REVIEW: Alien Frog Prince by J. M. Page and Juno Wells
It’s not easy being green and unloved. Can an amphibious prince woo a socially awkward human?
A rueful royal…
Prince Zakrom feels like everyone on Granota has found their One — their beloved for life — except him. His worried parents send him to visit Earth, hoping it will distract him from his solitude. Zak finds more than a distraction: Jennifer, the lovely human at the Interstellar Embassy, is his One! But surely such a beautiful creature can’t be interested in a strange-looking alien like him.
A diplomatic dilemma…
With the Ambassador called away on urgent business, Jen’s in a panic at being left in charge of the Prince’s visit. She loves learning about alien cultures, but somehow missed the file on the Granotans and is totally unprepared. If she blunders too badly, she could cause a diplomatic incident or even trigger an attack on Earth!
A galactic gambit…
But despite her constant gaffes, the Prince doesn’t seem upset. In fact, he seems to like her… rather a lot. When he invites her to visit his planet, will this unlikely couple finally have the chance to share an enchanted Kiss that will change everything?
Dear J. M. Page and Juno Wells,
We here at Dear Author have a long history of reviewing stories with alien x human romances so when I saw this title and this cover, well I just had to try it.
My version of the “school nightmare” is not that I’m standing in front of a classroom nekkid but that it’s the end of the semester and all of a sudden I realize that I haven’t done any of the assignments or studied and now I’ve got a final exam to take in a difficult class I need in order to graduate. Jen is facing something kind of similar in that on the day of his visit to Earth, she is told that an alien Prince is due any minute and she realizes she forgot all about it and didn’t prepare any background information for the Ambassador for whom she works who is supposed to meet him. Ooops. Things get worse when she is delegated in her boss’s place and has to wing it.
Prince Zakrom has visited hundreds of places – and probably eaten more than his share of whatever passes for “rubbery chicken” on these worlds – but in addition to his diplomatic duties, he keeps hoping to find his One. His people have malleable DNA which shifts once they meet their true love and share the Kiss. It should have already happened to him, he’s been waiting for it for years and he’s almost given up on the Cosmos. Then he meets Jen and instantly feels the zing and connection. It’s fate, he’s elated but can he get this beautiful woman to see past his appearance?
So this is cute and yes, there is a HEA – though I spent some time wondering if egg laying is in Jen’s future. Zak is honorable enough to not spring the Kiss on Jen since she’s obviously unaware of his people’s customs and the whole Fated One thing. Still if he has to maneuver her to his planet in order to spend more time with her, he’s not above that. I like that they feel a connection and ease with each other while he’s still Prince Froggy and that Jen is genuinely enthusiastic about seeing new worlds thus conveniently setting her free of Earth.
Jen does seem to fall for Zak as he is and burbles on about “inner beauty” yet still, once they Kiss he does change in appearance. Can I be honest in admitting that I would have loved a “Shrek” thing or even Zak just staying his stockier, knobbier skinned self? I also thought it odd that in this world of space travel across trillions of miles in a few hours, that Jen would be so reliant on paper reports and post-it notes. Yay for Earth not being All That to hordes of space aliens but rather viewed as a nice enough but rather backward place just opening up for space business.
This is a fast, cute read but probably not one that will stay with me for long. I also need to point out that despite the Amazon listed print length, this is a 20,000 word novella. B-
~Jayne
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