I was really, really impressed with this one. 
 I was a little worried, going into it, that our main character, Lady Margaretha (who is actually the daughter of a duke, not a princess, which makes the title a little weird), was going to be one of those characters who's fun in small doses but gets ruined when she gets her own book. (Hey it happens; look at Dylan from The Clique series, she was way more entertaining before she got her own POV). Luckily that was not the case! She was really a lot of fun to read about and I liked being inside her head as opposed to seeing her as a side character in somebody else's story. I was impressed with Colin, too. Having read The Golden Braid already, I'd previously met this character and was a little nervous to peer inside his head too. I was a little worried he was going to be another Gabe. Don't get me wrong, I like Gabe FINE, but out of all the characters and their little love stories in this series I've enjoyed his and Sophie's arc the least. He's kind of mopey and soppy and it works for his character okay, but if we had to have another character who was more like him than say, Valten (I actually felt SORRY for the guy when Sophie didn't want him; I know she loves Gabe and all, but Valten is twice the man his brother will ever be...) I was about ready to smack my forehead. 
 Back on track, Colin was actually a lovely character and I enjoyed reading about him very much. His romance with Margaretha was very cute and believable, and their characters really mesh together well. 
 I also have to give this book props for not going the cliche route of having half the book centered on "Oh I don't believe you -- you're lying about this (obviously bad) guy I just met"/"You're a fool..." bullpoop. It could so easily have gone there and it didn't. It kept the drama realistic without going into annoying melodrama. 
 And I also have to say I'm VERY impressed with this as a retelling. After Suzanne Weyn's Water Song: A Retelling of "The Frog Prince", I became doubtful that any author however skilled could retell "The Frog Prince" properly without an actual frog involved. Well, Melanie Dickerson, you proved me wrong! Colin was the perfect frog prince without having to literally be a frog! And I wonder if his friend being called John was a deliberate fairytale reference or not. If so...I caught it... If not, I'm overthinking this, like I always do. 
 Anyway, LOVE this book, highly recommend.