Charming. Clever. Romantic. Enchanted features that odd, grim, slightly horrific quality that the original fairy tales often have, but Kontis’ magical tale is dosed with a good deal of humor, beauty and strong familial bonds. Perhaps my favorite part of this story was how Kontis has seamlessly interwoven many, many beloved stories into that of her Woodcutter family. It never felt as though those details were tagged on. Those details never became tiresome or felt awkwardly included. Instead the way the story was written, I could almost believe that all of the fairy tales I know and love were in fact inspired by this one very large and diverse family.The romance between Sunday and Prince Rumbold, is extremely adorable – a little on the sappy side, at times, but I found I didn’t mind all that much. Sunday is a lovely character, a girl whose optimism and excitement is infectious. A girl inspired by stories, and who has a way with words. She’s tough, but sweet. A dreamer, yet practical. She’s suffered tragedy, and yet she’s still a romantic. She’s innocent, but not naïve. Rumbold, on the other hand, spends most of the book a fish out of water, or more accurately, a frog out of the forest. He spends much of the book trying to remember exactly who he was and discovering who he now wants to be. He’s definitely angsty, but he’s kind, brave and good. So I’m inclined to forgive the angst seeing as he was, only recently a frog… and that’s a bit of a raw deal. In any case, Sunday & Rumbold compliment each other well, and it’s fun watching their fairy tale unfold.Bit of a side note… the narrator of the audiobook, Katherine Kellgren, is absolutely fantastic. Her tone, her inflections, her voices, her entire performance is perfect, demonstrating yet again that a narrator can either make or break a book.Overall, if you love re-imagined fairy tales with a bit of old and new, if you looking for a sweet romance, if you’re ready to fall for a heroine who’s both sweet and sassy, you should definitely pick up Enchanted.
