I absolutely loved the premise of this book.  Teenage girls team up to overthrow the patriarchy? Sign me up!  I loved that it was a fresh take on an old familiar story, and I was so excited to see how it all played out.  However, unfortunately, I found myself a bit disappointed by this book.  Let's start with the positives.

Again, the idea of the book was really, really interesting.   I've always found the story of Cinderella interesting, so to make it into something different and to twist that original story so that it had been manipulated into something bad was really interesting.  I also really liked the idea of the ball where eligible women are forced to make a match as a plot point.  (I would not like this in real life).  It felt like The Selection but worse, which makes for an interesting starting point.  Along this thread, the overall message of the book was really interesting and powerful, and I would recommend it for that reason alone.

Sophia was also a really interesting character.  She felt well developed, and although she had her flaws, it was interesting to see how those things played out.  You root for her, and you want her to find love and success even if that means she has to overthrow a whole regime.

However, on the negative side of things, I didn't fully love the writing style.  Something, that I can't quite put my finger on, rubbed me the wrong way and there were a few things that I felt somewhat meh about.  I also didn't think that some of the side characters were as well developed as they could have been.  Obviously not every side character needs to be well developed, but I wanted them to be more than one note.

There were some really good moments of action in this book, and I found myself compelled to keep reading.  I needed to know how things were going to play out, and I was very happy with the ending.  Overall that's why this book worked out to a three star rating.

If you're at all interested in the premise, it's definitely worth checking out.

Honestly, this wasn't quite what I expected it to be, so I'm feeling a little disappointed.

This book feels more in-line with dystopian fiction than a cool fairytale retelling, and while there's nothing wrong with that, it's definitely not advertised as such. I was also pretty disappointed that the wlw wasn't nearly as strong as I wanted it to be.

It's still a pretty good book and a quick read - but I don't think this one's really for me, and that's okay!

First and foremost, Cinderella is Dead was an interesting take on the Cinderella story. It took a story I knew from childhood and flipped it on it’s head. It was made modern and current but set in a fantasy world. The issue of sexism, sexuality, and how women are generally treated was handled perfectly and done right. I honestly really loved that part of the story. But I didn’t really love other parts like the predictability. I could see everything that was coming before it came and it started to grate on me by the end. Normally I’m okay with figuring things about, but the fact that there was on mystery in this one did take some of my joy. Truly though it is very well written and easy to get wrapped up in. Was it a favorite of mine? No. But I look forward to reading more from this author.

Given all the necessity around diversity, I feel odd writing a negative review but owe it to the publisher to be honest. As far as retellings go, the concept is wonderful, but I found that the plot and character are where the novel here was let down. The prose, however, was great, and think that the author is skilled, and am looking forward to seeing what they do next. I've been thinking about how to write this review but I think a lot of it boils down to the fact that this book just didn't feel like it was "ready". The concept, like I said, while great, lacked the exception of the story felt thin and lackluster. I also found the protagonist quite unlikable; this, ordinarily, is not something that would bother me (in fact I would like it!), but I still have to care about them. In this case, I didn't. Ultimately this book challenges the status quo in important ways through the lens of a retelling, but there are other books out there that do it better.

Truth be told I’m not much a fan of the Cinderella story but I do love a fairytale retelling and this was most certainly not he olde Cinderella story. It was definitely an interesting take on the Cinderella story considering they sort of built a culture/society around Cinderella’s story. I was very excited to read it and it did not disappoint. I’m don’t read much YA but this one was definitely a must read. I look forward to reading the work of the author in the future as I believe this is her first book.

I always love a fairy tale retell, and this one meets the mark. What if Prince Charming weren't so charming?

Thank you NetGalley and Bloomsbury YA for sharing this book with me in exchange for an honest review. I DEVOURED this Cinderella story. I liked that it was so different from other fairytale renderings I have read. It was not a retelling, yet utilized much of the story. It was told in a way that readers not familiar with Cinderella would understand as well, which was really helpful. I liked the focus on women and working together for equality and freedom. It was a wonderful fantasy (but also dystopian) book and I cannot wait to share with some of my advanced sixth grade readers.

Re-tellings are the current wave of writing right now and I am shamelessly in love with them. I was thrilled to see my acceptance for an ARC of Cinderella is Dead and had high hopes for the book because it had a LOT working for it. Feminism, representation across multiple spectrums… it had a lot of expectations to live up to.
Sophia is a sixteen-year-old girl living in a cruel, patriarchal society that forces its daughters to attend three balls (or else be considered forfeit) in order to be shipped off to a man and live as a quiet and meek wife. Sophia, on the other hand, wants nothing more than to run away from anything with the love of her life and childhood friend, Erin. Can we please appreciate the fact that a WLW relationship was featured within the first few pages though?

Into the meat of this review. Overall, the premise of this novel was really amazing, but I don’t think it was executed as well as it could have been. The writing was really well done and the idea behind our characters and story held a high bar. However, there were world-building errors that bothered me, our main character wasn’t particularly likable, the main love interest was an insta-love, and the messages were way too strong and forced.

When it comes to world-building, I was fascinated and repulsed by this cruel world that Sophia lives in. The play on the Cinderella story was gorgeous and provided so much to the story. However, I was confused about where this world actually existed. It was a very small view, some woods, a town, and a kingdom. It felt like it belonged in the whole of France but never actually felt French. The magic in the book also only had a real, tangible existence when it was needed to progress the story but never at any other moment.

Sophia was… frustrating to say the least. She’s fiery which I love, and seems to have the confidence needed to take down this cruel society but after reading further into the novel, it comes off more like Sophia is clueless to the powers at large and this foolishness leads to false confidence rather than real strength. She has no plans to run, other than run. She faults Erin and Liv for doing nothing, but they have a point. Sophia is ridiculously selfish. At no point does she consider what could happen to her parents or her friends if she rebels. She doesn’t even show any semblance of guilt or worry for the people she cares about, but only concern about why no one supports her or wants to allow her to rebel. Better character development for her would have allowed for both of these things to exist at once.

Although Constance was a gorgeous, red-headed, fiery girl and I would probably have really liked her too, I hated how just instant they fell for each other. Sophia feels guilty about Erin a handful of times (despite being willing to risk multiple lives for their relationship) and then is essentially over her. It just fell rushed and uninteresting.

This piece has an important message about the treatment of women and of the LGBTQ+ community, but those messages were oversaturated and unnatural. All men were evil and abusive, except for a handful that served a plot purpose. It felt like the message was so strongly “End the Patriarchy” that it needed to tell you every five seconds rather than show you. The Kind was PureEvil for the sake of being evil or just because he could. He didn't have a fleshed-out backstory that made him more interesting which makes him as a villain a little bit useless and disappointing.

Overall, I felt the book was a bit rushed and could have done better as a series and sparsed out a little better. However, for a younger crowd, this piece has important messages, gorgeous representation, and an excellent premise for anyone to read. Use this book as a conversation starter, bring forward some of the current issues that plague our world, and really dig deep into the messages to take away and ways students and younger people can make a difference.

Cinderella is Dead is a good book that will definitely be likable by many and hits on important topics that need to be addressed. I couldn’t put it down, so even with the few pieces that I was critical of, I did like it in totality and think it is a book that deserves to be read!

Thank you, NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to read this book!

Rating: 3.5 stars
Rep: Lesbian & Black main character, POC and queer side characters


"Cinderella is Dead" was one of my most anticipated 2020 releases, the concept is absolutely amazing and I loved the way Kalynn Bayron twisted the original fairytale into something wholly different to anything I've ever read before. Mixing the Disney and Grimms fairytale of Cinderella together, this story follows Sophia as she struggles to survive and thrive in a world that only has men's best interests at heart. She doesn't want that life for herself and she is determined to change her fate, as well as the fates of everyone else living in Lillie.


Things I liked:

-For the most part, the pacing of this book was really great.
-I loved the writing style!
-The world-building was amazing and very in-depth.
-The diversity, this is the story of a Black, sapphic main character, written by an own voices author.
-I really enjoyed all the twists and turns! There were a few surpirises I didn't anticipate.


Things I wasn't a fan of:

-This book only focuses on Lillie, what about the rest of the world? Stuff is hinted at but, is everywhere else the same?
-The last 100 pages didn't really work for me. The ending especially was very rushed, I had a lot of questions left unanswered and I'm not sure whether this is a standalone or not.
-This is not a character-driven book, there is hardly any character development or relationship development. Which is fine if you're the sort of reader that prefers world focused books, but I adore character-focused novels.


Overall, I enjoyed, but didn't love, this one but I'll definitely be recommending to people that love diverse YA fantasy and I'll be reading more by this author in the future.

I remember hearing about Cinderella is Dead through the grapevine through YA Twitter and had my interest piqued. I love fairytales and folklore and love to see new spins of them. Reading further told me that this book centered a Black girl as the protagonist in a book with an elevator pitch of “Girls team up to overthrow the kingdom in this unique and powerful retelling of Cinderella” didn’t hurt either. What followed was a well-paced tale of a queer Black girl who stepped out of place, out of line to ultimately bring down patriarchy that ruled her home and the girls and women of it.

It’s been 200 years since Cinderella’s death. We learn that Cinderella’s life, marriage to Prince Charming, and death at a young age of 38 reveals that she married a cruel man who helped create the current climate that bears its tyrannical way of life over the people that treat women as mere pawns, not whole persons.

But Sophia wants a life outside of what’s laid out for her. Our protagonist is in love with her best friend Erin and is expected to be someone she isn’t: a doll, prettied up and on display at a ball chosen at whim by some random man whom she has no attachment or love for. That she has no choice in the matter; for life as a wife to some fellow with no guarantees for protection for her in and no way to dissolve such a union.

I breezed through the first half of the book, but some missteps made the second half a little hard to read through. Sometimes it was when the plot was a little too thin, a big reveal of a major character fell flat, a trip to back to the village incognito for closure baffled me and distracted from the overall narrative and so on. But the ending was solid. Hopeful and dare I say it? A Happy Ending. Despite the weaker second half, I was still eager to read on and the book captured my interest very early on. The overall message in the narrative of not being silent and choosing to be brave and stand up against injustice as a young woman rings true. And that message carries to the very last pages.

Cinderella is Dead uses elements of fantasy to tell the continuation story of the fairytale, Cinderella. 200 years have passed since the romance of Cinderella and Prince Charming was so widely told, and yet the young women of Lille are still decreed to attend the annual ball. Sophia Grimmins is in love with her best friend Erin, and she refuses to be forced into a loveless and violent marriage with one of the vile men of Mersailles. Despite the dangers of refusing to adhere to the laws set by King Manford, Sophia makes the difficult decision to leave behind her homeland and join forces with Cinderella’s great great grandniece Constance to discover the hidden mysteries of Cinderella’s fate within the palace walls. But, will the secrets Sophia uncovers be enough to end years of tyrannical control and patriarchal oppression crafted by King Manford and the men in the land of Mersailles?

Our main character is a rebel with a cause, but without a plan. Sophia is presented as a strong queer black woman, who loves fast and hard. The reader learns that Sophia’s subversive ideals about fair treatment for women and marriage equality are in direct conflict with the King’s ordinances. Oh, how dare she have these thoughts... At times it is difficult to completely support Sophia, without empathizing with the trauma and danger that the people of Mersailles are in. Early in the story, we learn that the penalty for not attending the ball is imprisonment and seizure of property. Throughout the beginning of the story, Sophia is often referred to as selfish and rash by her family, friends, and love interest, Erin. This is not completely untrue. Her reckless behavior does result in the imprisonment of a likely ally and the death of an innocent woman who had the misfortune of simply forgetting to put Sophia’s ribbon in a bag. We also spend a great deal of the narrative listening her complain about people not agreeing with her non-plan to change the laws of Lille. Thankfully, Constance serves as a formidable love interest and juxtaposition to Sophia’s reckless and hot-tempered response to the King. Constance is presented as an outsider who has managed to avoid the years of oppression that Sophia has endured; however, she is not completely aware of how difficult life has been for people in Mersailles. I find that this character not only provides a fresh insight into Cinderella’s troubled relationship with Charming and her family’s resistance against King Manford, she also gives a renewed hope that the plan to overthrow the current systems of oppression are possible.

Bayron does a wonderful job of using modern topics and themes within this world to enforce a larger message on the necessity of change and equality and power and corruption. During the story, Sophia questions whether or not she will be successful in her attempt to overthrow King Manford and his patriarchal ideals. She understands that there is a possibility that the men of Mersailles will fight to hold on to the comfort and normalcy of their old ways. This is a timely message that can be used in discussions on civil rights and resistance movements past and present. However, I would have liked to see Bayron give more depth to the economic and social structure of the world and spent more time on the conclusion of the work to drive this point home.

Overall, I found this story to be a fast-pasted and interesting retelling of Cinderella with surprising twists and unexpected reveals. It is sure to be loved by anyone who enjoys fairy tale reimagining, dystopia, necromancy, and political intrigue.

When I started reading this, I thought I knew exactly where the story was headed, and I was gloriously wrong. I loved the relationship between Sophia and Constance, and the realization that sometimes first loves aren't the best ones. I loved the dark tone of patriarchy, and the girls taking back their rights after 200 years. A much needed story about womens' and LGBTQIA rights.

Thank you Bloomsbury YA and NetGalley for the ARC! As soon as I saw that this is one, a Cinderella-retelling, two, written by a BIPOC and three that it's about fighting the patriarchy... I knew I had to read it. It did not disappoint! Maybe it was just the mood I was in at the time, but it did take me probably 15-20% to get into the story. I loved that there are LGBTQA characters! There were also a few surprises and twists that I was totally into. I will be highly recommending this book to everyone!

A super interesting retelling, thanks to the publisher for a copy to review!

I felt very tense and on the edge of my seat throughout this one, and while there were some parts that didn’t make the book as strong for me (more of a 3.5 but rounded up), the compelling story helped earn it its stars.

I really liked the MC, and the whole crew of characters (excepting the ones we’re, very reasonably, expected to hate). She’s quite stubborn and though she often seems set in her ways and potentially ignoring reason, it never comes off in an unlikeable way. She’s going to fight for what she wants and she’s unapologetic about that; that strong will is something to be admired.

The main thing that held it back from a really great story for me was that much of the main action felt predictable. The author foreshadows some of the secrets behind this kingdom and with those it felt quite obvious what the great mystery is, largely because I’ve come across the same reveal in several films (some other fairytale retellings and Shrek of all things). I don’t know whether it’s meant to be a big reveal or if the author is unfamiliar with those stories or expects the reader to be, but that mystery wasn’t something that ever kept me on my toes. At the same time, there were storylines and characters I expected to feature much more prominently due to the build-up but then were felt entirely anticlimactic. I think the story would’ve benefited if they hadn’t been rushed over.

Still, this was a clever way to retell the fairytale as a way of portraying issues with patriarchy and ‘nice guy’ ideals, as well as a fun way of tying in other fairytales in the same universe, and emphasizing that stories can be twisted over time.

Cinderella is Dead has many of the key features I look for in a book: a sapphic romance (specifically between two lesbians as confirmed by Kalynn Bayron on twitter), a black main character, and a healthy amount of taking down the government.

When we first meet Sophia she's clearly deeply dissatisfied with the Cinderella focused society. As she's thoroughly in love with her best friend, Erin, Sophia is willing to do whatever it takes to escape her first ball, where if she's "lucky" she'll be chosen by her future husband as her parents want. All she wants is to be happy and free from the stifling control of her misogynistic country - and she's willing to run away to get it.

What follows is a whirlwind packed with a chance meeting with an attractive resistor, frantic plotting of government takedown, fairy godmothers, and a fair bit of necromancy.

I really enjoyed the more humorous moments in this book, the little throwaway comments that relieved some of the tension. That, Sophia's adamant dislike of men and relatable scorn she feels when interacting with them, and the yearning she feels for Constance, make for lightness within the heavier dystopian tones.

This made for a very solid and enjoyable book, but the last 15% or so were lacking enough that I knocked it down a half star. I think it's entirely a personal preference if you like very clean wrapped up endings (like a fairytale) this book fulfills that. If you're like me and want at least some more evidence of a struggle to get things in order, you might find yourself wanting more. While I thoroughly enjoyed the rest of the book, the ending fell flat with an overly clean conclusion to the major societal problems that were previously presented.

I was really excited to receive this book. The premise was very interesting, and I had high hopes for the book. However, the premise is where the interest ends. I found the writing to be very simplistic and straight forward. There was not much development in the characterization. Instead, the author simply told the reader what kind of character each character was supposed to be instead of letting the characters actions speak for themselves. The main character was not very root-able. She was very disgruntled from the beginning, but her anger almost felt out of place. While other characters seemed skittish and suppressed, making Sophia's blunt and forward personality feel too tense at times. She starts the book head-over-heels in love with her best friend but superficially falls for another character essentially at first sight, making her pleas for the right to love her best friend feel moot. I really wanted to like this book, but it's another one chalked up to badly played out.

I love fairy-tale retellings so I had high hopes for Cinderella is Dead when I started it, and it turned out to be so much more than I expected. The main character, Sophia, is a girl trapped in a system eerily similar to our own--a system meant to fit people into a predetermined mould. To the women of her world who are forced against their will to attend a ball and be chosen by their future husbands once they come of age, the tale of Cinderella is more of a curse than a bedtime story. The plot follows her as she stumbles across Cinderella's last remaining descendant and puts an end to the oppressive society established by Prince Charming years before. If that summary wasn't enough to convince you, Cinderella is Dead is a fantastic adventure with badass female leads you want to route for and a well-crafted world that feels all too real. The thing I appreciated most is that it manages to shed light on real-life social issues without taking you out of the story. Cinderella is Dead may end up being one of my favourite reads of the year! 4.5/5

What if the stories that we think of as fairy tales were historical accounts? And what if those accounts had been twisted to serve the purposes of the people in power? This is the case in Cinderella Is Dead. Cinderella’s story has been told for generations as an example—and now every girl is expected to go to the ball to be “chosen” by her husband. She has no say in the matter, or in basically any other matter in her life. Girls are considered property and are meant to serve (and look pretty for) their husbands, nothing more. On the surface, it’s easy to feel like this society is over-the-top. So many of the women are completely controlled by their husbands and even abused. But then, when I really thought about it, I realized that there have been many cultures and times in our history when this was basically how it was. It may not have worked exactly this way, but women had no rights or ability to make decisions for themselves. They were the property of their father until they were the property of their husband. nd some men were kind and loving husbands, but some were not. The woman didn’t get any choice about which she ended up with. When I looked at it from that perspective, this story truly hit home for me.

I instantly connected to Sophia, the MC of the book, and to Constance, the long-lost relative of Cinderella who fights by Sophia’s side. I was rooting for them to break free of the patriarchy and remake their society. There were some aspects of the plot that I guessed early on, but one twist was a complete surprise to me, and I was happy with the way everything worked out in the end. I’d love to see a sequel to this book to see how things progress in the future!

***Disclosure: I received this book from the publisher for review purposes. No other compensation was given and all opinions are my own.***

Cinderella is Dead is a great YA novel mixing fairy tales together, and featuring a strong female lead who's into women (for once, my fairy tales have women loving women... it's great!).

The premise and thought behind this book is incredible, but it didn't live up to the hype for me. Especially since I judged a book by it's cover and picked it up because it is just so gorgeous. I still think it's a great read since I love YA and I adore fairy tale retellings. Picking this book up was definitely something I'm glad I did, but it wasn't as good as I hoped. I think if the story had been a fair bit shorter (400 pages was a LOT for this story), if the action picked up sooner or if the romance was featured a bit more that it would have stuck the landing for me, but it just kinda felt... meh. It felt like barely enough of each piece.

Also... I wanted more of Luke. And the bad guys were crazy bad and didn't feel like they could be people. I think there was also a lot more that could have been done with the myths and lores of Cinderella and fairy tales, but it wasn't explored all that much.

But man, the cover is a beauty.

Three out of five stars.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bloomsbury USA Children's Books for providing me a free copy of this book in exchange of an honest review.

I thought this book was perfect and I loved every second of it. I found it to be really original and a bit spooky, and while a bit of it was predictable the characters really stood out and had their own personalities. It was intense enough that I couldn’t stop reading, but not so fast paced that I was exhausted by the end. I would love to see a sequel about how their changes are working out