Wonderful fairy tale retelling. Will be adding everything this author writes to my reading list from now on. Energetic and well paced.

For fans of alternate and modernized fairytales, Cinderella is dead has diverse characters in terms of sexuality and race. This is not my typical genre of choice, and while I did enjoy this more than I thought I would, I did find the transitions from one event to other to especially towards the end to feel somewhat rushed.

I loved the book so much that I bought a copy for myself. I’m anxiously awaiting more reimaginings from Kalynn Bayron.

I started reading this as a ARC a handful of times and bailed. I bought the hardcover thinking that the change in format might help, but it languished in my bookshelf until I saw the audiobook available from the library. Once I realized that the narrator was the incomparable Bahni Turpin, I was all in and finished it in a day.

It is not my favorite Cinderella retelling, and it took me a few pages to get into the story, but once I did the book flew by and I ended up reading it in a day.

<I>"Maybe Liv wants to be taken away. I can't blame her, but that's not for me. I don't want to be saved by some knight in shining armor. I'd like to be the one in the armor, and I'd like to be the one doing the saving."</I>

TL;DR: A queer, Black Girl Magic retelling of the Cinderella story: much needed representation + a strong message about knowing yourself and saving yourself (not waiting for a man to do it)are slightly undercut by flat characters and some weak world-building.
If this is your first Kaylynn Bayron book, don't let it put you off reading [book:This Poison Heart|54860241]. The weaker parts of this book are much improved and revised in Bayron's duology; I think this book needed to walk so the duology could soar.
<b><I>I received an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.</b></I>

Vibes: Cinderella + Gothic vibes + Handmaid's Tale

Genre: True YA Fantasy Retelling + Queer Romance

Romance Meter: 🖤 🖤 🖤 🖤 ♡

Character MVP: Probably Constance...the characters aren't as dynamic and fleshed out as in Bayron's duology, but the descendant of one of Cinderella's stepsisters is a welcome addition to the story. She's sharp and acerbic (although not as much as Marie will be in Bayron's duology) and assertive; her connection to the Cinderella mythos is a fresh take on a tired trope (pitting women against each other).

Verdict: 3.5 stars, but I just couldn't round up to 4 stars because of some world-building / narrative / character things.

I'm actually really glad I read This Poison Heart duology first because I'm not 100% sure I would have read Bayron's other books if I had started with this one. It's a perfectly fine book -- and I may be being nitpicky because (1) I'm reading a lot on Cinderella (the story / tale type) for a class I'm getting ready to teach and (2) world building is pet peeve of mine -- but I also didn't have much trouble putting it down to move on to other things.

There are things that Bayron did well here, which I'll get to in a minute, but having read the duology first, this felt very much like a first draft of that story: spunky queer heroine falls in love with a strong, sassy, uniquely-haired Girl Who's Different and they end up on a quest guided by a morally questionable older woman / mentor figure. Sophia is an early draft of Bri, and Constance is an early version of Marie -- and both Bri and Marie are much more fleshed out and dynamic in the duology than Sophia & Constance are here.

What worked:
✔️ -- Representation. Where Bayron shines. Girls are strong and active, not passively waiting around for a man to save them, which is great, because men rarely come off well in Bayron's books.
Even the 'real' Cinderella (within the narrative-world) is plucky and devious, and manages to help -- much like the maternal spirit that presides over much of the agency in folk versions of the story -- from beyond the grave.
✔️ -- A Black Cinderella. Another point of representation -- and I think Bayron is responding to the tradition of casting fairy tale heroine as white women, because "POC DiDn'T eXiSt In Ye OlDeN eUrOpE!" (<-- ridiculous). There's this idea that "Fairy Tales = European" and we tend to whitewash a lot of figures, erasing the diversity that exists behind them (at least as much as we know for certain). So even though Brandy played Cinderella in 1997, and we have Tiana and Halle Bailey cast as Ariel, "fairy tales" are still very much exclusionary, and Bayron gives a giant "F that" to that idea.
✔️ -- An openly gay Cinderella. Also bonus representation. The whole arc is basically a coming out story and triumphing over internalized homophobia and how homophobia is used by a lot of people to reinforce the "normatively" of heterosexual unions -- which I 100% am here for. Also, I'm not familiar with a ton of openly gay Cinderellas...I know I've read at least one where Cinderella runs off with the Fairy Godmother instead, but I think it's more common to cast her as bi. Which is not a bad thing!

What Didn't Work (for me):
✔️ -- The Worldbuilding. Ugh. Always a pet peeve of mine. I just wanted *more.* Maybe Bayron was playing with fairy tale tropes in that we're often just thrown into a fairy-tale world with little details or backstory (once upon a time, in a far-away land), but the place names made it seem very French. And I *get* that "learning the true story" is part of the narrative arc, but it seemed that a lot of the first 75 pages or so were Sophia walking around proclaiming how awful it was to live in this kingdom because the King Was So Mean, and we didn't really know why or what his end goal was. Her relationship with Erin in particular was very flat to me: we know that Sophia loves Erin (and presumably Erin loves her back, even though it really doesn't feel that way), and she also tromps around a lot the first part of the book passionately declaring that "she wants to be with her and it isn't fair!" Now, I fully support Sophia's decision to be with whoever she wants to be, but a little more substance up front might have gone a long way.

✔️ -- Follow up: The King's Motivations. Again, this *is* a fairy-tale, so maybe my expectations were just too high, but he's a very flat, one-dimensional villain. He seems evil and cruel and his end goal is....patriarchy? Like, just generic (but still awful!) "keep women down and oppressed."
And all the other males seem 100% cruel because of it...Like, there are no good men here? Even Sophia's father is a bit dickish at times...

✔️ -- Except Luke, who was very underutilized. Now, I know Bayron likes to focus on female characters -- which I'm on board with. Most of her chapters would pass the Bechdel test. But Luke had such potential, and he was imprisoned for most of the book. Womp womp. I would have loved to see like a little outcast band of queer rebels go storming the castle, but alas.

✔️ -- Final major pet peeve, which may be *really* academic. There was a weird blending of the Grimm and Perrault (and even Disney) versions of the story going on that...I don't know. It *could* be a commentary on how there *isn't* One True Version of Cinderella out there, and the story is just a mish-mash of revised versions, but some details were oddly specific.
Like the place names (and some character names) were VERY French.
And Perrault's French version is the only version (99% sure on that one) with the fairy godmother (as a human-like person who descends to help Cinderella, rather than animals/tree) and the pumpkin transformation and the glass slipper. Those are very specific elements we can 100% trace back to Perrault's version.
But Sophia's last name is "Grimmins" (or something) which is clearly an allusion to the Grimms.
The Palace version of the story starts with the dying mother's invocation that Cinderella be kind, which doesn't happen in the French version; its more common in the German kind.
And, in the French version, the stepsisters are forgiven by Cinderella and end off married to court nobility which is either weirdly kind of Cinderella or amazingly petty, depending on how you look at it.
And, yes, I know that the point of Bayron's version is that the "Palace approved" text is used a tool to keep women in line and docile and obedient and subservient to men, which you can definitely say of BOTH the French and German versions. And that Bayron's "new" Cinderella -- both her book itself and the meta-story of Cinderella published at the end -- are about overcoming that patriarchal subjugation to be your own subject / person.
But it was a weird mish-mash of versions and it probably only really stood out to me because I've got Cinderella on the brain.

I just wanted *more* from the story, because the premise is really intriguing.

I thought this book was so good! I love a twisted fairytale, and I love the queer aspect brought into the classic tale. I can’t wait to read more by this author!

An amazing premise, but ultimately not 100% for me. The story just seemed to fall flat, sadly. I couldn't connect with the characters or the stakes the plot proposed.

This was selected as New Hampshire's state book award--Isinglass Book Award. My students adored it and had to chuckle at the title when they first saw the cover on display. They quickly learned that this book challenges our assumptions and makes them question what they want from their own life.

This was a... frustrating but good read. 3.5 stars.

I loved the twists of the story, the building to the end and the amount of world building that we got. I wasn't expecting it to be as melancholy as it was, which surprised me and made me actually enjoy it more. It's a quick, sapphic fantasy retelling that I think anyone that likes dystopian fairytale retellings would really enjoy.

For me, I think my biggest issues were just how Sophia acted about the people around her and their own reactions to their oppression, which I get because she's a 16-year-old girl who's angry at the world she lives in. So it wasn't a writing issue, but it was just a GAHH this is frustrating issue while reading it. That and the character of Luke felt like such a wasted opportunity. I wish we'd seen more of him, and I wish he had gotten more of a plot or at least a better ending.

Though I am a little leery of fairytale retellings, because there are SO many of them, I enjoyed the feminist perspective in Cinderella is Dead by Kalynn Bayron. Bayron strips away the glossy, pretty story, and presents Cinderella in a darker, more realistic way.

Original, fantastic, and captivating, this Cinderella retelling is one for the ages. Kalynn Bayron is one to watch with stories like this.

This is a creative and adventurous retelling of Cinderella. The first chapter is just horrible--it should have been scrapped and rewritten. Aside from that--this is a provocative and interesting tale. Sophia is brave and hard-headed and you cheer for her even though she's a bit reckless. Constance is kind of one-dimensional; she's likable but not really memorable. The ending was very good.

Please give me all the unapologetically queer badass MC's destroying the patriarchy in a ball gown.

I've had this book for ages and I don't know why I've been putting it off. I've legitimately had it in every format, ebook, audio, and physical copy. I don't know what my brain was thinking because this is a wonderful Cinderella retelling. It's a little bit harsh and brutal at times but at its core it is about being unapologetically yourself and standing up for what you believe in, even if it's hard.

The whole premise of this book is a fairy tale like dystopian world. It's set 200 years after the story of Cinderella and the king has imposed all of these laws and rules that put women and girls at the mercy of men. The women have to attend a Cinderella ball in their teenage years and if they are not chosen by a man within three balls, they are forfeit and sent to work as forced labor essentially, or worse. Everyone just seemingly is okay with this and even if they're not okay with it they're not willing to stand up for themselves or their daughters. That is, everyone but Sophia.

Sophia is opinionated and loud and so so gay it was fantastic. She refused to censor herself or silence herself and she is determined to find a way to bring down the king. All she wants to do is be with the girl she loves named Erin, but when Erin goes along with the Cinderella ball and Sophia flees, she's forced to find another path forward. It leads her into the arms of Constance who is the last living relative of Cinderella's family. Through some magic and some fighting and a hell of a lot of resistance, Constance and Sophia do their best to do what they think is right.

I enjoyed the premise of this book and I loved Sophia, but I got really frustrated with the parents and their lack of will to speak up for and stand up for their daughters. I got especially frustrated with Sophia's parents who tried to convince her to put aside her gay feelings and just go along with the flow. And after shunning her essentially they just expect to be embraced at the end.

I personally would have loved to see an alternate ending or an alternate prologue from either Cinderella's point of view or the underground women's movement POV. I think that would have added a really great element to the story because the way that it ends is a little bit too neat and tidy for me.

This is definitely a stellar book though and I definitely recommend it, especially if you are into fairy tale retellings.

Also I really loved Luke and all of his gay wonder.

CW: violence against women, murder, execution, sexism, misogyny, homophobia.

Rep: Black lesbian MC, secondary queer characters including gay, lesbian, and queer

This book was exactly what the 14 year old in me needed! Brimming with classic Cinderella references while exploring a world after her, Cinderella Is Dead was addicting and enthralling.

The characters were easily my favorite part of this book. The layers of complexity woven within each made me think about them far after I had finished the book!

Back in the day – there was this cover trend of girls in beautiful dresses for young adult books. However, basically none of the books featured girls of color. Cinderella Is Dead by Kalynn Bayron features desperately needed representation. Also, change in cover trends, but that change still isn’t quite enough. I love that there is a Black girl on the cover in a stunning dress wearing her natural hair. How wonderful that teenage Black girls who like to read fantasy will get to see themselves in this fairytale re-working. I just genuinely loved this book so much.

Set two hundred years after Cinderella infamously meets Prince Charming at a ball and falls in love, Cinderella Is Dead follows Sophia, a teenage girl who isn’t interested in finding a prince. In fact, Sophia has feelings for her best friend Erin. Unfortunately, the town of Lille in the kingdom of Mersailles, keeps women and girls subjugated. King Marchant is a royal jerk. Girls must attend the ball to be chosen by a man who will then marry them. The girl then goes under the control of the man who is the head of the household. Sophia chafes against this. So much so that she runs away from the ball and happens to run into Constance, a descendent of one of Cinderella’s stepsisters.

As it turns out, perhaps the story Sophia has heard all her life about Cinderella is wrong. So, together, Sophia and Constance must find answers. Also, they need to take down King Marchant. Along the way Sophia and Constance fall in love. Revolution and overthrow are imminent.

Cinderella Is Dead captivated me. I can see why this book trended on booktok. Sophia is a character that kind of frustrated me at first because I am old and compliant. And I really had to deconstruct why I found myself frustrated with her. But then, I started to see her boldness as an asset. I think another part is that I was so worried for her and nervous that she’d end up really getting hurt. Y’all, I was so invested. I wanted Sophia to win so bad. I found the storyline to be really satisfying. Again, I think I was frustrated too because I was so invested. Also — I loved Sophia with Constance over her with Erin. It just made sense. This book was a great fit for me personally and I cannot wait to read more from Bayron. Love to see the representation too!

An engaging new take on twisting faerie tales. Bayron uses the story of Cinderella as historical background for an oppressive society built around her story. The lead character Sophia is headstrong and determined to live her life in a manner counter to what society says she should, which leads to adventures and attempts to bring the who misogynist society down. I appreciated that the final fight sequence was a lot longer than what these books normally use, and that it had several parts to it rather than a page of threatening, a page of fighting, the end. The only reason I can't give it fully five stars is that it felt a little too long, but I've been getting that a lot lately so it's probably just me.

HELL of a book. As a lover of queer fairytale retellings and smashing the patriarchy, this book made me feel personally attacked. But in the best of ways.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

By all means, this was not a bad book. But it wasn't a great book either.

It had good aspects like the every changing plot, and the fact that it took a spin on a classic story and made it into something entirely different and some of the characters were enjoyable!

But there other aspects that I didn't enjoy as much, like the predictability of the story. While I enjoyed the twists and turns of the plot, once I was able to predict them, it became less and less enjoyable

Another random thing I didn't enjoy was the gore? It was written well but I didn't feel like the description of it was needed or was relevant to the story, but this is just a personal opinion and not one that, if different, would've made the story better or worse in my opinion

The characters were both enjoyable and not. I liked Constance.. but that was about it. The main character was honestly kind of annoying and Erin.. oh my god, do not even get me started. I can look past the fact that Erin is awful because that is her purpose for the most part. But the main character being annoying and irritating and just dumb sometimes? I understand liking a bad main character if that is purpose of the story, but it clearly wasn't meant to be that way in this story. She was just arrogant and childish and it made following the plot less fun.

This is the retelling we all need. It is dark and twisty, it has a sapphic romance, and it has strong women taking down the patriarchy. What else could you ask for?!

Cinderella is dead, but her story lives on as a national treasure 200 years later. In the kingdom of Lille, little girls dream of their own balls, fairytale books of Cinderella's story reside in every household and trinkets relating to the tale are sold in the marketplace. But the mirroring of her story is not a game for her kingdom's citizens; it's actually a matter of life or death. There are many retellings of fairy tales today, but not many explore what a nation might look like if it lived under the tyranny of a legend.

For young women like Sophia, a majestic ball where you'll meet your future husband is not a dream, but a future set in stone. Every young woman from the age of 15 upwards is required to attend an annual ball held by the king, where men of various ages and stations will select brides. Each girl gets three chances in three years to be selected, and if they are not they will be considered "forfeit" and generally consigned to a life of labor in workhouses. All of this is done to supposedly honor the former queen Cinderella, who the first king of Lille fell in love with at a ball and chose to make the symbolic goddess of the rest of the kingdom's love lives. While many of the girls act like dutiful followers to this kingdom-wide practice of systemic mating, Sophia has never been one to blend with the crowd and, secretly, doesn't have an interest in any man. She dreams of a future with her childhood friend, Erin, and when the book opens, she's living the last moments of youthful freedom before her first ball.

Sophia, Erin, and their friend Liv all show different reactions to the ball, based on their circumstances and personalities. Sophia dreads the day it comes and speaks out to any who won't harm her for doing so, while trying to obey her parents' wishes as they risk debt to ensure her a lifetime of security; Erin seems to return Sophia's feelings of romance, but has resigned herself to her future and knows the risks of even verbally defying it. Liv is eager for her second year at the ball and hopes to win a good match by virtue of being "like Cinderella", good and faithful to the kingdom's edicts and an obedient daughter. Sophia feels the pressure on all three of them even when her friends don't speak of it, and her view of things is quite different from most heroines facing a ball; rather than dreaming of waltzes and the gaze of a true love, the sense of polished walls closing in on a wild bird becomes stronger with each passing day in her life. When the night of the ball finally arrives, it becomes clear to Sophia as well as the reader that the opulent palace is hiding something more evil than most of the kingdom's citizens could imagine.

The night of the ball changes the lives of Sophia and both her friends, in ways very different from the fairytale they were taught. Sophia is confronted with the worst of the monarchy's tyranny and abruptly separated from everything she knows, forced on a path that even her rebellious nature hadn't prepared for. As she finds herself fleeing for her life in every sense of the word, she's led to forbidden places few have ever witnessed, each of which reveal dangerous truths about the history behind the fantasy story every girl has been forced to live. Abandoned tombs, forgotten chambers and wild forests all become important keys to any hope of survival Sophia might have, for both herself and many others.

.Author Bayron builds her characters as well as the plot masterfully, making Sophia's journey resemble a climb through steep hills or a descent down a dark staircase at different times. I was distracted a few times by the dialogue, which was occasionally too modern for the setting, and my only annoyances with Sophia were how easily distracted she became from Erin when another girl came into her life (this was compounded by her acting like a lovesick boy a few times, most jarringly while she was training to use a weapon). Another young girl in the story grated on my nerves a bit by picking a fight with an older character almost every time they were in the room together, an immature and petty trait that contrasted with her usually measured personality. Overall, though, this is a masterful and carefully built novel that presents vital questions and issues every human being should consider.