it. After a time, Eadric pulled away to murmur, "You're wrong about one thing. Those were adventures, not predicaments. I like adventures, and maybe that's one of the reasons I'm crazy about you. When you're around, I never know what's going to happen next!" The next book BETTER be about finding a cure for the flower curse.
February 2, 2015
This book is even funnier than The Frog Princess, and has tons of nods to fairy tales and other fantastic elements. My favorite part of the book was the interaction with the dragons, although seeing Emma come into her powers and start winning at everything is pretty satisfying, too.
I also like the elements introduced in the books that pave the way for a sequel. In the first book, it was the introduction to Haywood, which naturally leads to this book being about breaking his curse. Then so the next book will naturally lead to Emma breaking that curse (Baker does this with The Wide-Awake Princess series, too).
Emma has a sort of “Should I or shouldn’t I” when it comes to Eadric, which I think is a great change over the usual “And they all lived happily ever after.” I mean, it’s pretty obvious that Emma and Eadric will live happily ever after, but for once we’re seeing the journey to it.
Overall, Dragon’s Breath is quite a charming book, and in many ways improves upon The Frog Princess simply by making everything bigger, in a sense. Ralf the dragon was adorable, and Emma had some truly awesome moments both pre- and post-Green Witch. What happened to Grassina is a bit sad, but sure to come out all right in the next book, which is obviously going to be about breaking that curse.
I also like the elements introduced in the books that pave the way for a sequel. In the first book, it was the introduction to Haywood, which naturally leads to this book being about breaking his curse. Then so the next book will naturally lead to Emma breaking that curse (Baker does this with The Wide-Awake Princess series, too).
Emma has a sort of “Should I or shouldn’t I” when it comes to Eadric, which I think is a great change over the usual “And they all lived happily ever after.” I mean, it’s pretty obvious that Emma and Eadric will live happily ever after, but for once we’re seeing the journey to it.
Overall, Dragon’s Breath is quite a charming book, and in many ways improves upon The Frog Princess simply by making everything bigger, in a sense. Ralf the dragon was adorable, and Emma had some truly awesome moments both pre- and post-Green Witch. What happened to Grassina is a bit sad, but sure to come out all right in the next book, which is obviously going to be about breaking that curse.
August 21, 2011
Emma and Eadric are humans again and must help Grassina to get her true love back. Haywood was turned into an otter years before by Grassina's mother. She didn't think he wasa suitable suitor for her daughter so thought this was the best way to get rid of him. She made the recipe for the cure deliberately difficult so he wouldn't be able to turn back. But now Grassina has found him again she is determined not to let him go. So with Emma and Eadric's help they set off to find four magical items needed to turn him back.
This book seemed slightly slower than the first, it was more detailed and deeper explained. There was a lot of back story involving the curse and Grassina's mother which was quite detailed and slowed the pace of the story quite a bit.
Eadric seems to do nothing but eat and whine in this one. But Emma goes from strength to strength. I liked her a lot more in this book. There was a lot of action scenes and exciting twists but they were in between the slower parts so the book just seemed to drag a little bit.
However saying that it is only 292 pages so it still didn't take me that long and overall the plot line was good. I love the devotion between Haywood and Grassina, and the twist at the end was very good.
Overall it is still a good book and worth a read, it's just a bit slow in places. You may find yourself skimming bits.
This book seemed slightly slower than the first, it was more detailed and deeper explained. There was a lot of back story involving the curse and Grassina's mother which was quite detailed and slowed the pace of the story quite a bit.
Eadric seems to do nothing but eat and whine in this one. But Emma goes from strength to strength. I liked her a lot more in this book. There was a lot of action scenes and exciting twists but they were in between the slower parts so the book just seemed to drag a little bit.
However saying that it is only 292 pages so it still didn't take me that long and overall the plot line was good. I love the devotion between Haywood and Grassina, and the twist at the end was very good.
Overall it is still a good book and worth a read, it's just a bit slow in places. You may find yourself skimming bits.
November 3, 2023
Emma and Eadric's adventures continue, in this the second book, of The Frog Princess series!
This time, they are on a quest to find the magical items necessary for the spell to turn Grassina's beloved, Haywood, back into a human!
Her mother had turned Haywood into an otter; Grassina had been searching for him for over 23 years! She thought Haywood had been turned into a frog; and had spent years fruitlessly kissing as many frogs as possible.
Their adventures finding the items are very interesting, humorous, and entertaining!
My favorite character in this story was the little dragon, Ralf. He is a baby dragon that was caught in a spider's web Emma and Edric rescued him and he did all he could to help them on their quest. He was so direct and hopeful (like all children are) and really added to the story.
I so look forward to reading the next book in the series.
This time, they are on a quest to find the magical items necessary for the spell to turn Grassina's beloved, Haywood, back into a human!
Her mother had turned Haywood into an otter; Grassina had been searching for him for over 23 years! She thought Haywood had been turned into a frog; and had spent years fruitlessly kissing as many frogs as possible.
Their adventures finding the items are very interesting, humorous, and entertaining!
My favorite character in this story was the little dragon, Ralf. He is a baby dragon that was caught in a spider's web Emma and Edric rescued him and he did all he could to help them on their quest. He was so direct and hopeful (like all children are) and really added to the story.
I so look forward to reading the next book in the series.
June 5, 2016
Emma and Eadric's adventures continue, in this the second book, of The Frog Princess series!
This time, they are on a quest to find the magical items necessary for the spell to turn Grassina's beloved, Haywood, back into a human! Her mother had turned Haywood into an otter and Grassina had been searching for him for over 23 years! She thought her mother had turned Haywood into a frog and so had spent years fruitlessly kissing as many frogs as possible.
Their adventures finding the items are very interesting, humorous, and entertaining!
My favorite character in this story was the little dragon, Ralf. He is a baby dragon that was caught in a spider's web Emma and Edric rescued him and he did all he could to help them on their quest. He was so direct and hopeful (like all children are) and really added to the story.
I so look forward to reading the next book in the series.
This time, they are on a quest to find the magical items necessary for the spell to turn Grassina's beloved, Haywood, back into a human! Her mother had turned Haywood into an otter and Grassina had been searching for him for over 23 years! She thought her mother had turned Haywood into a frog and so had spent years fruitlessly kissing as many frogs as possible.
Their adventures finding the items are very interesting, humorous, and entertaining!
My favorite character in this story was the little dragon, Ralf. He is a baby dragon that was caught in a spider's web Emma and Edric rescued him and he did all he could to help them on their quest. He was so direct and hopeful (like all children are) and really added to the story.
I so look forward to reading the next book in the series.
August 19, 2020
Like the first, just fun. Def. would make a 'good' Disney movie, if you like those. Eadric is not worthy of Emma though... every time I notice him he's doubting her abilities or being queasy or gluttonous.
There is a big loose thread at the end of this but I doubt that I'll continue the series. The most fun parts for me are minor ones, like the sneaked-in homages to other fairy tales.
There is a big loose thread at the end of this but I doubt that I'll continue the series. The most fun parts for me are minor ones, like the sneaked-in homages to other fairy tales.
June 2, 2018
I love this series so much. I’m so glad I decided to listen to this series. There’s so many details that I had forgotten and I love revisiting the characters and the world. I’m starting the next one as soon as I can!
February 15, 2017
Cute sequel to The Frog Princess.
October 23, 2015
This story turned out better than I thought it would be. Not too bad of a story. =)
February 17, 2017
This was such a cute read. We all enjoyed the adventure and suspense of this story, and watching Emerelda come into her own and the relationships grow was a pleasure.
January 10, 2018
I don't like prince whats-his-face. He just annoys me lol
July 13, 2023
After having somewhat liking the first book I chose I may take a gander to see what the second book would be about. And that is when the book became a brick wall to me.
It was slow to get into even though getting started from where the last book left off. And then from there the story just seemed to trickle drop-by-drop until you just wanted to throw the book. Meanwhile the characters aren't fleshed out anymore than they were in the original but they can almost be seen to have devolved with the book taking a more feminist stance for Emma while Eadric would in a Disney film be the comedic relief pet/animal that accompanies the princess on her journey of self-discovery instead of the Prince Charming that so many of us were raised on.
Although the first book was a bit busy, Dragon's Breath takes this busyness to a whole new level so much so that the whole adventure seems pretty rushed while not really focusing on any one facet. And since of Emma's extreme good fortune it just felt more unrealistic than the first book and very off-putting as well while the ending came down to overpowering the protagonist, which agitated me greatly, especially since she magically becomes this great witch after spending 14 years as a klutz that can't cast a spell to two weeks of middling adventures with no actual bad things truly happening to her.
As a result I struggled honestly about whether I wanted to read the last book since basically the second one closed on the actual adventure that the first book started thus making any other additional books to be separate books from that first batch. Furthermore I chose to check out the rest of the series books to further make up my mind about whether I should continue. Book three and four continue with the same cast, book five is actually a prequel from before the first four and then book six to eight are a whole new series while the last book is an alternate 1.5 or so thus how can it be claimed there are actually nine books altogether.
In the end to save my sanity I am choosing to close the series at this second book as there really doesn't seem anything else much to be offered that will keep my attention since of the problems previously mentioned. And as mentioned before if I had come to this series young enough and without experience of some great fantasy books I may have been a fan so there still may be some readers out there for this quasi-series.
It was slow to get into even though getting started from where the last book left off. And then from there the story just seemed to trickle drop-by-drop until you just wanted to throw the book. Meanwhile the characters aren't fleshed out anymore than they were in the original but they can almost be seen to have devolved with the book taking a more feminist stance for Emma while Eadric would in a Disney film be the comedic relief pet/animal that accompanies the princess on her journey of self-discovery instead of the Prince Charming that so many of us were raised on.
Although the first book was a bit busy, Dragon's Breath takes this busyness to a whole new level so much so that the whole adventure seems pretty rushed while not really focusing on any one facet. And since of Emma's extreme good fortune it just felt more unrealistic than the first book and very off-putting as well while the ending came down to overpowering the protagonist, which agitated me greatly, especially since she magically becomes this great witch after spending 14 years as a klutz that can't cast a spell to two weeks of middling adventures with no actual bad things truly happening to her.
As a result I struggled honestly about whether I wanted to read the last book since basically the second one closed on the actual adventure that the first book started thus making any other additional books to be separate books from that first batch. Furthermore I chose to check out the rest of the series books to further make up my mind about whether I should continue. Book three and four continue with the same cast, book five is actually a prequel from before the first four and then book six to eight are a whole new series while the last book is an alternate 1.5 or so thus how can it be claimed there are actually nine books altogether.
In the end to save my sanity I am choosing to close the series at this second book as there really doesn't seem anything else much to be offered that will keep my attention since of the problems previously mentioned. And as mentioned before if I had come to this series young enough and without experience of some great fantasy books I may have been a fan so there still may be some readers out there for this quasi-series.
December 2, 2016
ragon's Breath is an enjoyable read, with a writing style directed towards younger kids.
This is the story of a teen princess, Emma, who is learning magic and trying to get out of a betrothal. It is written in the first person, and starts off in the middle of things, which felt a bit awkward, but I realized later was because this is actually the third book in the series. It does, however, do a decent job of explaining things quickly and can be read by itself. The story is entertaining, and while the tone was lighthearted, the challenges therein were not trivial. Spells and magic are pretty juvenile, but since that is the target audience, that's not really a problem. It seems like in order to cast a spell, you just come up with a rhyming poem that demands or asks for what you want. There aren't really any rules about how the magic works or energy use or anything like that.
I expected the book to be quite predictable, but it was not. The story line surprised me several times along the way.
The biggest issue I had with the e-book are the many, many typos. This is unfortunately somewhat common in e-books, but that does not make it acceptable. OCR (optical character recognition) is all well and good for a cheap conversion, but it really must be accompanied by a thorough editing job.
Still, I highly recommend this book to young fantasy readers (age 12 - 14) and I'm sure the rest of the series is on par.
This is the story of a teen princess, Emma, who is learning magic and trying to get out of a betrothal. It is written in the first person, and starts off in the middle of things, which felt a bit awkward, but I realized later was because this is actually the third book in the series. It does, however, do a decent job of explaining things quickly and can be read by itself. The story is entertaining, and while the tone was lighthearted, the challenges therein were not trivial. Spells and magic are pretty juvenile, but since that is the target audience, that's not really a problem. It seems like in order to cast a spell, you just come up with a rhyming poem that demands or asks for what you want. There aren't really any rules about how the magic works or energy use or anything like that.
I expected the book to be quite predictable, but it was not. The story line surprised me several times along the way.
The biggest issue I had with the e-book are the many, many typos. This is unfortunately somewhat common in e-books, but that does not make it acceptable. OCR (optical character recognition) is all well and good for a cheap conversion, but it really must be accompanied by a thorough editing job.
Still, I highly recommend this book to young fantasy readers (age 12 - 14) and I'm sure the rest of the series is on par.
April 3, 2018
As a follow up to The Frog Princess, this is brilliant. It is just as funny, cute and witty as the first story and it takes us further into Emma and Eadric’s world of magic and mayhem. On a journey to break her Gandmother’s spell over Haywood, Emma and Eadric travel all across the magical kingdom to find four incredibly obscure ingredients.
I kind of loved the fact that the ingredients to reverse Olivene’s spell were so obscure and difficult. The poetry in the spell alone was fun to read, but the journey to actually obtain the ingredients… it took my favourite royal couple to many, many corners of the magical world. As I always do, I enjoyed the ways in which our reality is layered into a magical one. It made everything seem at once fantastic, and recognisable at the same time. Especially the magic markets – that is the kind of place that I would really love to visit.
Emma’s transformation from blundering witch-in-training to powerful witch in her own right kind of took me by surprise. I thought that her transformation from girl would take a lot longer in this series. Yet, instead of feeling cumbersome and as a means to a happy ending. It worked really, really well. It was entirely believable and I can’t wait to open the pages of the next book in this series.
I kind of loved the fact that the ingredients to reverse Olivene’s spell were so obscure and difficult. The poetry in the spell alone was fun to read, but the journey to actually obtain the ingredients… it took my favourite royal couple to many, many corners of the magical world. As I always do, I enjoyed the ways in which our reality is layered into a magical one. It made everything seem at once fantastic, and recognisable at the same time. Especially the magic markets – that is the kind of place that I would really love to visit.
Emma’s transformation from blundering witch-in-training to powerful witch in her own right kind of took me by surprise. I thought that her transformation from girl would take a lot longer in this series. Yet, instead of feeling cumbersome and as a means to a happy ending. It worked really, really well. It was entirely believable and I can’t wait to open the pages of the next book in this series.
September 10, 2017
Well this was cute! I liked it better than the first one (which while certainly entertaining, and about a million times better than the creepy Disney cartoon it spawned, just wasn't 100% my cup of tea); the characters are more developed, and while they do spend some time as frogs in this sequel as well, we get to spend more time with them as humans, which helps widen their characteriaztion. Honestly, I felt the last one was more focused on "omg, I'm a magic princess who turned into a froggy and my prince is sooo annoying..." We got to just have more fun with the fairytale premise here in "Dragon's Breath".
The references to Hansel and Gretel and Jack and the Beanstalk were hilarious! And the dragon Olympics was amusing too.
And while the constant Emma/Eadric and Haywood/Grassina drama did get to a point where I felt I was reading a fairy story set soap for tweens, it wasn't too bad, all in good taste/fun.
I will definitely be reading the next one.
The references to Hansel and Gretel and Jack and the Beanstalk were hilarious! And the dragon Olympics was amusing too.
And while the constant Emma/Eadric and Haywood/Grassina drama did get to a point where I felt I was reading a fairy story set soap for tweens, it wasn't too bad, all in good taste/fun.
I will definitely be reading the next one.
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