i really enjoy fantasy retellings, and this one was fantastic. Kalynn Bayron truly did a great job at taking this tale and adding modern twists that are relatable to our current world while keeping the original magical atmosphere of the original tale. i knew i needed to read this when it first came out, and i'm so glad i did. i've been itching to read this sapphic feminist fairytale retelling, and i really liked it!

it was truly so fun to read and didn't feel like a 400 page book as i was reading. the plot was fast paced and characters were always on the move and planning what they were going to do next. i really enjoyed and admire Sophia's character - she's very headstrong and has a fiery personality, but in a good way. people in her life are constantly trying to tell her she just needs to blend in, to hide her sexuality and who she really is, to stop questioning why things are the way they are, but Sophia knows she could never do that.

i think the only thing i didn't love was the romance between Sophia and Constance, because it felt very instalove (lesbians, am i right?) but not fully believable for me. it just didn't feel like there was enough room in the story for their relationship development, and while it's not super prevalent i sort of wish that the romance was left at the beginning with Erin as the catalyst for Sophia's fight for a better future.

Cinderella is Dead is obviously a retelling of Cinderella. Kalynn Bayron was pushing a message during this whole book, and I did not mind it. It could be a bit heavy on the theme of the patriarchy and toxic masculinity, I wish Cinderella is Dead could have gone deeper into the theme and show more layers. I found Cinderella is Dead to be quite enjoyable, I did not necessarily LOVE any of the characters but the story is what I enjoyed. The world-building was decent, I could see the places that needed to be seen in my mind. The ending was obvious but the story was fast past I enjoyed it. The romance was a bit insta-love. The reimaging of some of the characters in Cinderella were wonderful! I fully enjoyed this reimagining of the Cinderella story.

I really wanted to fall in love with this story. It’s has everything I like:

– retelling

– lgbtq+ MC

– diverse and realistic cast

But for me, characters make or break the story telling. The story itself is wonderful and creative. 200 years after Cinderella, her story is still being used to stifle and control women, to allow evil men to sit on the throne, for men to rule over and over again.

It’s the women are suppressed story, living in a world where men make all the decisions, where they can do whatever they want behind closed doors and no one will bat in eye.

I love these kind of stories, I love reading as women come out of their cages and realize that they matter.

But the characters, OH MAN.

I’ll talk about Sophia in a minute – let’s discuss the rest of them.

Erin – If the book ended with Erin being brutally murdered I would not have cared at all. Her entire personality comes down to the fact that she’s pretty, Sophia is in love with her, and she has chosen to be the docile, good little wife and stay in her place. Other than that I have no idea who she is or what she wants.

Luke – he likes boys, and wanted to help Sophia. I’m pretty sure that’s his entire personality and I honestly forgot he existed.

Constance – she’s a descendant of one of Cinderella’s step-sisters. That fact is about 90% of her personality. Her family has spent generations training and learning to fight the king? Yet somehow, with all her pretty dagger work her family has done nothing but run for 200 years and hold on to old letters. She’s also super pretty with red hair.

All of these characters were so one dimensional. They’re personalities boiled down to one aspect of who they are, and all of their actions were driven by just that one small thing. It made it so hard to care about any of them.

Then we have Sophia. First of all, her last name is Grimmins which I thought was super clever. Sophia has more personality than everyone else, but she was a little too much of the “not like other girls” type. She questions the king and the traditions, she likes girls, she likes wearing pants, and has a sharp tongue. Sophia is the outsider, the wolf in a city of sheep. And although at times her character was extremely cliched, she did have some depth to her, she was constantly questioning herself, discovering who she is on her own, not by the measure of Erin, or her parents, or what the King wanted. I enjoyed her journey into knowing what she wants for herself.

Lastly, there’s Amina, who is a very spoiler-y character so I don’t want to get to into who she was. But I loved her. Amina was a very well thought out character, I was constantly questioning her motives and loyalty, and I loved how enough details were given about her to make you constantly question.

I felt disconnected from a lot of these characters, and even more say when it came down to the “telling” instead of “showing” of the plot. I think the focus on toxic masculinity and giving women a voice was well thought out, but didn’t always translate too well. There was a lot of explanations, instead of actually getting to experience the world and the story for myself.

However, I do think the various twists, and the overall idea behind the story was brilliant. I love the idea of a society built around the Cinderlla fairytale, and how it showed the serious dangers of silencing and alienating people based on their gender.

Overall, I liked this story – it wasn’t one of my new favorites, but it was definitely a worthwhile read. It was a good story about feminism, strength, friendship, and not taking any shit from other people.

Set several centuries after the death of the original Princess Cinderella, the story presents us with a world run by a misogynist prince and his henchmen. An LGBTQ-centered re-imagining of the world of Cinderella, Cinderella Is Dead shows the danger of unquestioning belief in an official narrative. I would highly recommend this book to fans of fantasy, as well as folks looking for stories that reflect the important issues of our time.

This book was provided to me as an ARC by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Think of Cinderella. Think of the story you know of the evil stepsisters and stepmother, of the benevolent fairy godmother, and the fairy tale romance with the Prince. Then throw it all out the window because the story is so much more than that.

This story is not even a retelling of Cinderella, rather it's a full on re-imagining of the tale we've all known for so long. It is the story Cinderella would have been if it was black, queer, and ready to tear down the patriarchy.

I have to offer up the disclaimer that Cinderella was always my favourite Disney princess, a story I've seen more times than I can count, but my love of the original fairy tale does absolutely nothing to diminish the fantastic tale of this new story.

Two hundred years after Cinderella's story was told, women live in Lille as nothing more than prizes to be won at the annual ball where men choose and bid on a partner - except there is no such thing as partners in Lille. There is only men in control of women, men sending daughters out to be chosen like cattle. And what becomes of the young women who aren't chosen at the ball?

The answer to that question is horrifying.

Read the story never told, the secret behind Cinderella's life, and the fight to liberate the women from the oppressive patriarchy that has dictated life in Lille for two centuries.

I loved everything about this story.. My only real criticism would be that I wish there had been more development in some of the characters, but overall I was satisfied with it!

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC!

This was super enjoyable! Like I couldn't put it down. I love reading new takes on fairytales. This has to be one of my top 5 I have read.

I loved how the story was following Sopia and not a descendant of Cinderella. We do get a bit of Constance who was a descendant of Gabrielle, one of the step sisters, which was cool. But most books you read, it usually follows someone in direct relation.

This book as some romance in it but not a ton where you were overwhelmed. And the book ended well. I would definitely reread at some point.

3.75/5
200 years have passed since the magical story of Cinderella and now her story created an oppressive society against women. They are expected to have all the men’s wishes and needs met before their own. This is the story of Sophia who is a POC and queer, she wants to be with who she wants. She fights against the patriarchal society and through it all, she finds love! I really appreciated this book for its take on an after-the-fairytale story. I find we don’t have many Cinderella retellings that I can think of (only Lunar Chronicles) and this one was an amazing and fast-paced read!

Cinderella is Dead, is a story set 200 years after the Cinderella tale. Set in a not quite Handmaid's Tale universe where women have no rights, and are required to go to a yearly ball to get "chosen" by a husband. Those not chosen are never heard from again. Sophia has just turned 16 and is attending the ball for the first time when she flees and runs into Constance, the last remaining descendant of Cinderella's stepsister. Together they try to take down the evil king and save the women of the kingdom.

I rather enjoyed this book. It was fast paced and quite a page turner, and I was never bored. It also didn't try to get too steeped in it's own mythology and gave us the basic facts and let the story unravel the plot as we went. My only gripe is that it felt like forever (about 30% of the way into the book) until we got to the "call to action" part of the story and the plot started to actually happen vs world building.

Overall highly recommend this fractured fairy tale.

Anyone who knows me knows I love fractured and updated fairy tales. So this version of the Cinderella story piqued my interest - and it's a great addition to the genre.

Here we have an entire kingdom devoted to the Cinderella story: every year there's a ball where girls are chosen, not necessarily by princes but by any male in the kingdom. The Prince, no longer Charming, is cruel and ruthless. Is there any way to break this? Sophia hopes so - she's in love with Erin and hates the life the women in town live. She doesn't want to go to the ball, no matter how beautiful the dress. And thus begins the adventure...

eARC provided by publisher via Netgalley.

Review posted on Goodreads (July 10, 2020)
Review Linked

4/5 stars!

A huge thank you to NetGalley and Bloomsbury YA for sending me an E-ARC for an honest review!

I was so excited to read this book because I LOVE fairytale retellings! This book was so special, so beautiful, so unique, and so amazing! I started this book and could not put it down. I read it in one sitting and I immediately wanted to pick it up and start it again once I read the last page.

One of my favorite things about this book was the characters that Bayron created. I thought that the women in this story were so strong and inspiring in different ways. I also thought that the world that Kalynn Bayron created was really interesting. The way that Bayron reconstructed the Cinderella fairytale that we all know was so incredible and imaginative. This book also has really important themes throughout the book and I really liked how those themes were woven throughout the story. This is a really amazing new, feminist, fantasy!

The one thing I wanted more from this book was a bit more world building. I felt like the construction of the kingdom that the main character is in was well done, but I was left wondering what the world outside of the kingdom was like.

Thanks for reading!
Caden

No one was more disappointed than me with this book. I wanted to love it so badly! And yet … it just wasn’t good.

The Pros: What worked for me

Great representation: the MC is Black and lesbian, and there are side characters that are gay in this story.

I actually liked the refreshed version of the original Cinderella tale – I just wanted more of it than what I got.

The main message of this novel is to support feminism and critique patriarchal societies and homophobia. I cannot support this message enough and it was a very consistent theme throughout the book.

There was a twist in the story that I wasn’t expecting so I found that to be a nice little surprise.

The Cons: What I didn’t like

The story was so heavy-handed with its message that the actual plot fell through. Cinderella Is Dead became a vehicle to promote the views and ideologies of the author and the story suffered for it.

The actual plot was bland. There was nothing new being brought into the story and most things were easy to guess.

There was very little (if any) character development and worldbuilding. Absolutely no work was put into making any of the characters have a fully fleshed-out personality.

I didn’t like Sophia’s character, mostly because I didn’t know anything about her except that she thinks men are trash and she is a lesbian. Her actions, frame of mind, and planning made absolutely no sense to me because it was never properly explained to the reader. For me to love a book, I need to have a main character I can get behind. I couldn’t do that with Sophia

SO MANY PLOT HOLES! There are so many things that just don’t make sense. For example, Sophia and Constance find out about Cinderella’s journal that apparently reveals things about Prince Charming; Cinderella was going to give this journal to her step-sister. Well, then why didn’t she hide it in the area where she was going to meet her? Why would it be back at the palace? There are so many of these little instances that it took away from my enjoyment of the story..

Characters were conveniently brought into the story to highlight the suffering of the people and then just as quickly forgotten about. This is something I really don’t like because it doesn’t allow me to feel as if the story is ever fully resolved.

I was so looking forward to seeing a sapphic romance. However, the romance between Sophia and Constance was forced and unbelievable. How could you so quickly fall for someone else and forget about your childhood love?! I’ve never liked insta-love and this was the biggest case of insta-love I’ve ever encountered.

This story had all the potential to be a great novel. But the author’s desire to use the story to promote their views regarding misogyny and homophobia let down the quality of the storytelling. For those reasons, I’m giving this 2/5 stars.

Cinderella is Dead has only been released for three days and it already has over 400 reviews. So I am going to do my review a little differently today.

Kalynn Bayron takes their version of the fairy-tale and puts a twisted yet historic retelling spin on something that is familiar to readers. Every year King Manford has all of the girls who are sixteen-years-old and over go the ball to be married off. It is mandatory. Every family must comply or have to forfeit everything they own. They must dress according to his rules. The girls must memorize Cinderella. Every home must have his picture hanging and live by his rules. If you do not live by his rules, he will behead you in front of everyone.

Doesn’t this sound familiar? Slavery. Everyone has to pay Manford exorbitant taxes to work and to live. They have curfews. Women are property and nothing else. When attending the ball, the girls are paraded out in a line like a cattle call and looked over. Then the men, no matter their age, get to choose their product. The girl gets no say in the matter. Her family gets no say in the matter. He owns her from that point on.

Manford is the obvious villain in this piece. Yet so is the society of Lille. They stand by and some even grovel and let this abuse happen. Just like we do today. Bayron retells the history of yesterday and today. Bayron has prettied it up into a fairy-tale retelling, but it is still the same story told time after time.

Cinderella is Dead is not the usual retelling of the same ole’ tale, it is one you want to read.

I received an ARC of this book and I am writing a review without prejudice and voluntarily.

Those who follow my blog know that I love fairytale retellings, so it was a given that I would want to read Kalynn Barton’s feminist Cinderella retelling, Cinderella is Dead. As the title states, Cinderella is long dead when this story opens but her story is being used by the King of Lille to control his young female citizens. Girls are required to commit Cinderella’s tale to memory and they are taught that they should want a happy ending just like Cinderella’s.

There’s a cruel twist to the King’s version of the fairy tale, however. Once they reach a certain age, the young ladies are required to attend the King’s annual ball. They are to dress up in the finest gowns and present themselves to potential suitors, who are then charged with selecting a mate. Girls who aren’t chosen are allowed to return to the ball twice more but then after that, their lives are deemed forfeit and they are never heard from again. Being chosen isn’t necessarily a happily ever after either as the men in the kingdom view their wives as property and often beat and verbally abuse them.

Sophia, the protagonist, wants no part of this dystopian disaster. She’s not looking for a Prince Charming and in fact would much rather marry her childhood best friend, Erin. She decides that she will not take part in this sick ritual and makes it her mission to not only escape from the King’s ball, but to also come back once she finds a way to bring the whole patriarchal system crashing down. I really loved Sophia. She’s bright, fierce, independent, and she’s loyal. She’s also not perfect, which makes her all the more likeable and relatable. Once she makes her escape, she meets up with an unexpected member of the Resistance and that’s when the story really takes off and takes turn after unexpected turn to shake up the original Cinderella tale.

Sophia is definitely the shining star of this story, but what I loved most is just how unique and fresh the story is even though it uses so many elements from the original fairytale. The author will have you questioning every aspect of the tale you thought you knew so well. Were the stepsisters really evil? Who was the fairy godmother? Was Prince Charming all that charming after all? What really happened to Cinderella? Did she really have a happy ending?

Cinderella is Dead is a quick and entertaining read that I breezed through in less than a day. If feminist retellings, queer protagonists, and smashing the patriarchy are your thing, then this is the book for you!

I was provided an ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

If you like twisted tales and retellings, you need to give this a go. I really enjoyed this take on Cinderella. It isn't anything like the fairy tale we are all used to. It does however read like many other YA fantasy novels out there. This has a diverse cast of characters and takes on some serious issues.

Sophia doesn't want to live by the kingdoms rules for women. She doesn't want to attend the ball and be chosen by a man to marry and serve. In fact she wants to run away with her best friend and live happily ever after with her. Unfortunately, the kingdom doesn't support same sex relationships, women have a curfew, and they are the property of their fathers or husbands until they die. Sophia doesn't want to pretend to be happy in this type of life, and when the ball that Cinderella herself found her Prince is at hand she finds herself faced with an opportunity to escape for good. Sophia encounters Constance, a distant relative of one of the "evil stepsisters" and learns that the tale of Cinderella may not be entirely true and the laws that the King has imposed may not be what Cinderella wanted for her subjects. Determined to stop the King for good they seek out the Fairy Godmother to find out what the true story of the famed Cinderella really was and if there is a way to save the kingdom from the tyrant King.

This does lack the world building you expect from a fantasy or fairy tale. While the setting is not that important to the story, It also lacks the character development I expected from a book that takes on such important topics. Our main character, Sophia, is set in her ways from the very beginning and that never changes. I appreciate that she never loses focus on taking down the patriarchy and never stops fighting against the wrongs that are done to the women of the town. She is immature and impulsive throughout, but I would have liked to see her develop a little bit of maturity throughout her adventures. While the plot was a bit predictable, especially if you've read a ton of YA fantasy like I have, I still enjoyed this. Cinderella is one of my favorite fairy tales and I really liked how the author spun this. I also really liked how she took on the social issues.

3.5 stars
*Thanks to Bloomsbury YA for sending me an ARC via NetGalley*
TW: Domestic abuse, sexism, homophobia

I appreciated this as a fun romp with a serious message. This story is basically two sapphic girls taking down the patriarchy and how could I not be here for that. I had a good time reading it even if I found faults with the construction of the story.

The story definitely felt fast paced, although I could've used more world building. Or maybe more development in general. It just felt like we rushed from plot point to plot point with not a lot in between, the main characters hardly had any true obstacles. I could feel this way because I did find the story to be pretty predictable. There was one plot twist at the end that did surprise me, but basically once you know the synopsis you know how this ends. I found the writing to be simplistic, but not in a particularly bad way just in a way that makes this read for the younger end of YA.

I thought the Cinderella retelling aspect was interesting, and I thought how the fairy godmother was used was definitely innovative and unexpected. I can see how others might find the main character and her love interest were insta-lovey, but to me it felt believable. Sophia spends her entire life in love with someone who will not quite show it back, so when the next girl she shows a slight interest in is unabashedly interested in her I can see how their relationship would form. Not to mention that girl did just save her life. Their moments were cute.

The world this book is set in is horrifyingly patriarchal. This story definitely made that obvious and some might say the discussions of feminism and feminist ideas throughout the story were a little too on the nose, and there really isn't a lot of subtlety, but honestly I didn't mind and a lot of great quotes came out of it. As a YA book it's possible that it could be a teens introduction to those ideas and I think it does well when considered that way.

If you want an easy, fun read about taking down the patriarchy I'd recommend it.

I loved the premise of this book! And the cover is gorgeous. It fell a little short for me in the writing and carrying out of the plot bit.

3.5 stars. This was an interesting twist on the Cinderella story. I liked the twists the author put on the fairy tale. I liked Sophia's character, and Constance's family stories and their impact on the fairy tale were great.

The romantic pieces didn't click for me, but I think that will vary from reader to reader. I struggled during the first half or more of the book to figure out how a kingdom so wedded to the Cinderella story (making girls memorize it, etc.) developed in the way that it did. I didn't get a good sense of the thread that pulled that part of the story along. There are a couple nice twists in this that will keep readers flipping pages. If you enjoy fairy tales with a twist, give this one a try. (Language, LGBTQ+: f/f relationships and reference to m/m relationship)

4 out of 5 👊Cinderella and her #metoo story

A little disclaimer first: The original version of Cinderella is problematic with strongly patriarchal worldviews, yet didn't mention any actual abuse and forced marriage. Cinderella seemed very happy with the story plot and her life choices. In 'Cinderella is Dead', we got to know new facts about her life and the kingdom that added a whole new female-abusive layer. Hence my title.

Two hundred years after Cinderella fairytale and the glass shoe incident, the annual ball gathers young women 16 to 18 years old and 'eligible bachelors' with no age limit to pick their new treasure wife. Female participation is obligatory and failure to attend (or not being picked) equals atrocious consequences.
Since her early childhood, Sophia was reading Cinderella's story but would rather marry a princess than Prince Charming. Although her family accepted the relationship with her childhood friend Erin, they knew she must marry whoever would choose her on the annual ball.

The first two chapters soaked me right into that dystopian world. I loved how twisted was the idea of annual balls as the heritage of the first one. That story you won't find on Disney+!
I enjoy Sophia's character, how fierce and persisted she was while being loyal and carrying for others. Although relationships between characters were rather flat, there were full of mutual respect and honesty. The major advantage of the book was how entertaining it was, fully packed with action, adventure, and plot twists (even if quite predictable).

On the other side, the story is surprisingly dark but all the characters are so Disney-ish. Sophia is a great heroine and seems like she's the only one who sees how corrupted her kingdom is. All men comply with the rules even if they disagree, enforcing the laws on their daughters and wives. Yet - spoiler alert - Sophia accomplished to change that in lickety-split, within just a few pages. From YA book I expect something more than good vs evil single-layered plot.
Furthermore, I don't like pure evil characters, it's not realistic. Everyone has their truth, even if we fully disagree with it. Forcing others to comply with you by violence methods, makes you no better than your oppressor. I wish 'Cinderella is Dead' had acknowledged that.

Overall, this is a fun and exciting title with an activist-wannabe vibe. For me, it's 5/5 on the entertainment side and 3/5 as a feminist book.

<i>Thank you Netgalley and the publisher Bloomsbury YA for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. Opinions and feelings are my own.</i>

Love this take on the classic story of Cinderella. Great main character. Queer Black girl smashes the patriarchy. Let’s goo.

I really enjoyed Sophia as the main character. She's stuck in a world she can't control and has no power, but she's not okay with just sitting idly by and making do. She wants to be happy and knows what it will take to get her there.

Enter Constance. Another great character who is a descendant of Cinderella's family and ready to take back the narrative.

While I did like both of those characters, it was really the spin on the Cinderella story that intrigued me the most. The world post-Cinderella, ruled by an evil king who uses her tale as an excuse to control women.

I found the story to be a bit predictable, though, and at times heavy-handed. The romance happened pretty quickly and, outside of the Cinderella story, there wasn't a whole lot of world-building. A little more showing over telling would have made it five stars for me.

Still a very important story that I enjoyed immensely.

Two centuries after the prince slipped the shoe onto the foot of Cinderella, the fairy tale is dead and buried. Girls are paraded like chattel at the annual ball to be selected as wives, and those unfortunate specimens who do not find a match disappear mysteriously. Sophia, a beautiful sixteen year old girl, wants nothing to do with this ritual, and hides in Cinderella's mausoleum. Sophia meets another girl there, the last descendant of Cinderella, and they both want to break the monarchy and its unfair "romantic" ritual. Unknown to either of them, there's more to the monarchy than they know, and the history of what came before in Cinderella's time will affect them both in ways they cannot yet understand.⁣⁣
⁣⁣
Right up front, I don't like insta-love in general, and I didn't like it here, so that definitely dampened my enthusiasm for this story. I felt like the pace alternated between glacial and hyper, and some aspects of the main characters felt a bit monotone. I do like when fairy tale retellings get a bit twisted, so that was a positive aspect, although I did feel like things wrapped up a bit too neatly for my taste. Ultimately, I feel like the premise and some of the plot beats were extremely promising, and Cinderella is Dead should have been very easy for me to like, but the execution left me feeling less than magical.⁣⁣