Crown and Cinder ~ Review

Crown and Cinder

The Austen Fairy Tale #2

By Kendra E. Ardnek

Lizzy, Eliza Benne is a Cinder, and most Cinders are servants, but Lizzy is the daughter of a gentleman and bound to the Forest. For years she has been summoned to the Forest to do the Mistress's bidding, but this year something is different. This year instead of the Mistress, Lizzy finds someone different upon the throne - the Gardner.

After years of keeping secrets to protect her family and her country, Lizzy doesn't know what to make of this new mistress of the Forest. Not willing to trust the Gardener and fearing for both her family and for Binfield, Lizzy decides to test her. A royal ball seems the best way to test the Gardener, but Lizzy never expected to catch the attention of anyone. Yet that is exactly what she has done. What follows is confusion as Lizzy tries to decide whom she can trust and where she truly belongs in the world.

Crown and Cinder is the sequel to Rose Petals and Snowflakes, and it is an excellent one as it continues the story of Elen and Mari. And yes, you most definitely should read the first book in the series as it provides the backstory to CandC. I love the meshing of Pride and Prejudice with Cinderella as it is brilliant and seamless but offers enough elements from each to be recognizable and yet wholly unique. This is a retelling that you don't want to miss.

I was provided a complimentary copy of this book with no expectations but that I provide my honest opinion - all thoughts expressed are my own.

Releases April 27th

Book Description:

It is a fact universally acknowledged that a girl, in possession of stepmother and stepsisters, must be in want of a fairy godmother to come whisk her away to some ball, where she might fall in love with a prince and live happily ever after... Lizzy hated facts universally acknowledged. 

Lizzy is a Cinder. However, conjuring fire at one’s fingertips isn’t considered appropriate in polite society, so she hides among her family's servants. Besides, her ruse also serves to protect her country from the Mistress's mad quest for power. No, it's much better all-around if she lets her stepsister live her life. 

But now the Gardener has taken the Mistress's throne, her motives unknown, and three royal balls have thrown Lizzy into the path of the most irritating king in the land. Meanwhile, can her beloved stepsister ever find a man willing to look past her farmer father? It's a complicated mess and Lizzy only wants out. 

Too bad the Forest doesn't care what she wants.

Purchase Link: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09B4DG79B/ 

Add Book on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/57722373-crown-and-cinder 

Book 1: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09GXDLZQP

Author Bio:

Kendra E. Ardnek is the self-proclaimed Arista of Fairy Tales. She lives in the Piney Woods of East Texas with her dragon babies and massive herd of mini-giraffes, and she is still waiting for one of of her fifty nutcrackers to come to life and marry her. When not writing, you can usually find her sitting in a random box, and she's frequently known to act before she thinks. 

Find her online at: 

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