Book 2 (A twisted, tangled, romantic retelling of the fairy tale, The Frog Prince.)
Sir Arnon de Bar has just been released of a curse from the old witch Hecuba, only some side effects still linger. He meets a mysterious woman at the swamp one night, but sees her kiss a frog and vanish into thin air. He has his sights set on claiming Castle Fane in Slapton as his own, but stumbles upon an easier way to get what he wants instead of storming the castle. The baron of Slapton is holding a competition, and the winner will be awarded his daughter's hand in marriage.
Freya Fane is a witch and more eccentric than most ladies. Especially since her Familiar is a frog. A handsome man she's seen at the swamp now appears at her castle, meaning to compete with her father and possibly claim her hand in marriage. While Freya has her secrets, one of them being that she is a witch, this man proves to have deeper, darker secrets than she could ever imagine. And when he starts acting oddly, and frogs follow him through the courtyard, she knows there is magic involved and he could be in trouble.
When magic is a curse, can it also be a blessing? And can a witch and a man who has had his share of trouble be able to stop the inevitable from happening before it is too late?
Elizabeth Rose is the author of medieval, paranormal, fantasy and contemporary novels. While based on romance, her novels have complex plots, action and suspense. She loves writing bad boy tortured heroes and empowered feisty heroines.
Her books have won rave reviews, and been seen on The History Channel as well as Wild Chicago. Elizabeth's books have won and been finalists in many contests. Here is a partial list:
Highland Spirit - Highland Chronicles WINNER of the Raven Award. Bedeviled - Portals of Destiny, WINNER Creme de la Cover Contest Beguiled - Portals of Destiny, WINNER - Creme de la Cover Contest
RONE Award finalists include: Doubting Thomas - Bad Boys of Sweetwater Highland Steel - Highland Chronicles Tristan - Pirate Lords Igniting Andrew - Bad Boys of Sweetwater Highland Secrets - Secrets of the Heart Seductive Secrets - Secrets of the Heart Forgotten Secrets - all Secrets of the Heart Summer's Reign - Seasons of Fortitude
Kindle Book Review Awards finalist and semi-finalist: Highland Secrets Forgotten Secrets
International Digital Award finalist: Highland Spring - Seasons of Fortitude
Golden Palm Finalist: Mary, Mary - Once Upon a Rhyme
Raven Awards Best Cover finalist: May Queen - Holiday Knights
Raven Awards Runner-Up: Lady and the Wolf - Tangled Tales
Books and Benches Reviewer's Choice: Restless Sea Lord - Legendary Bastards of the Crown
Sapphire Award Finalist: Kyros' Secret - Greek Myth Fantasy Series
Romantic Times Reviewer's Choice: Thief of Olympus - Greek Myth Fantasy Series
Seen on the History Channel: The Oracle of Delphi - Greek Myth Fantasy Series
And More!
Elizabeth is known for her many series which include:
Below the Salt Series Highland Outcasts Portals of Destiny Legacy of the Blade Daughters of the Dagger Elemental Magick Series Bad Boys of Sweetwater: Tarnished Saints Series Greek Myth Fantasy Series MadMan MacKeefe Series Legendary Bastards of the Crown Seasons of Fortitude Secrets of the Heart Second in Command Pirate Lords Highland Chronicles Barons of the Cinque Ports Tangled Tales Once Upon a Rhyme Holiday Knights Dark Encounters Cowboys of the Old West Working Man Series, and more!
Someday Elizabeth hopes to visit the castles of Scotland and England personally. However, she has been to the jungles of Peru and Machu Picchu which inspired her novels, Curse of the Condor and Bistro Bachelor.
“Every fairy tale had a bloody lining. Every one had teeth and claws.” Alice Hoffman, The Ice Queen
This is part of the Tangled Tales series. Book 2 Just A Kiss (The Frog Prince) Book 1 Lady and the Wolf (Red Riding Hood)
“These days when you kiss a prince you often run the risk of turning him into a frog. But don’t let the ogres in shining armor get you down. There is no need for distress – you don’t want to be anyone’s damsel anyway. Simply remind yourself that you are busy racking up those ‘frequent failure points’ that will eventually pay for an all-expenses paid trip to Mr. Right.” Anthon St. Maarten
This story opens in a swamp… of course… with Freya, a young witch talking to her familiar, which just happens to be a frog by the name of Boregard. Her mother is ill and she is trying to find herbs and medicinal plants in the swamp in order to heal her. She hides after hearing horsemen approach and she sees our guys from book one. She overhears them speaking of magical things and watches the antics of one guy in particular.
Our Twisted Tales are during the times of Lords and castles, brave knights fighting for the hand of a beautiful maiden, battles and alliances formed between warlords of the country and rumors of witches and magic.
Our villainess, the wicked witch Hecuba, is still determined to taunt and terrorize Lord de Bar and his seven children. Lord Hugh still turns into a wolf with the setting sun. His twin brother Arnon, who had been a wolf for a year, was being delivered from the curse, but something happened that has side-effects of a different type of transformation. The title of the story is sort of self-explanatory.
By the end of the story our set up is in place preparing us for book 3: Beast Lord (Beauty and the Beast). That is followed by book 4: Touch of Gold (Rumpelstiltskin).
Rating: PG-17: MA [mature audience]: due to violence, graphic and explicit sex.
I am done… these are mediocre at best. There is a cute story somewhere in there that is hurried along so the reader can get to the sex scenes. I didn’t enjoy the rushed feeling of the writing process. In other words, it is sex scenes wrapped in a mediocre story.
Who does't like a fairy tale? I love them because in the end good prevails and the same happens with this amusing story based on The Frog Prince. The de Bar family seems to have it's curses and Sir Amon de Bar has not been left out! Having just been freed of his curse as a wolf, he is looking forward to claiming his fortune and Castle Fane. But who does he run into but Freya Fane, a witch whose familiar, of course, is a frog. Her father the baron of Slapton is holding a competition and the winner will claim his daughter Freya in marriage. What more of an opportunity could Amon ask for? Elizabeth Rose has a knack for bringing together a tale of magic, romance and highly entertaining characters. You will be smiling and even laughing at some of the twists and turns that bring you to the last page. I cannot wait until the next Tangled Tale and know it will be well written and highly entertaining as this one!
This is book 2 in the tangled tales series. I really enjoy Elizabeth roses tangled tales series that are all based on other fairytales. This one is loosely based on the frog prince. It has Witches/ warlocks, shape shifters and curses what's not to love! This book is about sir Arnon De Bar all he wants is his happily ever after like his brother, especially after spending a year as a wolf. After meeting a mysterious young girl in the swamps he is determined to see her again. He ends up at a competition to win lady Freya ( the same girl from the swomp) hand in marriage. They both have secrets she being a witch and him having a curse put on him by a evil witch. With magic being forbidden and the punishment beige burnt at the stake by Freya’s father they both have to be very careful, even more so when arnon starts acting like a frog. It was very funny when he started jumping round like a frog and acting like one. These books are not very long so are lovely quick reads filled with excitement, adventure and loveable characters.
One of most interesting frog prince retellings I've read in a while - and there was a fair bit of humor, too. Loved the scene where Arnon jumps down the well.
Unfortunately, I can't recommend it due to content. I would have preferred to not be witness to the consummation of the wedding.
I was hopeful when I started the second book in the Tangled Tales series. Anyone who read the previous review must be shaking their heads that I would even try.
I'm bored.
We're in the pandemic lockdown of 2020, and I'm in the house 24/7 with my family. Give me a break.
Anyway.
I did really hope this would be better than Rose's version of Red Riding Hood; after all, there aren't that many attempts to re-tell The Princess and the Frog. But no, this was not to be the story that made me like it more than the folklore that inspired it.
Fairy-tales are simplistic, yes. But they are archetypes that have so much more to unravel within them. Angela Carter understood this, and so have many others. But you can't play with light and dark themes and then pretend they don't matter. I felt like nothing really mattered in the story -- not
I can see this is a popular, well-liked book and series, but I keep wondering "Why!?" even as I read them. Give the characters something that they both need from each other, or a flaw that they both have in common; something with a little depth! Sorry, I guess I'm expecting too much here. I'd love to find a really good re-telling of the story, because the original is about overcoming selfishness, and learning compassion and humility, and being patient with another person's flaws. This was not that, nor was it "twisted" (except in the sense that nobody had any qualms about their actions or the consequences of them!), and it wasn't romantic or sexy, even. If it had at least one of those qualities, I might have given it a better review.
I feel like I'm embarking on a masochistic quest to see how much I can stand, because, yes, so help me, I'm going to try and read the next book in the series. I might have to have a couple stiff drinks to get through it, though...thankfully, it's not novel-length!
Sir Arnon de Bar has just been released of a curse from the old witch Hecuba, only some side effects still linger. He meets a mysterious woman at the swamp one night, but sees her kiss a frog and vanish into thin air. He has his sights set on claiming Castle Fane in Slapton as his own, but stumbles upon an easier way to get what he wants instead of storming the castle. The baron of Slapton is holding a competition, and the winner will be awarded his daughter's hand in marriage.
Freya Fane is a witch and more eccentric than most ladies. Especially since her Familiar is a frog. A handsome man she's seen at the swamp now appears at her castle, meaning to compete with her father and possibly claim her hand in marriage. While Freya has her secrets, one of them being that she is a witch, this man proves to have deeper, darker secrets than she could ever imagine. And when he starts acting oddly, and frogs follow him through the courtyard, she knows there is magic involved and he could be in trouble.
When magic is a curse, can it also be a blessing? And can a witch and a man who has had his share of trouble be able to stop the inevitable from happening before it is too late?
My Thoughts:
I love this series in general and this book is no exception. Elizabeth Rose has taken these fairytales to a new level.
Be certain to read them all and in order if you can, but although part of a series they can all be read as standalones.
Our heroine reminds me that individualism is oftentimes looked upon negatively by our elders. Our hero has his own issues having been cursed not just once but twice by our villainess. I gave this humours and whimsical retelling of a much loved fairytale 4.5 of 5.0 stars for originality in the storyline and character development and a sensual rating of 3 of 5 flames. There is only one intimate scene and it is mild.
Sir Arnon de Bar has just been released from a curse that was put on him by the old witch Hecuba, and only some side effects still linger. One night he meets a mysterious woman at a swamp. He sees her kiss a frog and then poof she's gone and vanished into thin air. He's set on claiming Castle Fane in Slapton as his own, but then finds an easier way to get what he wants without having to storm the castle. It seems The Baron of Slapton is holding a competition, and the winner will get to marry his daughter.
Freya Fane is a witch who is more eccentric then most ladies. Especially since her Familiar is a frog. Now the handsome man that she saw at the swamp appears at her castle, wanting to compete with her Father and possibly win her hand in marriage. While Freya has secrets, one of them being that she is a witch, this man seems to have even deeper and darker secrets then she could ever imagine. Then he starts acting oddly, and frogs follow him through the courtyard, she knows that there's magic involved and he could be in trouble.
If magic is a curse, can it be a blessing at the same time? Can a witch and a man who's had his share of troubles work together to stop the inevitable from happening before it's too late? Can they possibly find love amidst all the chaos?
This is my first time reading one of Elizabeth Rose's paranormal novels and I truly enjoyed it. It was very well written and had everything one might be looking for in a paranormal novel. I give this book 5 stars and would recommend it to other paranormal readers.
Arnon is no longer a wolf. That’s the good news. The bad news? It seems that breaking the curse may have left some side effects, one side effect – he might be exhibiting some froglike qualities. Hecuba strikes again whether she meant to or not. Freya Fane is a swamp witch trying to break the curse on the castle in which she lives (guess who put the curse there) and help her sick mother. Arnon is among the men competing with her father, the lord of the castle, for her hand and ultimately the castle itself. He is successful and marries Freya. Now the trouble begins. From the moment the frog leg entre is presented at the feast, the journey to break his curse (and keep it a secret until then) runs hilariously amuck. Can Freya break Arnon’s curse or will she have to resort to keeping him in a tub in their chamber? This has become my favorite Tangled Tale. Just a Kiss is filled with great characters and a delightfully humorous version of a familiar tale. A great read!
(I enjoy listening to Brian J. Gill. He delivers a spot-on entertaining narration of this humorous version of The Frog Prince.
I was given this free copy of this audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.)
this story is about a witch Freya Fane princess and that is a step daughter of a king that hates witches, what happens when he learns she is a witch, she is a wild girl that will not do what he said and she sneaks out at might to take her frog out to the swamp because he is lonely, he is her familiar. when she kiss her frog she can transport anywhere she wants, she meets a man and a wolf at the water and the adventure starts. Sir Arnon de Ba is wondering who she is and his twin is a curse man that is a wolf shifter. when Sir Arnon de Ba decides to marry Freya to get revenue, love gets in the way and a new curse is born he turns into a frog. will a kiss break the curse. I enjoyed this story and the people in it are exciting and you will not be disappointed with this story.
Elizabeth Rose you did it again. This one so far is going to be one of my favorites. Witches a Frog a Wolf and a warlock. This lovely short story had me laughing out loud throughout the book. What I love about this author is that she brings a little piece of action, sword fights, lots of humor and my favorite a beautiful love scene. This Series is getting better and better. Happy Reading.
I really enjoy Elizabeth roses tangled tales series that are all based on other fairytales. This one is loosely based on the frog prince. I love the was she made the story her own. Witches/ warlocks, shape shifters and curses what's not to love !
This book is about sir Arnon De Bar who's story actually begins in book 1. Although you don't have to read these books in order as they do re-cap I do recommend you read book 1 first to find out more of Arnon story and curse. All he wants is his happily ever after like his brother, specially after spending a year as a wolf. After meeting a mysterious young girl in the swamps he is determined to see her again. He ends up at a competition to win lady Freya ( the same girl from the swomp) hand in marriage. Both lovers have there secrets, arnon beige his curse and Freya being she is a witch. With magic being forbidden and the punishment beige burnt at the stake by Freya father they both have to be very careful, even more so when arnon starts acting like a frog. But can Freya break arnons curse before he becomes a frog forever?
These books are not very long so are lovely quick reads ideal for travelling or if you want something you can finish in a day or two, filled with excitement, adventure and loveable characters.
I recommend this book to anyone that loves a fairytale re-make
Another Enjoyable Fairytale Twist. Having previously read Books 4 & 1 of this series, I was pleased to have the opportunity to read Book 2. Whilst this could be read out of order, you will enjoy it much more if you have read Lady and the Wolf. Hecuba the witch is still causing havoc in the de Bar family and Arnon’s curse may not be fully broken. Perhaps he needs a kiss from a beautiful woman? I received a complimentary copy of this book from the author. I was not compensated for my review, and I was not required to write a positive review. The opinion expressed here is my own.
After spending a year trapped in the body of a wolf, Arnon has been freed of his curse - but he's about to find out that a different curse entirely, which may be much worse, is now affecting him.
I felt sorry for the hero through the whole book, but I enjoyed the characters and the story. I love that the heroines so far in this series are independent go-getters.
I am enjoying these short revised fairy tales it’s their touches of humour and familiar characters. There’s something for every fantasy lover to enjoy.
He just had a really f***d up Curse... First as a Wolf for a year; then he became a frog. It just goes to show that true love Does conquer all! I love re-reading these fantasy stories and feel like I'm immersed in their world where I'm watching and wondering what's going to happen next. I just wish Elizabeth would give a little more detail in an epilogue so that I can see how the family and children get together, and their families have expanded.
What a great twist on the Frog Prince! I love how the family each has a little piece that connects all the stories together. An engrossing way to get my chores done around the house... just remember to put on headphones for the bedroom scene 😉
After suffering for a year, cursed as a wolf Sir Arnon de Bar is looking forward to his future. However, fate is a cruel mistress and it seems that his curse has taken another form. Freya Fane is a witch with a preference for Gothic dress ,a painted face ,a familiar that eats flies and likes to swim in the swamp. A chance encounter late at night deep in the swamp sets the two characters on a path neither of them saw coming. The second book in the tangles tales series is just as fun as the first. The authors unique twists are refreshing and highly entertaining. I found my self laughing at the characters behavior and shaking my head at their antics. The mystery, magic and legends are still present and the storyline flows smoothly. The characters are interesting , the story is well thought out , well written and funny. We are introduced to more of the family giving an idea as too what their curses may be but left wondering how the author is going to make it her own. I am enjoying this series and would recommend it to anyone who enjoys twisted fairy tales.