I DEVOURED this book in 2 days, and it is a solid binge read. I loved the idea of the premise (basically a tyrannical society with the Cinderella story as a founding origin story for a patriarchal Handmaid's Tale-esc kingdom), and was pulled along with the story to see how it played out. There were some times when the story seemed to move almost too fast (like I needed more details), and Sophia is a bit of a Romeo (staring off terribly in love with one person but then falling for another), but I think how fast I read the book is indicative of how good it is. I also loved that it's a standalone, as it's really hard to find good standalone fantasies. It also had a truly lovely twist at the end of the book. This book would be perfect for a a long trip or to occupy a day of reading. It's also perfect for anyone who wants to read about a queer black girl smash the patriarchy and/or fans of the fairy tale remix.

I enjoyed this retelling very much. A new, original take on the classic story that will resonant with current times. The beginning was a little repetitive but overall
A exciting, fast-paced read.

DNF @ 57%

As is so often the case, I love the premise and the rep, but the writing just isn't working for me. So despite the immersive worldbuilding, I just couldn't get invested enough in the characters or the slow-build action to want to continue — though my only major critique, apart from personal disinterest, is the messiness and ethical dubiousness (not to get into spoilers) of the romantic subplot.

But with all that said, I want to point out that QPoC retellings are 100% something I'm here for, in principle. So I hope lots of people give this one a chance and enjoy it!

Cinderella is dead, but for two hundred years her story has been acted out by countless girls living under the thumb of King Manford of Mersailles in the city of Lille. Rather than being a magical event as is depicted in the story, girls are required to attend, their families going broke in order to provide the best dresses and to stand out in the crowd so their child can be chosen and married to any man who wishes to make a claim on them. They follow these rules or risk that same child being forfeit to the the king where they are never seen nor heard from again.

These are the rules that have been set down for the last 200 years. In Mersailles, women have very few choices and no independence. They are fully at the mercy of their husbands or fathers, but to survive is to give oneself over to it.

However, Sophia does not want to relent. She does not want to be wed unless she can choose her partner, and the only love she has ever known is the love she has for her best friend, Erin. Such a love is absolutely forbidden and is a forfeitable offense in Lille, if not executable. When the day of the ball comes, something horrible happens that forces Sophia to flee. As she runs from the palace, she comes across the abandoned–but not forgotten–tomb of the original Cinderella. Inside, her last remaining relative, Constance, has the answers that Sophia has been seeking. Together they plan to find a way to reveal the dark and horrifying secrets of the king and his rule and bring him to his knees.


I have a thing for retellings, and this checked so many of my boxes. Sophia, although a little reckless and selfish in the beginning, is a strong character with a drive to make things right for all of the oppressed people in the kingdom she grew up in. Women and LGBTQ oppression is a huge problem in Lille and Mersailles, and both affect Sophia and her friends. Spousal abuse runs rampant throughout the book and is another factor driving the story forward. A lot of what the story covers is all too real in our world, and I love that they acknowledge that it’s a long fight and won’t just be over by killing the king. It is a long battle the involves changing hearts and minds, especially with a 200 year long tyrannical patriarchy to disband.

The supporting characters were also described in such an amazing way and the places and people are fleshed out nicely. I could see every phase of the scenes with Amina, the horrible beauty of the palace, and feel the undercurrent of fear and instability of the town. Bayron did an AMAZING job and I can’t wait to see what she has for us next!

Thanks to Bloomsbury YA and NetGalley for an advanced galley in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions in the above review are mine.

Predictable. Important. Frustrating.

I was so excited when I got approved for this ARC. It sounded like a book I'd absolutely love, but unfortunately this was not the case.

What I want to start by saying is how happy I am that a book like this was published in today's world. The representation for queer characters is something we do not see enough of in literature, especially within the fantasy genre. The themes of misogyny and starting a revolution are so important to read about, especially in this day and age. Alas, the execution of this story was something I simply could not get behind.

Too many of my personal reader pet peeves were in this book. Too much telling and not showing? Yup. A main character who is far too stubborn and doesn't bother to think before blindly trying to save the world because she's not like other girls? Yup. List like descriptions that blend and blur into each other and describe things you really couldn't care less about? Yup. A predictable plot to you but none of the characters seem smart enough to see what's obviously coming? Yup.

I understand that this book, in the end, was not for me. I ended up marking it as a DNF 20% through because I held zero interest in how things would shake out, and our main protagonist was simply too infuriating to follow along with. Since I never technically finished, it I can only hope Sophia ended up receiving some much needed character development.

Would I recommend this book? Actually, I possibly. It really does depend on the person. These gripes of mine are frustrating enough to drop a book immediately, but that may be a different case for someone else. I think this book is so important to be published into the world, and I love to imagine the light it might bring to some other reader.

I really enjoyed this retelling of Cinderella through a feminist, LGBTQ+ perspective. I immediately was rooting for Sophia and think teens will enjoy this diverse take on the classic story. I am looking forward to more books from this author.

I'm a sucker for retellings. This was such a twist on a classic. A lot of the issues mentioned in the book are modern day problems. Men thinking they're entitled to women. Telling us that we look prettier when we smile. Over all it was a good story with a good message.

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!!!!).

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!

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.

***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.

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.

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!

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.

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!

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

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 --

*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.

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.

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!