Cinderella's Crown

by Kelsey Josund

Cinna has achieved what she always wanted: power, wealth, and the ultimate status symbol — a crown. In marrying Prince Hans, she should be able to leave her old life as a servant behind.

But even though her old family is dead and the only person who could expose her imprisoned, her past won’t leave her alone. Her husband’s throne is threatened and her own position is precarious, so Cinna will have to turn to what she does best — scheming, conning, and killing her way to a secure future.

Meanwhile, her best friend Johann is plotting to get himself out of prison and Cinna off the throne. Will he break free in time to stop her?

Genres: Fantasy

253 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 30, 2024

About the author

I am a software engineer and author living and working on the road -- I've been traveling full time while working remotely since October 2022. I studied computer science at Stanford University, but I’ve always loved stories in all their forms. I approach writing fiction the same way I approach writing code: I like to know where it’s going, but I want to figure out the details as I go along. Good software is a lot like a good story, full of neat and clever solutions to tricky problems, beautiful at a granular level but also from a distance.

Originally from Seattle, I love getting outdoors to escape to the mountains on the weekends. I care deeply about the ecosystems that humans impact and that impact us. My writing explores these issues while also following classic coming-of-age arcs in science fiction and fantasy.

Reviews

[Richard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Book 1 was so good that book 2was always going to be a challenge and had a lot to measure against.

It delivered.

The storyline started off slowly, giving me time to get back into the story from where the first book finished. The seeds were then sown for the direction of the story and a resume of where all the main characters are now, their thoughts and a mixture of hopes and desires.

Then, the story gathers pace and gently accelerates to the end of the book, never slacking and never letting the reader down, till you are met with a bigger cliffhanger than book 1 and he strongest desire to go 'to the book store' to pick up the next instalment straight away.

Kelsey successfully runs plots within plots and added twists and turns for good measure. There were merging plot lines that created mor mystery and action the more they merged and pressed on forward. The story got darker and more intense as the page turned, but it all flowed so well and could easily be believed.

I must admit, there were times where I was wondering who Hans went to for glasses, but when you are in love - well they say love is blind. I essence, he believed what he wanted to believe, and the crumbs and trails left for him worked a treat. Cinna is so manipulative and even when you think she has stretched too far and its game over - somehow…

She is Teflon girl, but surely the truth will out and it will stick?

As for Johann, Benjam and Ingrid… They are truly a story within a story, for every twist that bounces off Cinna, it is a knife or weight added to their shoulders. You will so want them to succeed in their goals, to oust the bad …. but will it ever be?

in a way I feel sorry for Cinna. The girl that we met in the first book who took advantage of situations and was a class schemer, in this part of the journey reaches rock bottom and crosses the line into the dark side as a certain film would say. It would seem that there is no going back and all that is left of her is a shell of a body occupied by some level of evil being that is even slowly drowning the shell.

So, is this a good book worthy of your time and investment.

It most certainly is. You will not regret a moment of your time, and I am sure you will have the next stage on backorder before you finish book 2.

I was lucky enough to receive a free ARC copy of this book to review. I have given this review freely in return and stand by my every word.

Enjoy.

[Brynly Kapelanski · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved this sequal! We were thrown back in action with Cinna’s plotting and scheming. Cinna degrades even further into her manipulation and scheming this time around. Will she ever learn?

It’s refreshing to see a villain in the spotlight and having to struggle with supporting them or not, and boy does Cinna live up to her title. Being able to root for Johann and company as they try to thwart Cinna was so much fun. Things were even more intense this round and it’s shocking at times to realize how far someone may go.

A little bit more sporadic with the plot in this book and some holes that I hope indicate a third to wrap things up, but otherwise a great segway for the series.

I received an ARC through BookSirens and am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Mel Hahn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I'm a sucker for a good retelling and this one is great. The political games, murders, and morally grey characters take the tale of Cinderella from a children's story to a thrilling tale. I read the first book and this book in two days. I can't wait for the next!

[Crystal Cichanowicz · Rating 5 out of 5]

I recommend this series for anyone that enjoys fairytale retelling and enjoys a good twist to them. This one includes a complex political game with mystery and thriller elements.

After book one, it took me a few days to reconcile all the thoughts in my mind about. The main one - How do I feel about a character with absolutely no redeeming qualities? Cinderella’s Crown helped me sort out some of my lingering reservations about this. While Cinna remains a murderous sociopath, the rest of the gang are absolutely wonderful - except for Hans, who is just too easily manipulated. I am 100% invested in this series and need to know what is coming through the pipeline. The author has some very interesting ideas going.

Johann is developing more of a backbone in this story, but remains conflicted on how he feels about Cinna, despite what she has put him through. This instalment brought us two new POVs. We got to know Benjam, Johann’s middle man from the last one, a little more. I am looking forward to what role he will play in the next book. My favourite character has to be Ingrid. I feel that she will be the force to be reckoned as the series progresses toward the conclusion. This book set the stage for her to be much more than she seems.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. The opinions expressed are honest and my own.

[Ink · Rating 5 out of 5]

This series is building beautifully and I am on tenterhooks for the next one! Cinna is back and her fairytale did not have the happily ever after she wanted...

Cinna is the antiheroine, the villain you love to hate. Utterly ruthless, vindictive and ambitious, no-one will get in her way. Cinderella's crown followed on seamlessly from Cinderellas Crimes and kept me gripped throughout.

The character development continues and Cinna continues to shine brightly, but will Hans overshadow her lustre? Will she allow him to shine too?

I am absolutely invested in this series and am looking foreward to reading more from Kelsey Josund

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Page Jedi · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was hooked on this series and these characters since the first book and would highly suggest reading that one first.
I was absolutely dying to read this book and it did not disappoint. I completely loved this book, there was nothing I would change at all.
Cinna is a fabulous villain, she has no mercy and seems to have some screws loose, which really makes for a perfect villain. I think I like her so much because she’s so crazy and has no remorse for anything she does.
I love how this book picks right up where we left off and continues down an even wilder storyline than the first book.
I am so excited that this is a series and will be reading any book that comes out in this series.
I also love all the other characters and was really enjoying jumping around with the different POVs.
I could not put this book down and felt like I needed to read at every spare moment I had, which I loved. The writing style is flawless and keeps you begging for more the entire book and the storyline is so imaginative and exciting. This is everything I could want in a book.
I can not wait to find out what happens next!
Thank you Book Sirens and Kelsey Josund for my arc copy, I am leaving this review on my own.

[Joni Harris · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved this book but at the same time I hated this book. The main character, Conan, is just terrible. I prefer a villain that has some redeeming qualities, but Cinna has no emotion or feelings.

The plot is interesting and full of suspense. It is a little messy though. The perspective changes, but without warning. I would have enjoyed it more with warning of when it switches point of view.

Some wholes in the story but I’m assuming there will be a book 3.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Lindsay Kelch (LindsayInInk) · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm going to start out with the fact that I loved the first book. It was riveting and kept my attention.

The 2nd book, I had a hard time getting through. I understand why the book was written the way it was - but the plotting and vindictiveness from the FMC threw me off. I get it, it's part of her trying to get everything she never had. It was just slow for me. Predictable.

I'm giving 3 stars because it wasn't the worst book I've ever read. I just don't think I'm the right audience for this.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Gawan Fiore · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fun, vicious, political drama with a truly villainous main character, Cinna, who pulls no punches and doesn’t care to be redeemed. If you end up hating Cinna (not unlikely), you’ll root for her adversaries, Johann and friends, as they scheme to take her down. By their hand or her own, she definitely ends up in more hot water than she ever did in the first book. Will Cinna finally get what’s coming to her? Give it a read to find out!

Full of murder, treachery, frame-jobs, and prisons, this sequel builds nicely on the first book, Cinderella’s Crimes, opening up the world to set the stage for grander plots later on. Looking forward to a third book.

I received an advance review copy for free and am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Silje · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cinderella's Crown starts some months after where Cinderella's Crimes left off, and Cinna is deadlier than ever. Her next goal is the throne, and she will get rid of whoever is in her way. Meanwhile, Johann is trying to escape prison and plot revenge on Cinna. The peace between the countries is unstable, and they're heading towards war if nothing is done.

Plotting, plotting, plotting. Everyone is plotting something: throne robbery, revenge, justice, war, you name it. In the first book, a touch of political intrigue was introduced, but in this book, it is ramped up a few notches. It becomes clear that Cinna isn't the only one meddling in state affairs and that someone is pushing the countries toward war. At the end of this book, there are a lot of loose ends that hopefully will be tied off in the next book.

The alliance between Johann, Benjamin, and Ingrid is an interesting one. They all want to expose Cinna's fraud, but not necessarily for the same reasons, and how they'll achieve it is still a work in progress.

Most of the characters are evolving in this book, which is highly appreciated. I love that the character we expect to be a hero is the villain. We all enjoy morally grey characters, but Cinna is dark grey, closing in on black. Sometimes, it seems as if she is going off the rails, making rash decisions, and killing people because of inconvenience. I'm curious to see how she'll fare in the next book. Ingrid is becoming a central character with many secrets of her own, and Hans might not be that gullible after all.

Cinderella's Crown was a great sequel, and I'm looking forward to the third book.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Amy apple · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wanted to like this but unfortunately even with a decent idea of a plot this story fell flat for me.

The writing is where I think it’s gone wrong. I can’t pinpoint exactly but the writing is subpar and hence made it difficult to get through.

The story continues from its predecessor with Cinna already in the castle?! And Johann/Benjam outside trying to right the wrongs? (I’m not even 100% sure because they don’t seem aligned in what they’re trying to achieve).

Cinna is a psycho with a taste for killing and not much reasoning and Hans is an imbecile that seems all over the place. One moment you think he can see through what’s happening and next minute he is an idiot. I’m not even sure if the author knew what was going on. I could not feel the one sided romance or chemistry between these two people in any case so it really doesn’t make me believe that Cinna can keep going down her path with no consequences. It’s just poorly written ridiculousness.

The world building (or lack of) is confusing. People live in apartments, there’s lawyers, newspapers with photographs… but all the while people travel by ship and…? I cannot tell if this society runs like a modern one with a monarchy or if it’s true to a more medieval fantasy style. The way they speak also flip flops around and isn’t consistent with a specific time period per se.

All in all, I appreciate that I received this advance readers copy but I would not recommend this if you have other stories to read.

[Meagen Jongewaard · Rating 3 out of 5]

The way this book ended there definitely must be more to come! As mentioned in review of book 1, I wished there was more dialogue and character connections. I enjoyed there being more involvement and presence of side characters (the MFC's "chemist" contact, the MMC's smuggler associate, etc). The MFC in book 1 was rather unredeemable, and this was even more prevalent in book 2. I enjoyed the fact that "Cinderella" was not your typical fairy tale princess that we all are familiar with; however, she's up there on the list of truly villainous characters that I have encountered in books (usually its a male in that role). Not knowing for sure if there will be a 3rd book, I feel that book 1 and 2 could have been combined into one slightly longer book, with the potential that the 2nd could have then merged with what would be book 3, making it a duology, just given that there was a lot of filler information. I am curious to see what becomes of Johann and Cinna, if they will both get their desired outcomes!

[Becki Pearce · Rating 3 out of 5]

Book 2 in the Deadly Ever After series, we pick it up from where the first book left off and I wasn't disappointed, still kept a good amount of suspense, with Cinna and her long time plan which involved killing others, and more on the VIP side, while keeping the sweet innocent act, and making sure she plans it right.

Johann with the help from his friend Benjam and the perfumer Ingrid start to figure out what Cinna is up to and come up with a plan to stop Cinna before they all end up dead.
Johann makes it to another country while Bejam and Ingrid are caught, and then with Ingrid reaching out to her homeland for help which looks like they understood and sent representee to help.

We end the book with Cinna almost having everything she wants, just 1 more person in her way, but can she actually do what she has planned all along or will she be stop. Guess I am just gonna have to wait and read the third book.

[Mystyc Metrik · Rating 5 out of 5]

This story picks up after the events of Cindarella's crimes, with Cinna married to the Prince as Duchess Elena of Saelland and Johann in prison. It's told in a dual viewpoint style, switching between Cinna's quest to remove all of the candidates standing between her husband (and ultimately her) and the throne and Johann's attempts to escape from prison. The action is fast paced, and you get to learn a bit more about some of the characters introduced in Cindarella's Crimes, like Benjam and Isabelle. Cinna, although the "protagonist" of the story, still seems a bit unlikable, but I think Johann is really humanized in this volume. I would definitely recommend it, especially to fans of fairy tale retellings.

[Gee · Rating 3 out of 5]

The second in the series, Cinna is now where she wanted to be, after lots of intrigue, murder and mayhem. I thoroughly enjoyed the first book, but I can’t take to Cinna and find myself hoping Johann will come into his own, despite all the intrigue and treachery. I really like Ingrid, a mysterious perfumer - there’s a lot going on with her, that I hope will be explained in book 3. We also see more of Benjam, a merchant who really doesn’t want to be involved but feels obliged to help, and Hans, the Prince, who fell for Cinnas act. I found my mind wandering a bit while reading, not a good sign, but was still invested enough to need to finish the book. A very dark fairy tale.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

This is a dark retelling of Cinderella, and the second book in the Deadly Ever After series.

The main character, Cinna, was first introduced in the previous book, and I enjoyed reading about her again. I think Cinna is very different from how the original Cinderella is portrayed - she is much feistier, sassier, and certainly a darker character. I think it is really interesting to see the Cinderella type character portrayed in this way. I found that as a reader, even though she was presented as a character with bad intentions, an anti-hero, I wanted her to succeed.

Thank you to Booksirens and the author for a free copy to review.

[Brooklyn L. Wolves · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this book. It was written beautifully and whimsical with a bit of thrill and mystery. This book would be a great read when you are looking for a Dark Fantasy Fairy Tale Retelling with a little bit of Crime and Mystery.

What drew me into reading Cinderella’s Crown was certainly overall the title and blurb and the cover.

Overall I have to give this book a 4/5 stars. The ARC is still in the early stages of the manuscript stage so changes may happen before the book is available for the general public. This book may appeal to people who like Dark Fantasy Fairy Tale Retelling with a little bit of Mystery. Thank you Booksirens for the ARC!

[Gia Provanzano · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the second book in the Deadly Ever After series. I love a retelling. It literally soothes my soul. The way the first book caught me off guard in this series! I did not see Cinna plotting so carefully and executing meticulously like she did. Bravo! The second book (this one) kept the pace and didn’t disappoint. I will say, both books are very detailed and a bit slow in the beginning. Regardless, I love this story and cannot wait to read the third book.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Yari · Rating 4 out of 5]

Packed with Action.

The sequel to Cinderella’s Crimes, is packed with action, unexpected twists, and high stakes drama. Cinna’s determination to reclaim what was stolen from her drives the story forward, and the pacing kept me reading. That said, I’m a bit frustrated with how she’s treating her best friend it feels unfair and out of character at times. I’m curious to see what she will accomplish, I’m taking a break from the series for now. Still, it’s a solid continuation for fans who enjoy a rebellious twist on classic fairytales.

[Yarissel Guadalupe · Rating 4 out of 5]

The sequel to Cinderella’s Crimes, is packed with action, unexpected twists, and high stakes drama. Cinna’s determination to reclaim what was stolen from her drives the story forward, and the pacing kept me reading. That said, I’m a bit frustrated with how she’s treating her best friend it feels unfair and out of character at times. I’m curious to see what she will accomplish, I’m taking a break from the series for now. Still, it’s a solid continuation for fans who enjoy a rebellious twist on classic fairytales.

[Abbie Riddle · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the first in this series - a whole new side of Cinderella. I just had a bit harder time with this one. I could not help but think that she had gotten everything she wanted and never had and still was upset and angry all over again. Not to say this is not a good book. It isn't that - I just felt the first was more on the level for me.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Keelie Meakin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Was sometimes hard to transition between the characters as the writer didn’t obviously separate them. However after a few chapters you do get the hang of this once you get a feel for the characters.

Thoroughly enjoyed this book, the characters were all very likeable… in the sense that even though you didn’t like the person for their actions, you couldn’t help but enjoy them as a character

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Kim Jos · Rating 5 out of 5]

The first book in this trilogy had me eagerly awaiting book 2! Finally get to savor more of Cinna's plotting and ambitious conniving, and find out what's happened to Johan. There's more political intrigue and more dead bodies, and Cinna's situation becomes more complex. It's a well told tale with more to come.

[Dolores · Rating 5 out of 5]

100/10 I loved the mystery vibe it gave me. I loved watching how the characters developed even more from the first book. I enjoys the murder mystery that was part of the book and would recommend both book one and two to anyone who like mystery romance. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Joan Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you, Kelsey Josund and BookSirens

A continuation of the retelling of Cinderella. Cinderella is a great story for adults. Does she continue her devious ways without being found out? Read to find out. I enjoyed it.

Dark Fantasy

[Jessica Ulery · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm only reading the sequels to make sure Cinna gets what she deserves. This one was a bit boring in places.

[NrsKelley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh man I devoured this book. I had just finished book 1 of the series and immediately went into reading this one. Now I can’t wait to read the 3rd.

In this twist on the Cinderella story Cinna (our female main character) is BAD….and she doesn’t care one bit. Johann (her ex best friend and thief) makes you cheer for him and his small band of helpers!!

Honestly just so much fun all around!

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Kristin Keele · Rating 4 out of 5]

Engrossing, intense, fairy tale retelling. This is the second book in the series and I just ate it up. Cinna continues her twisted antics and continues to weave her web of lies. Know I need more, where is book 3?? 

Thank you to Book Sirens for this ARC, which I reviewed honestly and voluntarily.