"Crown and Cinder" by Kendra E. Ardnek

This is another completely delightful mashup of Jane Austen and a fairy tale!!  In fact, I think I liked this Pride and Prejudice -meets-Cinderella story even better than book one in this series, Rose Petals and Snowflakes.

Lizzy is a Cinder, which means things catch on fire if she touches them too long, and she can control fire to some extent.  She also has ties to the Forest, which was controlled by the evil Mistress until the events of the previous book.  The Mistress tried to use Lizzy to infiltrate the society of her home kingdom, so Lizzy has refused the status of her noble family and taken on the role of a servant in her family's house just to spite the Mistress and thwart her plans.  

Lizzy is very wary of the new Gardener, who seems to have a kindly interest in Lizzy and her stepsister Janet, but can she be trusted?  When three royal balls throw Lizzy and Janet into the paths of King Darren and his friend Liam, the sisters discover that love and status don't have to be mutually exclusive.  But their chances for happiness are threatened by a relative, Collin Wick, who is bent on destroying King Darren and taking his throne.  

Once again, Ardnek has tangled Jane Austen and fairy tales in a clever and charming way to create something totally new and magical.  I am eagerly awaiting the next book in this series!

Particularly Good Bits:

"There's nothing nobler than doing the task set before you" (p. 112).

This king had no business being so distractingly handsome and strong (p. 203).

Life could be a fairy tale, after all (p. 214).

If This was a Movie, I Would Rate It:  PG for a tense and perilous ending involving a dragons.

This is the 47th book I've read off my TBR shelves for #TheUnreadShelfProject2022.