I loved the crap out of this book. I read a lot of other reviews that were less than awesome, and I can only assume those people did not read this in the spirit it was intended. It's a Young Adult book. Key word: Young. Is it particularly high brow literature? No. Is it a badass story for 14-17ish year old girls? Heck yes! I can't wait until my own little girl is old enough to read this story. I LOVE this current trend of girl power books. Girls are awesome!

This book is exactly what it appears to be. Cinderella falls in love with Merida and together they smash the patriarchy. 100%. This story is awesome. The setting is unique, and easy to understand. The story is well developed and suspenseful. The characters are lovable, easy to cheer for, and three dimensional enough to really understand.

Sofia is awesome. She sees a corrupt and broken society and refuses to accept it. She is told over and over again that she does not fit into the ideal, does she bend and change? Heck no! She toppled the society and set the people free. She's a badass!

One thing I really loved about this book is that there were other girls portrayed who were not brave enough to stand up against the crippling, oppressive society. After all the drama, they were not denigrated as worthless or as "less than" for not being strong enough to fight. They were met with gentleness and understanding. They were seen and their struggles were acknowledged. </p>

I will absolutely be reading this whole series, and I highly recommend it to young, and young at heart lovers of fairy tales and girl power.

I think readers who enjoyed the Hunger Games, would enjoy this title. Personally, I found it stressful as anytime there's a main character who is barreling towards destruction with no opposing force to balance it out feels overwhelming. I was also conflicted about Sophia's character which seemed to change quite suddenly in the middle of the book. It was almost as if she had swapped personalities with Constance which was bizarre.
I liked the twists and reveals in the ending, but it felt like it needed more time to tighten things up.

Sophia Grimmins lives in a world where the story of Cinderella is the law. Girls, as soon as they are 18, are forced to go to a ball where they are “chosen” by men. This year will be Sophia’s first ball, but all she wants to do is run away with her girl, Erin. When worse comes to worst at the ball, Sophia is forced to flee which leads her to stumble upon Cinderella’s tomb. Here, she is rescued by a descendant of Cinderella and together they make plans to take down the king’s regime.

I love that our mc is black AND queer! Sophia is badass but she also shows her vulnerability. It was obvious that she was scared of leaving the comfort of her home, but she was ready to risk it all to be able to live authentically and freely. I also really like Constance lol. I pictured her to look like Merida so this was basically a retelling of black Cinderella x Merida

The plot of Sophia working with a descendant of Cinderella to take down the king because he had twisted to the story to his benefit was intriguing. There were some minor issues I had with it where certain aspects didn’t really make sense or it seemed like something would be a major part of the plot, but it ended up being almost nothing. It didn’t really seem like they had a solid plan even though they kept reminding each other they needed to have a plan to successfully overthrow the king.

The romance isn’t really a major part of the story and I liked that. It was nice to see the f/f representation and I felt like it added to Sophia’s motivation to see her plans through. But yea, don’t expect it to be romance-driven.

I received a copy from Bloomsbury YA via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This alternative telling of a beloved fairy tale had me captivated from the start. The plot of the story of Cinderella is twisted to become a society that is a danger not only to women, but to all of it's people. The world manages to be gritty and heartbreaking while still being intriguing and full of love.

Throughout the story, I rooted for Sophia even at times that I did not agree with her choices. It's rare we get a story about a girl who does not have any special powers - her drive for changing the narrative is not because she comes from a special place, or is the chosen one, but because she wants to, and because she needs to. That was very special to me, especially considering so many of the main characters were LGBTQ.

Though there were a few plot points that I saw coming, there were several that I did not see coming at all: because I was so convinced I knew what was coming about some things, I was blindsided by others. I enjoyed that a lot.

I read this story as quickly and as engrossed as I did because I wanted to know more about how the world worked. I wanted to know more about Cinderella and the kingdom she had left in her wake.

Representation: Black lesbian protagonist, f/f romance, black side characters, black sapphic li.

"The most monstrous of men are those who sit in plain sight, daring you to challenge them."

Cinderella is Dead certainly brings unique twist to a beloved fairy-tale as two girls - one with her heart set on defying the rules that make up her kingdom- and, another -who wants nothing more than to avenge her family, team up to destroy their evil monarch.

While there were many things I enjoyed about this novel, I do feel the lack of villain characterization, and hard-to-believe romance, let it down.

I adored the characters of both Sophia and Constance. Both girls showed different kind of strengths- Sophia with her fearlessness and Constance with her knifes- they seemed like opposites and yet they made an unstoppable team. Their friendship I loved. Their romance? Not so much. Honestly, it wasn't bad. They were cute- there was just no build up. We had more romantic build up between Sophia and her ex, Erin. It felt like the moment Constance and Sophia's eyes meet they're in love and that was that.

Now keeping in mind that this is a retelling of a fairy tale, so maybe that kind of romance was expected. I did like that we have a black lesbian protagonist who gets her girl.

I loved the world building and the plot was interesting. The beginning truthfully had me hooked and there were many twists and turns to keep the book entertaining. My biggest issue revolved around the villain. I can't say much without spoiling and I wont do that. However, the big ending, villain origin story, and face-off were underwhelming.

Overall, Cinderella is Dead wasn't my favorite read but I do think many young adults are going to enjoy this distinctive retelling. Sophia was an interesting/ slightly unreliable narrator who I adored; the novel is really strong in characterization ( minus the villain), plot, and setting the story.

Content warnings: Murder, grief, on page death of a horse, gore and violence, domestic abuse, misogynistic language, violence to gay side character.

( Review will be live @Shans_Shelves (instagram) and ShanShelves.wordpress.com, closer to the release date.)

Thank you so much to Netgalley, Bloomsbury YA, and Kalynn Bayron for giving me an ARC in exchange for review! This review will be published on my Goodreads account (immediately) and my Instagram account on the day following publication: July 8th, 2020.

Cinderella is dead. The women of Lille live only in hopes of being chosen by a man at the ball. Sophia doesn’t want to be chosen, she does not want to marry a man at all.

The set up for this world is cruel. I expected it to be horrible and sexist, and it really really delivered. I do appreciate how far and extreme it took this aspect of the novel because all other aspects felt a little young for older YA readers (dialogue/characters/etc...) but the darkness of the setting provided some juxtaposition for this. Though, I would still recommend this to younger readers as well! This mix of a darker, serious setting amongst more simplistic writing felt very Hunger Games-esque. I feel a lot of readers ages 11-14 would greatly benefit from reading this novel, the conversations it could spark, and it could be the rebellion nostalgic novel for their generation!

By the end of the novel, I really enjoyed the plot overall and found it intriguing, I wanted to keep reading! However, I struggled with a lot of the dialogue feeling cheesy, and many obstacles felt overcome far too easily. I think in such a dark world I expected darker, more harrowing things to happen. The main challenge our heroes faced was conquered within thirty pages. I also was not too keen on the characters, none of whom underwent much development throughout the 400 pages I read. I think the idea behind this book was very strong, yet some aspects of the execution did not meet my expectations.

Awesomely written tale! The story grabs you from the first few pages with the main character's, Sophia, wit and sass. This was a great spin on the Cinderella tale as the gender roles are reversed and women's rights are at the forefront. This novel takes you on a wild ride that does not end until the last page! Very well written!

Cinderella Isn't Dead is about a small town who believes everything about Cinderellas story and lives by it everyday. Men are feared because they have every right to send someone to the palace to be killed. In this story we're following Sophie as she tries to hide her identity, and ends up fleeing from the palace to be claimed to a suitor.

I ended up really enjoying this book! It's different from anything I've read and it was fast paced. I liked how brave Sophia was to stand up for herself in a place that doesn't allow women to do that. She wasn't afraid of learning what was wrong with her country and wanting to change it.

I'd def recommend this book and will be reading more from this author!

4 stars!

I got an ARC of this book.

I got this because it sounded liked it might be the queer dystopian book that bridged the gap between what my partners like and what I like. How did I end up dating two people who prefer fantasy?

This book was more fantasy than dystopian. It was very much a sequel to Cinderella that went further and made Cinderella into a badass. It reads very much as a “what if history wasn’t written by white rich cis men?” version of a fairy tale. What if Cinderella didn’t magically fall in love and submit to a man she didn’t even know? What if her step-sisters weren’t awful, but were shown that way to take more power away from women? These are the sorts of questions that made this book possible and is the reason why I liked it.

The action was few and far between. There was a lot of talking. There was a lot of traveling. There was not a lot of things actually happening. For all that talking the romance did not make any sense to me. It was so flimsy and just felt like “if they are gay they will immediately like anyone else who is gay”. I needed a bit more there. There was no way I was buying into getting over a first love that quickly and falling in love so deeply that quickly. It did fit in a fairy tale story, which is why I can’t even get mad. It worked and I am just going to be grumpy that the author both annoyed me and impressed me with the same idea. Bayron clearly was a step ahead of me the whole time. The tone and the feeling was always fairy tale and everything fit so well. So even though this is a complaint, I am also impressed.

I found the ending was a bit rushed (again perfect for a fairy tale). The last 15% was pretty much the entire plot. Everything was revealed and wrapped up much too nicely for me. I wanted a bit more struggle. I wanted a bit more something here. I did enjoy the big twist. That was fun for me. I am always down for a twist like this. So I am mollified in that aspect. It was fast, but it was good.

Overall, all my complaints are really that Bayron managed to keep the fairy tale feel which stifled some of what I wanted from happening. I have no doubt that Bayron could write exactly what I wanted and blow my mind. The skill show to control the story as strongly as it was outweighs my complaints for more.

There is more to the stories of our past than meets the eye. This is the story of Cinderella, but not the one you know, as it is 200 years later and life is not great if you are a woman. Starting on your 16th birthday you are required to go to a ball at the Palace where the men choose their wives. If you don't get chosen after three tries you are forced into servitude and if you are chosen your new husband is probably abusive.

Sophia is desperate to leave and at the ball makes the decision to flee away. When she runs away she meets Constance, a decedent of Cinderella, who knows a much different story of history and together they try and change the future.

This book was exciting, sad, and hopeful. I really loved Sophia as a character and loved how the book worked in the story of Cinderella and how the stories that we are told are not always the full story. I was surprised throughout the book and overall really enjoyed it.

The premise of this book, that a young girl fights to overthrow the patriarchal kingdom 200 years after the death of Cinderella promised a captivating story.

The alternate telling of the Cinderella story was very creative, and the final twist to the story was surprising.

However, the story was told through 16-year old Sophia. She is dead-set on escaping her fate of being married off at the mandatory ball that all young women in her kingdom must attend.

She is supposed to be rebellious, but comes off as a selfish brat, with no forethought going into her vague plans for escape. Not surprisingly, this supposedly strong character ends up being a damsel needing saving. And, her savior ends up being the person she falls for instantly, despite the fact Sophia has been in love with her childhood friend for years.

The dialogue between the characters is unnatural, since it is mostly a vehicle for info dumping history and preachy feminism ideals. Therefore, the characters don't feel "real", and I couldn't connect with them. Even when characters die, it is of little consequence.

The pacing was slow, with no real tension in the story to help it along. 60% into the book, all that has happened is that Sophia she went to a ball, ran into the woods and met a witch.

Unfortunately, for me Sophia was a shallow character, ruled only by emotion and was thoughtless, impetuous, and reckless; she doesn't exhibit any growth or intelligence. She takes unnecessary risks that result in predictable results where others pay for her actions, which was really frustrating to me.

This book could have been fantastic had the characters been more believeable and sympathetic. But the twist in the Cinderella story was truly unique and is worth the read.

Cinderella Is Dead had a great premise and fascinating world building but the writing style and characterization felt flat. It was a fun read but did not stand out to me as far as the writing was concerned.

This was a fantastic take on the Cinderella myth with a fierce, feminist stance. In a country that has been ruled by kings who throw balls just to see the girls get dressed up and parcelled off to his buddies, we find Sophia who has had enough of this crap. She has been in love with her best friend for years, but the night of the ball it doesn't seem to matter-- the only thing that matters is being a good girl and getting a husband, even if he's cruel to you. It is what it expected. So Sophia does what is not expected. She runs away and finds a girl in the woods. The many times great granddaughter of one of Cinderella's evil stepsisters, only it turns out, they weren't so evil, and there are a lot of other lies in the myth of Cinderella, perpetrated so the king can keep the kingdom firmly in his control. That is until Sophia and company come to tear it all down. A great mystery, some lovely romance, and a whole lotta fierce coming at you with this read. Thanks to NetGalley for an advanced E copy.

This fairytale retelling with a Black, lesbian protagonist was as delightful as it's villains were ghoulish.

This book was good. It didn't hit it WAY out of the park, but it was definitely good. There are a few world-building questions I had and I feel like the love interests were a little controlling. Like she could have done everything that happened in this book by herself and having love interests may have just dragged her down. But overall, it was a good book. I would recommend it to people who enjoy dystopian fairy tales and pleasant lesbian fiction.

Cinderella Is Dead by Kalynn Bayron is a dark twisted tale of the classic fairy tale story Cinderella. 
In the kingdom of Lille 200 years after Cinderella found her Prince Charming women are treated as possessions having no power or respect. Where they are forced to attend an annual ball in hopes to be chosen for marriage. They are given three chances after which they’re considered unworthy, often forfeited to the palace and never seen or heard from again. 
During the story we meet Sophia who doesn’t want any part of the traditions of Lille, instead dreams of living a free life with the one she truly loves, her childhood friend Ellie. Disgusted by recent events she flees her first ball accidentally entering Cinderella’s mausoleum where she meets Constance, a descendent of Cinderella’s stepsister. As Sophia gets tangled up with Constance she begins to learn the true tale of Cinderella’s story that is hidden from the kingdom all these years.
I really enjoyed the read overall, I thought it was a creative take on the fairytale we grew up knowing. I appreciated the important topics discussed as well as the representation and diversity. I admired Sophia's character, especially her boldness and being unapologetic about who she is. She wasn’t afraid to stand up and fight for what she believed in or wanted for herself no matter the pain it caused her. I wish the author took the time with the pacing of the story better, it felt rushed and some scenes unfinished at times especially towards the ending. Although I admired the characters I would have loved to see more character development as well as the romance develop on a deeper level. The relationship felt Insta love to me with no depth. Thank you again NetGalley and Bloomsbury publishing for this beautiful arc 3.5/5 stars

Wow wow wow. Cinderella is Dead was a wild ride. From beginning to end, I was intrigued. I absolutely devoured the story. The writing was so fresh and well paced and I loved every single character. Sophia was so strong!

Be prepared, the setting will piss you off! Women are treated so disgusting and horrible I could hardly take it. But despite this, Sophia was so strong and brave and knew exactly what she wanted. She wasn't going to stop fighting because a man told her too.

I loved how this story is based off of the real life tale of Disney's Cinderella, and I love how the story is a lot more twisted then we ever could have thought.

This book was really engaging and i was right away hooked and couldn't put it down.
Fairytale meets dystopia and "Queer Black girls overthrowing the patriarchy" which are books we need more of!
This books was fast paced, dealt with real world problems like classicism, sexism, and homophobia. I loved that the MC was Black and didnt want to conform to the world she lived in which was being forced to go to a ball to meet a suitor. This is probably my new favorite retelling and I loved how the original story of Cinderella was not as it seemed.

I do wish it was longer maybe even a Duology to flesh out some characters like Luke, the king and some others but honestly the story line alone and the twists and turns was EVERYTHING and more.

Thank you Netgalley and Bloomsbury publishing for allowing me to read and review this book early.

The premise of Cinderella is Dead sounds like so much fun, and is much needed right now. I know a lot of women and marginalized people have had a lot of rage recently toward the patriarchy and the government and whatnot, and what better way to challenge them than by revisiting a classic tale like Cinderella?

I like the idea that this is a world where the original Cinderella story as we know was essentially propaganda, and the people alive in the present time the story is set continue to perpetuate that system of power and corruption.

However, this book does put the importance of the message over character or world development. I can’t think of much that stands out about Sophia or Constance. I can admire them for their devotion to the cause, but I don’t know that I cared about either of them.

Also, despite being a fantasy, the world building is very thin. There is some discussion of the history as far as the lineages of both the king and the stepsister, but nothing else that really gives a sense of place. I can understand wanting to maintain a bit of the abstract fairy tale quality to the story though, so I don’t hold this aspect against it too much.

While this book wasn’t a winner for me, I think it’s still worth trying, especially if you love fairy tale retellings (particularly Cinderella), and are looking for a fun, subversive take on it.

THE GOOD

unique retelling
Cinderella is Dead is a refreshing reimagining of Cinderella. It’s honestly one of the more creative retellings I’ve read. I really did not expect the story to go where it. Just the way elements of the age-old fairytale were reframed to fit into the world of this book blew my mind. It’s been a few days since I’ve finished reading it, and I’m still amazed at how Cinderella was retold.

Sophia, our lovely main character, is not quite another edition of one of my favorite princesses, but yet still embodies (what I believe are) Cinderella’s best qualities.

important read in today’s world
Sophia lives in a world where all girls must attend a ball to be chosen by a man to become his wife. Girls who leave the ball without being selected risk their reputation, and that of their families, and may face exile or death. As such, Cinderella is Dead addresses many modern-day issues like sexism, freedom of choice, LGBTQ+ rights, oppression, and a little about race (subtly?). These struggles were all nicely woven into the story, and while maybe slightly overdone, I cannot imagine this book without these points. Some of the passages and quotes hit particularly hard at this time, especially given the United States’ current “leadership”.

THE NOT-SO-GOOD
Lack of development pretty much accounts for everything in this section, especially the characters, world-building, and romance. If any of the three were more fleshed out, Cinderella is Dead could have been at least a 4-star read for me instead of a 3.5-star one.

flat characters
First up, let’s talk about the characters. The characters were fun to read, and I liked how they were all so different from one another. It was especially fun to see them bicker with one another. That said, most of them were pretty undeveloped. Like, I know more about what Sophia stands for than who she is.

quick world-building
It didn’t take me long to understand the world Sophia lives in or the standards she has to conform to in this society. Which would typically be a good thing except most of the world was built through “telling” and not “showing”. It sometimes felt like I was reading a history textbook, but Sophia is not supposed to be a history teacher. On top of that, all the world-building in the first few chapters caused the beginning of Cinderella is Dead to be slow and awkward, which is not exactly the best way to start a book.

sophia’s love life
Sophia’s love plays a significant role in getting the plot rolling in Cinderella is Dead – she’s willing to risk it all for the chance at a happily ever after with her girlfriend. However, their romance doesn’t read like some great love, and their friendship feels tenuous.

Sophia’s love life later in the book is sweeter, but I wish I could have seen more of their romance unfold in the story.

IN CONCLUSION…
Cinderella is Dead is an important read and a unique reimagining of Cinderella. But it could have used some more development in some areas.