In the wake of her amphibian exploits in The Frog Princess, Princess Esmerelda (better known as Emma) continues to explore her magical powers. But as usual for her, things just keep getting more and more complicated. How so? Well, her former froggy compatriot Prince Eadric, now returned to his human shape, is hanging around, and Emma’s really not sure how she feels about him. Is it love, or just fond tolerance? Then Emma and Eadric set out to rescue her Aunt Grassina’s long-lost love from the spell which has trapped him as an otter. They have four days to gather the impossible ingredients that will reverse the spell, before all hope is lost. Meanwhile, Grassina’s distracted, just as an army amasses on the border, ready to invade their country. Oh, and whenever Emma sneezes, she and Eadric revert back to their frog forms.
Before their quest is over, they’ll brave the dangers at the bottom of the sea, infiltrate the Dragon Olympics and make some fire-breathing new friends, battle an army, and defy Emma’s
witch of a grandmother, the one initially responsible for turning Aunt Grassina’s beloved into an otter. Emma will learn a lot about her powers, including how to focus her not-inconsiderable might so that it doesn’t backfire for once.
Dragon’s Breath continues the tradition of fiesty princesses who turn the normal fantasy cliches inside-out. Self-aware and independent, Emma is a heroine to root for, the sort who never gives up. Her stubbornness and temper give her just enough fallibility to make her tolerable, and her constant bickering/relationship with Prince Eadric is, dare I use the term, charming. I’m confident we’ll see more of Emma and Eadric, and I couldn’t be happier.