Charmless

If Ella Upton had any notion of the disasters awaiting her, she would never have got out of bed. . . The morning after the royal ball, Ella enjoys blissful dreams of kissing Commander Horatio Crushington when she is rudely awakened by a clamor. Horrified, she discovers the one man she hoped to never see again banging on her front door. After snorting some pixie dust, Prince Florian assaulted her at the royal ball. She only escaped his lustful advances by clobbering him. Ella hoped when the prince sobered up, he'd forget all about her. But alas, here he is, declaring his undying devotion and insisting she must be his bride. As arrogant as he is handsome, Florian refuses to take no for an answer. He pursues her everywhere, barraging her with flowers and love songs. She can't even do her marketing without him popping up to recite horrible poetry. It's enough to put a girl entirely off her turnips! Florian's ruthless courtship is more than a nuisance. He vows to fight any rival for her affections and Ella knows the prince once maimed his own brother in a duel. What will Florian do if he ever discovers her love for Horatio? Ella's guilty secret already threatens their romance. The night of the ball, she broke into the king's treasury room and stole a magical orb for her closest friend, Malcolm Hawkridge. Ella believed the orb was nothing more than a family heirloom belonging to Mal's grandfather. But if the orb is so harmless, why is the king's powerful wizard, the Great Mercato seeking to gain possession of it? Could the orb really be the key to an ancient legend about a long-lost prince, the true heir to Arcady, that would threaten Florian's claim to the throne? Somehow Ella must uncover the truth before the mystery surrounding that orb destroys everything she holds dear, her family, her friend Mal, and especially her beloved Horatio. Charmless is the second book in the Fantastic Fairy Tales series, continuing Ella's adventures in the kingdom of Arcady where happily ever after is never guaranteed and a girl needs all her wits and courage to find her one true love.