Review of Ever After High: Kiss & Spell by Suzanne Selfors

Review of Suzanne Selfors' Ever After High: Kiss & Spell

Release Date: April 7th, 2015

Synopsis as found on Amazon.com:

What's a girl to do when she accidentally turns her crush into a frog? Ginger Breadhouse had a hard time growing up with the Candy Witch for a mom. It's not easy making friends if everyone believes your mom tried to cook Hansel and Gretel! But now that Ginger's attending Ever After High, she has a chance to forge her own path, and she's trying to make a name for herself as the host of the MirrorCast show Spells Kitchen. The problem is, she needs viewers!

 

Ginger hopes a magical recipe from Professor Rumpelstiltskin will be a showstopper -- but when the magic backfires, it turns Hopper Croakington II, son of the Frog Prince, into a small green amphibian! And the longer he remains under the spell, the more froglike he becomes. Can Ginger turn Hopper back into his regular self before it's too late?

 

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I am such a tweenage girl, because I can never get enough of Ever After & Monster High. I love the books, the animated shows, the MH movies, and even the dolls... yes, I am a grown man who loves dolls... well, Ever After High & Monster High dolls, at least. I was a little concerned of the changes that were being made in the books when Selfors took over writing what Shannon Hale had started. While I love the fact that we are getting the perspective of new characters with different lineage, I think there is a loss of the narrative omniscient voice that was present in the beginning of the series. While some people may enjoy the changes being made, I just find them to be a little out of character for the how the series began.

 

Kiss & Spell brings us a story in the eyes of Ginger Breadhouse, the daughter of the Candy Witch from Hansel & Gretel, with whom the readers met in Next Top Villain. Very much like Raven Queen, Ginger is rebelling against her story in that she also does not want to take over as the Candy Witch. While she does love to bake, she doesn't want to poison anyone. She doesn't want to be a Villain at all. This book follows Ginger as she tries to make her MirrorCast show, Spells Kitchen, a success. We also learn that she has a big crush on Hopper Croakington II, son of the Frog Prince.

 

This story definitely gives a lot of information on Ginger's back story and what happens to make her not want to be a Villain, as well as a small look into a few other character's lives. While Raven & Apple do make appearances in this book, they again are only in supporting roles.

 

Like all of the other EAH books, this book is quite short and definitely meant for a younger crowd, but if you go in expecting it to be a short fun read, you won't be disappointed.