Book Review: "The Frog Prince" by Jane Porter

Holly Bishop is the proverbial, small-town good girl. She always follows the rules, thinks of others first, and she never, ever makes mistakes. Until she marries the man she thought was her Prince Charming, who confesses on their honeymoon that he’s not sexually attracted to her. Now, 14 months later, Holly’s marriage is in the toilet, along with her self-esteem. Determined to start over, she moves to San Francisco, where she must navigate the landmines of dating in the big city. In the shadow of the Golden Gate and amid a population of wacky Bay Area eccentrics, Holly will discover that nice girls don’t always finish last. In fact, they sometimes end up with everything they’d ever wanted.

Holly's love life is not happy. She's going through the final stages of divorce from her newly married husband Jean-Marc. Her marriage pretty much crumbled right from the beginning when during the honeymoon Jean-Marc tells her he doesn't love her anymore and can't really give her a reason. Therefore I don't blame her for being cynical and bitter in the beginning of the book. If the guy I was going to marry told me the same thing too, I'd be pissed off at him and everyone else in the world and would have very low self esteem. However, even with minor setbacks every now and then Holly is able to get on with her life.

There are many subplots that happen throughout the book besides Holly's quest to find the right guy. They don't busy up the plot though and in fact add to Holly's character. Her career takes several ups and downs throughout the book, eventually resulting in a major down that nearly makes her lose her wits. It's done by a jealous, catty co-worker who has it in for Holly but don't worry, revenge is sweet. Also I really liked how Holly's relationship with her mother changed throughout the book. She's annoyed with her mother throughout the book but their relationship changes as she begins to understand where her mother is coming from and why she acts the way she does. Then by the end when Jean-Marc insults her mother, for the first time ever Holly stands up for her and walks away with a new found respect for her mom.

I also really enjoyed the ending of the book. Without spoiling everything for you, let's just say it's not a typical fairy book ending where everything is resolved and the princess has found the answers to all her questions. It's refreshingly realistic yet still optimistic at the same time. Much more relatable than having the prince come out of nowhere. I really enjoy Jane Porter's style of writing. It's funny and hits close to home in a "wow, I can SO relate" type of way. If you're in the mood for some great chick lit, pick up this book.

The Frog Prince by Jane Porter is published by 5 Spot (2005)

This review copy was provided by the publisher