Cover Image: Cinderella Is Dead

Cinderella Is Dead

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Cinderella is Dead is a super freshest take on the Cinderella story that I've read in a long time! Themes from the original Cinderella are there, and the fairytale definitely provides a great setup, but in the end, CID is definitely a story about queer black girls overthrowing a dystopian patriarchal society, and I ATE IT UP! I loved the world Kalynn Bayron set up as it felt completely fleshed out and real (even though my stomach was twisting along with Sophia's about the whole ball/hope a man deems you good enough to marry tradition!!!!).

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I'm so happy to have had an opportunity to read this book! I haven't read a lot of fantasy books outside of Harry Potter and this was a great book to get back into the genre. I thought the premise was a really cool idea - diving into a darker version of Cinderella and the repercussions that could have.on their society. I do think journey to save the kingdom was a little *too* easy for the protagonist - which I think means the book needed to be longer! Or have multiple books! I would love to spend more time in this world. I love the main character and I love seeing a young, black lesbian fall in love and take down the patriarchy! I will be recommending this book for sure and can't wait to read more from this author!

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Cinderella has been dead for the past 200 years, but her legacy is being used to control the women who live in the kingdom of Lille. In a land where women hold no power and all are beholden to their husband, Sophia is forced to attend a ball where she will be selected to be someone’s wife. The girls who aren’t chosen disappear. When everything goes horribly wrong at the ball, Sophia is forced to flee and meets Constance: a descendant of one of the wicked stepsisters. They must work together to find out the real reason behind the balls and the sinister mystery of the king’s power, and discover what it means to fight when the world tells you that you should just give in.

I really enjoyed the story of Cinderella growing up, but I have to say that this is one of the best retellings of Cinderella that I’ve read. Also, what a gorgeous cover! Cinderella Is Dead has a compelling and important story to tell. This book pulls no punches, with poignant writing, and forces the reader to examine their own assumptions/beliefs about well-known stories. I would have liked to see a bit more world-building, but it didn’t impact my enjoyment as the core story here is always Sophia’s mission to defeat the king and save the women and girls of Lille.

Sophia is a strong and determined character, who refuses to give in against insurmountable odds. There was a little instalove when it came to Sophia and Constance, but I didn’t mind because I thought they were cute and it didn’t distract Sophia from her ultimate goal. No matter what, Sophia never forgot the women and girls that she was fighting for. An important and timely retelling of Cinderella, this story deftly re-examines stories we’ve always believed to be true, explores what it means to be brave, and why it is necessary to always use your voice. Cinderella Is Dead releases on July 7, 2020. Thank you to Kalynn Bayron, Bloomsbury YA, and Netgalley for a free ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

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***ARC received from Bloomsbury YA and NetGalley in exchange for honest review, opinions are all my own. Thank you!***

If I may, please allow me this confession. I really love the story of Cinderella but more importantly I love a retelling of Cinderella. Cinderella Is Dead is a unique retelling in that its not just retelling the core story that we know but expanding on what are the after affects of the story 200 years after it happened. How can a fairy tale shape the world?

Not well in this case. Not well at all.

The book starts out strong, we follow Sophia as she prepares for the ball now a requirement of all women to attend in order to find that perfect match. Sophie doesn’t want to find her perfect match believing she has already found it in her friend Erin. There is a great deal of diversity in this world. Sophia is a lesbian and refuses to be anything more than what she is. Even if it borders a little too much of selfishness when it comes to her finally interaction with Erin. The world is also racial diverse which is so nice seeing how so many of the fairy tales that we know are predominately white. Even in their retelling while the Prince or secondary character get to be diverse, the heroine is usually white. So to go through this story with Sophia as our heroine is refreshing.

The writing itself is nice, the writer does a great job of weaving the original fairy tale through her own story. How all the concepts of true love and fairy godmothers can be worked to suppress a people. The beginning we feel the helplessness of Sophia as her entire world is about to be turned upside down and that overwhelming want to be free.

Its unfortunate that after a strong start with both story and characters things starts to fall apart. We get bits and pieces of world building, which basically boils down to men are powerful and women are weak. The world doesn’t build up much past that point. This is the main problem I had with this book, everything it just surface level with very little depth underneath it. We needed to spend more time seeing the world with more complex characters. Most of the men we encounter are abusive and sexist, while the women are submissive and usually being beaten by their spouses. This heavy handed approach doesn’t really mesh with the end game idea that people will accept change without a full revolt. Its an ingrained belief within the people to follow the King’s rule and to see every day folks fighting against that in just little ways throughout the book would have added so much to the plot.

The book itself spends the middle chunk away from the city and really caused the plot to flounder. Constance and Sophia have no idea what they are doing what to do if what they seek isn’t there and just making it up as they go but there is no tension in trying to figure out what to do. They are safe outside of the city and spend more time developing an insta-romance (it is a fairy tale retelling after all) than actually focusing on how to overthrow 200 years of tyrannical rule and to get the people to follow along with it. It also didn’t help that during this stretch of time their characters became just the snarky one and the gentle one. Sophia had a lot of spark and made some really stupid decision but it was like that person was gone as soon as a second character came along and was able to take up that mantle.

The climax of the book was both good and bad, I found the villain so nonthreatening despite all the horrible things he had done and was fully capable of doing. If the book had spent more time in the middle part with him in how he became the monster he was before meeting Cinderella it might have been better. For a book that felt like it was trying really hard to break out of the mold of happily ever after the ending really didn’t pull any punches on this is a happily ever after cliché ending.

There is a lot of great parts of this book, the representation is amazing it just wasted what would have been a fascinating story.

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The first description I ever heard about this book was something along the lines of “black Cinderella falls in love with Merida and fights the patriarchy” so obviously, I made it my mission to get my hands on the copy. THANK YOU to NetGalley for an e-copy in exchange for an honest review.

“Just because they deny us doesn’t mean we cease to exist.”

(Still crying over this quote)

Cinderella is Dead is a retelling of the beloved fairy tale with a poignant feminist twist that is done well, something I find YA tries to do a lot but rarely hits the way this story did. 200 years after Cinderella died, the kingdom of Lille is being ruled by a cruel king who uses the story of Cinderella and her Prince Charming to force all the young women to participate in a ball and be “chosen” by a man the way Cinderella was chosen by Charming.

From the beginning, there’s a sense of urgency in our main character Sophia’s dialogue and choices, making it clear that she is unhappy with the state of her home under the King’s rein and that she wants to do something about it. She argues with her parents, her friends, and herself about her choice (and lack of choice) in what her future holds.

Sophia is also immediately established as a queer woman, quite literally on the first page, which is something I don’t think I’ve ever seen. Not only was it refreshing as a reader, but validating as a lesbian. Coming out and self-discovery stories are important, but stories where the main character is confident in their identity are desperately needed, especially in the YA genre. I loved seeing this girl, from beginning to end, never doubting her attraction to other girls.

The romance in this book was so fun and exciting. It’s tempting to make a “u-haul lesbians” joke regarding the speed of the relationship, I really didn’t mind how quickly things moved. Slow-burn can be fun (and frustrating), but wlw relationships can and do move at different speeds, and I adored these two.

The twists in this book had me gasping out loud and hunching closer to my kindle, as if I could fall into the pages if I tried hard enough. The nods to both the original Grimm story and the Disney version made me smile, and best of all, the book had a happy ending. I read the whole thing in one sitting, unmoving from my bed on a Sunday afternoon.

I would have liked to see the villain’s backstory a little more fleshed out, but also recognize that some people just do bad things for the power, and not everything needs to be spurred by tragic history.

Thank you, Kalynn Bayron, for Sophia and her story. I truly think this book, and especially its protagonist, is going to change lives.

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Thank you to Netgalley and Bloomsbury Publishing for picking me to receive an advanced copy of Cinderella is Dead!

200 years after Cinderella found her “happily ever after,” her story is being used to oppress and control an entire kingdom. At the age of sixteen, every girl is required to attend the royal ball, where the stakes to find a suitable match are life and death. If someone fails to select a girl, they are never seen again, leaving many girls desperate to be chosen regardless of how terrible the man may be. Following her sixteenth birthday, Sophia’s time to attend the ball arrives, filling her with more desire to escape than ever before. She would much rather marry her best friend, Erin, but the kingdom’s rules would spell death if they even attempted such a thing. After fleeing the ball, Sophia finds herself on the run, accompanied by the last known descendant of the Cinderella story, a girl named Constance. Together, they must work to save their kingdom, but first they must uncover the truth of Cinderella’s past.

You can get your copy of Cinderella is Dead in July 7th from Bloomsbury YA!

Kalynn Bayron has powerfully reshaped the traditional Cinderella story in Cinderella is Dead! This book forces readers to examine the truth of who stories are being told for. History has inherent power and those with control over the narrative can use that authority to shape the world. Though this story is fictitious, it provides a stark reminder of the consequences of real world actions. For me, Cinderella is Dead is one of the most empowering retellings I’ve ever read!

My Recommendation-
If you’ve been searching for a fantasy novel that speaks to the realities of the world today, Cinderella is Dead is certain to delight you! This book would be a fantastic pick for anyone looking to read a story about a queer Black girl smashing the patriarchy!

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Book Review for “Cinderella is Dead” By Kalynn Bayron. I read this book as an ARC from NetGalley. Thanks NetGalley!

Synopsis from Goodreads: It’s 200 years after Cinderella found her prince, but the fairy tale is over. Teen girls are now required to appear at the Annual Ball, where the men of the kingdom select wives based on a girl’s display of finery. If a suitable match is not found, the girls not chosen are never heard from again. Sixteen-year-old Sophia would much rather marry Erin, her childhood best friend, than parade in front of suitors. At the ball, Sophia makes the desperate decision to flee, and finds herself hiding in Cinderella’s mausoleum. There, she meets Constance, the last known descendant of Cinderella and her step sisters. Together they vow to bring down the king once and for all–and in the process, they learn that there’s more to Cinderella’s story than they ever knew . . .

This book was great! I give it a 4 out of 5 stars. Without meaning to, I’ve read a lot of books lately by people of color with strong female lead characters who are also people of color. This book is no exception. Sophia is black and gay. So yay for LBGTQ+ representation in a fairy tale spin off! The driving force behind this novel is that Sophia wants to be able to love who she loves, and not fit within the male dominated confines of her world. (Hmm, sounds a little like the world we live in right now.) This book also has witchcraft and magic. And who doesn’t love a book with a little magic? I highly recommend this book, and it’s a very modern and feminist take on an old classic.

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Readers will never think about Cinderella the same way again! In this fresh retelling of the classic story, the young maiden Sophia does not want to go to the ball because she is in love with her best friend Erin. Sophia sees the injustices to women that the king allows and wants to flee and live the life she has always dreamed about instead of following the sacred story of Cinderella. After some mishaps at the ball Sophia runs away and meets a beautiful young girl named Constance. Constance allows Sophia to learn that the story of Cinderella is not the truth the king wants everyone to believe. The story turns into a race against time to stop the king, bring freedom to the women of the land, and try to make a change so that everyone may have the happy ending they always dreamed of!

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This was not what I expected, but in a good way. Bloomsbury always picks such magical reads and I think this one was super magical, super queer, and fun. I enjoyed immensely

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I enjoyed this book so much. I love the diversity this brought to the YA fairytale retelling world.

This is a story about Sophia, who lives in a very oppressive society, who has to attend a ball honoring Cinderella to get picked to get married. If you are not picked after three tries then you are forced into indentured servitude. But the only problem is, Sophia is falling for the girl next door, not some stuffy old man.

I loved Sophia as a main character. She was really fun to read and such a strong female character. Her struggles and her obstacles felt so real and hurt as if they were things I was going through.

I also adored the female/female relationship. They had so much chemistry both platonically and romantically. It was so sweet to read their relationship and to see them grow. It is so often that we see in YA relationships that are just there for the sake of there being romance in the book; however, I definitely felt this relationship was valuable, meaningful, and perfect for this book.

The reason this book lost a star was due to how it felt flat a majority of the time. The plot was really simple and honestly felt a little seen-before at times. That paired with the lack of worldbuilding caused the book to fall flat for me and I wish there was something more unique that the book could offer me other than the diverse character and the lgbtq+ aspect.

Overall this was a wonderful read I would recommend to YA readers who love fairytales.

Thank you, NetGalley for a free copy of the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

-- 4 stars --

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Ohh my gosh! This book was fabulous!

I absolutely LOVED the way the fairytales were told and retold, and how they were woven in and out and around each other. That truly was STUNNING and made it for a fabulous book.

I also LOVED the love in this book - the MC and Constance were so natural together and so easy-going that I truly felt them as a couple. They clicked so well and I'm so happy to have them in this book.

The one thing that did consistently throw me out of the book was that the "big bad" was so one-dimensionally evil and people went along with him so easily.

He was just so clearly in the wrong that there left no argument against him, and it almost made him feel like a caricature of evil rather than a real person. And the way everyone went along with it, it felt like we needed more background for that to be believable.

But even so, the soft moments between MC and Constance, the way magic worked in this kingdom and the way Cinderella was reimagined were enough to ultimately balance this out and I strongly feel like this is going to be a huge success.

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*Received a free ecopy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review!*

So, this one was pitched as "queer black girls overthrowing the patriarchy", and that's so valid.

Sophia lives in a society where women have zero rights and every year, there is a ball held in the memory of the great Cinderella, where every unmarried girl must attend in their finest and hopefully leave with a fiance. You have three shots at the ball, and if you're not chosen, you get forced into indentured servitude. Alas, what do you do when you'd rather run away with the cute girl next door than be forced to marry an old creep?

Well, start a revolution of course!

First things first: the queer representation. Sophia's struggles are likely to resonate with any sapphic girl living in a heteronormative world. She may not be ashamed of who she is, but that doesn't mean that society will take her rebellion lying down, and that includes her own family, as her parents fear for her safety. There's also some heartwarming gay solidarity. And, of course, we have plenty of female camaraderie. My favorite part about wlw books is that they're full of girl love, both platonic and romantic. The wlw in this book was sweet and supportive, and we even managed to avoid that dastardly love triangle. Indeed, so much of the story is spent uplifting other women and halting girl-hate in its tracks. Even better, we get casual racial diversity and interracial romances.

My main gripes with the book came from how the plot was fairly simple, and the overall theme took precedent over any substantial worldbuilding, or even characterization at times. The magic system was plain, standard witchcraft. I didn't feel much of a sense of suspense until the end, because the overall plot was formulaic. I couldn't get a good sense of the world that the story took place in, as the story was more focused on spreading the girlpower and highlighting the injustice. Compared to a book like The Handmaid's Tale, a book that crafted a reasonable idea of how Gilead came to be while also having extreme patriarchy strip women of their rights, the balance just felt very off.

The villain felt like a caricature, symbolic of the theme of the story without any dimension. Perhaps a story like this doesn't require a three-dimensional villain, but I personally prefer villains with more nuance and motivations beyond "I'm evil for the sake of being evil". There was also a certain twist in the story that felt abrupt and didn't quite make sense.

Slight nitpick, but I always get annoyed whenever corsets are depicted as death traps. Certainly, they make excellent symbols of oppression in our media, but the history of corsets as garments crafted by women FOR women has long been mired by a lot of false information. It's worth noting that much of the criticism of corsets at the time came from men who mocked women for vapidly worrying about their appearances (as if men didn't also wear corsets...) and suffragettes who denied their femininity in order to be taken more seriously. For more information, I'd recommend watching Karolina Żebrowska's video on the matter: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zNwTq...

At the end of the day, Cinderella is Dead is a straightforward story about a queer black girl who wants to create a world where she can live as an equal to any man and love freely. Alas, here is a book that reminds you that as long as you're willing to fight for them, dreams do come true, even after the clock strikes midnight.

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Three words: Oh. My. Gosh.
This story is amazing! First, the representation of people of colour (many people Sophia describes are not white). Second, the griping story of women’s oppression and one girl trying to make the world a better place. Third, the struggles of young LGBT+ people in a world they are not accepted.
The story is detailed, beautiful, and really draws you in. This take on a classic fairytale is so interesting and different from anything I’ve ever read. It’s almost like a dystopian twist that isn’t futuristic. I would definitely love to read more tales like this from the author.

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This book was amazing, have to say its my all time fave f/f now. The characters and story telling were impeccable in this one. I love the dark, dystopian twist on Cinderella's classic tale. Also? Black lesbian overthrowing a corrupt leader? How could anyone not want that! The protagonist is fierce, brave, and a character we should all look up too. I seriously adored this book!

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This book reminded me of everything that I love about a good retelling. You get exactly what it says: queer Cinderella with a side of fighting the patriarchy.

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From the moment I heard about Cinderella is Dead, I was excited. A black queer dystopian Cinderella retelling? I was almost worried there was no way a book like that could possibly live up to my expectations, but I shouldn't have worried. Kalynn Bayron did such an amazing job writing a beautiful F/F romance that had complicated, flawed, loveable characters that you couldn't help but root for.

The writing set the scene beautifully with a tone that was just the right mixture of fairy tale and dystopian. There were even a few Easter eggs and hat tips that I caught and very much appreciated as a lover of classic fairytales. There was a little bit of overly heavy handed foreshadowing early on that spoiled one of the major twists for me, but overall I greatly enjoyed this one.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an early review copy of this one in exchange for my honest review. I would definitely recommend this book to lovers of fairytales, retellings, and all the little girls who want to know why the damsel can't save herself- she can!

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Just want to say that some of this review contains semi-spoilers for the first 30% of the book. I’ll put the big ones in a spoiler tag, but don’t read on if you don’t want any spoilers.

A sapphic story starring a black rebellious girl that takes place 200 years after Cinderella dies? Sounds amazing. This was something different, which is what I was looking for. I really wanted to love this, but unfortunately it didn’t hit the spot for me. I think the main reason this wasn’t a big win for me is because I was hoping for some amazing sapphic love story with some badass black girl magic, and the writing just fell short of my expectations in that regard. So maybe the fault is with me and my high expectations. I will definitely check out this author’s work in the future because I did enjoy this enough to finish it, and I really like the idea of this story and the idea of the characters. I just enjoyed the idea of it a lot more than the actual book. I couldn’t connect with the characters like I wanted and I kept finding myself getting distracted. There just wasn’t enough development. The problem here could also be that this one seemed a little too YA for my tastes, despite some of the very heavy subject matter.

This book is written in first-person present tense, which I love. The plot reminds me of <i>The Selection</i>, which is both good and not so good. The good is that there are parts that are compulsively readable, and <i>Cinderella is Dead</i> has much better representation. The not so good is that it does more telling than showing. Also (and this is a personal preference I don’t think many people will agree with me about) I’m not big on lengthy descriptions of things. There are a lot of paragraphs simply describing how the palace looks and smells, and I honestly couldn’t care less. That’s how I am with most books, and I know I’m in the minority there. I tend to like my descriptions to be sharp and to the point, allowing my imagination to take over and fill in the blanks. I’m a much more character driven reader, and although descriptions are important, I don’t need to know what every corner looks like to be able to imagine the grandeur of the area in my head.

This book has a lot of strengths. One of them is that there will occasionally be very important messages hidden amidst things of less import. <i> “Just because they deny us doesn’t mean we cease to exist.”</i> In Sophia’s world, where queerness is treated as an extremely rare disease, lines like that were much needed. There were some pretty heavy themes here, and a little hope here and there was appreciated. On the other hand, there were some pretty cheesy lines too. Like Sophia answering the question of if she’s lost with “Maybe I am. But the difference is that I want to be found.” Lines like this bordered on big cheese for me.

<b>This next part I wrote when I hit 30% complete on my kindle. Just had to write down some thoughts at that point. The reason I stopped to take a break and gather my thoughts is because the story changes direction here, and I want to keep track of my initial thoughts before forgetting them. Feel free to skip all this. It’s kind of rambling. </b>

There’s some mean girl cattiness and bullying between girls as well as boys, which are some of my least favorite things to read about. I did try really hard to set that aside in favor of viewing this as a comment on how women should not follow this example, that they should instead stand together in situations like that, but that we also shouldn’t always expect all women to take that path and be prepared if they don’t. Maybe? And as for the men bullying the gay character, Luke, I’ll admit that while those scenes were hard to read, they also felt shallow. The typical gay bashing lines were repeated over and over. I was frustrated with the bullies and also with the author for not giving Luke better lines to defend himself. Luke resorts to violence in more than one occasion, which wouldn’t have been my first choice for him, and then refers to Sophia to handle his battles in others. I wanted more from these encounters. More strength or depth or spirit.

There were also a few moments early on when I was so frustrated with Sophia. I kept thinking, “girl, <i>please</i> pick your battles!” I like that she’s strong and “different,” but she picks a fight with a guard at one point, in situation that could be very dangerous for her and the girl she loves, just because he pushes the girl into line with the other girls. Potentially getting herself forfeited just to make a stand on that one small thing really pissed me off. There are so many atrocious things happening, make a plan or pick a bigger and more important field to battle on. I just hated that she risked Erin’s future like that. I’m also not crazy about Sophia’s plan from the start. She just wants to leave the town with Erin. Leave all the other women to their fates. Knowing her own family will be screwed by her disappearance. There’s another instance early on <spoiler>when one of her friends is publicly humiliated and dragged off, possibly never to be seen again, and Sophia’s response to this is “We need to get as far away from here as possible.” So basically she just wants to leave her friend to her doom. That rubbed me the wrong way because it seems to be Sophia’s modus operandi. Erin was right when she said Sophia was selfish. I don’t expect every female protagonist to be a hero, but I was kind of expecting Sophia to be just that. Maybe that’s my fault. I wanted this sapphic story to be about a strong black lesbian who uses her brains to help people.</spoiler>

Most of men are straight up evil. One who isn’t is gay, and being gay is unacceptable in this world, so he’s kind of in the same situation as the women. The other men who are somewhat decent all seem to be cowards. I didn’t love that aspect because they all felt like flat characters because of it, even the villains. There just wasn’t any depth to them, they were either evil or cowards (not counting Luke, but honestly he’s only in it for like 5 seconds), and there wasn’t much else to them. I just didn’t believe it.

<b>Ok, that’s all my notes from the 30% mark. Wrote a lot more than I’d planned to so early on in my reading, sorry!</b>

If I were rating just the first 30%, my rating would be very different. Thankfully, Sophia eventually comes into herself, and after experiencing some trauma, she starts to lose her naivete. I also welcomed the introduction of a new character, but I can’t say I really connected to Constance. I always seemed a few steps removed from her. I did enjoy finally learning the true history, which happens around the halfway point. <i> “The truth is tricky. People want to know it, but when they do, sometimes they wish they didn’t.” </i>

Lots of trigger warnings for this book, but if you know what it’s about then you know what you’re getting yourself into with it. Abuse, bullying, homophobia, to name a few. Overall, I mostly enjoyed this book. I think I might not have been in the right headspace for it honestly, so maybe don’t take my opinion super seriously. I definitely appreciate what the author is trying to do, and I’m glad to have read <i>Cinderella is Dead</i> as part of my Pride month reads.

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I have always loved classic fairy tales and a great twist to the story! This one did not disappoint! Sophia was such a brave, strong character that stood up for her beliefs and would not bend to society. I admired her strength!

I loved this darker take on Cinderella's story and could not put it down!

Thank you Netgalley for my copy!

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I've never been a fan of the Cinderella fairytale. It's a lovely fairytale, don't get me wrong. And I certainly appreciate it. But it's not one of my favorites. “Why then would you read this book?” I too would ask. Well, it's a retelling, right? Retellings build upon the skeleton of the original and from there, the writer can go anywhere, do anything—create something new on that foundation. It's why I enjoy reading retellings. Cinderella Is Dead went past the early stages of the story we all know, and gave us a picture of the setting 200 years after Cinderella dies.

My biggest disappointment with this novel is how shallow it is as far as development. There is not enough depth to the world-building, or to characters, or to their actions. We know the bare minimum so that we can follow along with the storytelling. After Cinderella dies, Prince Charming angrily decides that women will stop having any rights because Cinderella did not love him as he saw fit, men will control them, and he gets his pick of the lot whenever he wants. These rules follow every king hereafter. In short, he's a spoiled brat and that's his drive. And by his decrees (because in this world it seems that most men are shaped with the same cloth that shaped Prince Charming) almost every male that our lead comes across (with the exception of just three of them) are all horrible human beings who just want to inflict pain on women, use them, and discard them as they see fit.

That line never sits right with me whenever an author uses it in a story.

Sophia, our lead... Well, I still don't know her. I know that she doesn't want to marry a man just because her king demands it (which is valid) and that she wants to get out of this situation. She's headstrong, and stubborn, and most of the time does whatever she wants without regard for anyone else, or much thought to her actions. That's all that I know about her. I neither liked her, nor disliked her, except to find her instant lust/love towards Constance to be one-dimensional and unbelievable. Sophia swears that she's in love with Erin, her sweetheart, and yet after just one night in Constance's presence, she starts thinking to herself

"Her body, backlit by the flames, is like a vision. She is tall and strong. She's got her sleeves pushed up; a wide, jagged scar runs over the muscles of her upper arm. They flex as she stokes the flames. I imagine how they might feel wrapped around me, and I wonder if she can tell how enthralled I am with her."

You just met this girl. How can you be enthralled by someone that you know nothing about? Sophia's feelings towards Constance's and Constance's immediate reciprocation and constant flirting (see what I did there?) was hammered into me from their first meeting. And during moments when I wanted to be focused on the story, it would rear its awkward head up again and detract from the bit of plot that I wanted to follow.

It felt forced.

After a few chapters that dragged, and some planning by the characters to figure out how to beat the backwards system in the world of this novel, we finally come to the end of the story. It involved a lot of Sophia (who has run away from the “kingdom” so that she's not killed) waltzing right back into the palace, without any guard recognizing that this is the girl they're chasing after. Once that's done, and the king most obviously sees her among the other girls, the two engage in fairly poor comebacks against each other until she gets locked in a pantry-sized room to await his evil deeds against her.

I wanted to like the ending, because it was to be the saving grace at this point. But it was as bland as I found most of the rest of the story and ended in a predicable manner. King Manford doesn't really have a reason to be the way that he is, there's no point to his villainous nature, and I felt like the author kept pulling twists and turns and reveals from her sleeve at random to help make sense of things but they didn't add up. Sure, Sophia and Constance get what they want at the close, but we expect it. Nothing that came before it left a lasting impression.

Despite everything that I didn't enjoy, the twist given to Amina's role—our “fairy godmother”—was great. No, she does not have much development either, but I'm glad that her character was different from what we expected. I like that it drew from a darker source and gave her a slightly more sinister veneer. Who she is to Manford came out of nowhere, but I suppose it works. And while the king's history before Cinderella is flimsy at best, the way that he keeps himself going was intriguing, and definitely fits his role of antagonist, even if it's something that has been done many times past.

The writing touched the mere surface of the story and a lot more life could have been imbued into every aspect of it. It unfortunately fell very short from my expectations.

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It’s hard to resist a twist on any classic fairytale, especially when it features the type of representation that Cinderella is Dead has to offer. I knew that this book featured a woman of color as the protagonist, but didn’t realize until starting the book that this story would have strong LGBT representation as well.

Sophia has lived her entire life in Mersailles where an evil patriarchal ruler holds all women to the strictest of laws in the name of Cinderella and her 200-year-old legacy. In this kingdom, all girls must attend the king’s ball when they are of age, including Sophia who would much rather live her happily ever after with her friend, Erin. When it comes time for a man to claim Sophia as his wife based on her looks and his entitlement to a women’s life, Sophia flees the ball, making her the king’s most wanted rebel.

While the story started out slow, I was hooked the moment we met Constance and learned who she was. I enjoyed the dynamic she had with Sophia and following their journey together. My only wish was that we got to see more of Luke. I really loved what little we saw of him and was disappointed when he was taken out of a majority of the story, though I also understand the choice to keep women at the forefront of Sophia’s adventure.

I also didn’t feel there was enough chemistry between the two love interests, but they were still cute enough together that I enjoyed reading it and wanted them together by the end of the book.

Overall, this is definitely a book I would add to any classroom library. It’s written for a younger audience for myself and I could see many of my students really loving it.

Thank you NetGalley and Bloomsbury for the digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

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