TO KISS A FROG

Author: Elle James ISBN: 0505526204 3/2005 PARANORMAL Publisher: DORCHESTER/Love Spell

Wanted: Single woman, very near-sighted, who doesn’t care about height (3”) or skin flaws (green and bumpy), who can see past minor details (like not being entirely human) to find and love the man beneath the warts. Craig Thibodeaux was cursed. Frog by day and man by night, he had until the next full moon to break the spell—by finding someone to love him. Elaine Smith seemed perfect. She was beautiful and smart, and even passionate about frogs. But while she’d come to investigate Bayou Miste at just the right time, the sexy scientist needed a bodyguard not a boyfriend. And truth be told, he’d been a bit more frog than Prince Charming even before he’d tangled with the Voodoo Queen. Elaine deserved more. She deserved to be the queen of someone’s lily pad: a wife. While fighting more than one fly in the ointment, the magic of a single kiss brings Craig to realize fairytale endings really can come true.

RRAH's THOUGHTS AND PONDERINGS:

If I was pressed to come up with one word to describe Elle James' debut novel, the word would have to be WOW.

From a really dynamic romantic couple, to a lushly written setting, to a smooth-as-silk writing style, TO KISS A FROG clicks on all cylinders. Add some colorful secondary characters, gobs of humor and a nice little suspense with a twist, and this story is pretty daggone amazing.

Cajun playboy Craig Thibodeaux has so much raw sex appeal, he ought to be outlawed. A voodoo witch thinks he needs to be brought down to size. Her hex brings the Bayou bad boy down...to about three inches. Even green and warty, Craig has appeal. Pair Craig with brainy geek Elaine Smith and the fun really begins. These two characters—the bad boy and the geek—might be standard stock in romance land, but Ms. James gives them depth and a larger-than-life presence.

As sultry as a Bayou night, TO KISS A FROG overflows with creativity and imagination. My only complaint with this story is it might have ended too abruptly. Then again, I was so caught up in TO KISS A FROG I might not have wanted it to end.

Fast-paced, well-written and inspired, TO KISS A FROG is highly entertaining. Ms. James is definitely on my an-author-to-watch list.

And my heart still flutters every time I think of Craig.

Debbie Jett