Cinder by Marie Sexton

You know the recipe.

One part orphaned child (A very adorable young man named Cinder)
One part wicked stepmother (Or in this case, aunt)
Two parts nasty stepsisters (This time it's nasty twin cousins)
One cup O' hot and smexy prince(a royal prince named Xavier, not the pop star in purple lace)

Stir that all together with a dash of adorably over-sized puppy, two shakes of magic, lacy slippers and a fairy god-witch!

When you bake that at 350 degrees in an oven for the hour or so it takes to read it, you get a book full of syrupy sweet and clever cuteness.

If you couldn't tell already, I adored this story. Every single word of it. I loved the references and shout-outs to other fairy tales, and the way that Sexton presented them as rumors that run rampant through through the towns.

Milton, the over-sized puppy that loves to play fetch, just made me want to hug him. When he gives Xavier a look of disgust and all but says "Duh, Xavier, duh!" I giggled.

The friendship between Xavier and Cinder was so appreciated because there are all too many short stories where the love seems to explode like a premature firecracker. That was not so in this book. I liked that Cinder and Xavier were friends first. I wish there were more books like that.

So, this story (even though it's a short story), gets a very strong and full four stars from me. So, what's that recipe above for? Well, it's a recipe for a smile, of course. Duh, you guys, duh. *snicker*