I am a sucker for a re-imagined fairy tale and this one should have ticked all the boxes for me but somehow just fell a but short. I couldn't really warm to the lead character and in the end I only got half way through before I gave up. Not for me, I'm afraid.

I really enjoyed this retelling if Cinderella and enjoyed the fresh retake on the Cinderella myth.

I fell in love with the characters in this book, I also really enjoyed the plot and the setting of the story and found it flowed really well. I felt when reading this book the the story had the perfect pace to keep your attention , I didn’t feel like it was rushed or like it dragged it was just right for me. I did find the story abit predictable but they was plenty twists and turns that kept me hooked and reading.

Sophia is a bright beacon throughout this story, she shows the girls in the world of Lille how to raise their voices and stand up for themselves and not to hold back.

I really did enjoy this story, from the characters , to the pace of writing and also really enjoyed the authors writing style. I don’t read many retelling stories but have to say the title, cover and blurb caught my attentions.

I want to say Thankyou to netgalley , the publisher and author for allowing me to read and review this arc , this does not affect my opinion and my review is my own thoughts.

I really enjoyed this, Cinderella is not one of my favourite fairytales but I really enjoyed how the author retold the story here, she really made it her own! It was a gripping story, there were a lot of great twists and the f/f romance was really well done. I'd love to see more retellings like this, with characters of colour taking centre stage!

Honestly what a book! Top 10 for this year for me by far!

A Cinderella story with a MASSIVE difference. Set 200 years after Cinderella met her Prince Charming.

Honestly I was blown away with the plot of this story. How @kalynnbayron came up with this is beyond me but I loved it!

🤞 there might be a sequel... the book doesnt NEED one but I would just personally love one ❤

Im a massive fan of fairytales so this won me over straight away but even if you're not you will still love this!

I went into this with fairly neutral expectations, i wasn't sure what to expect but i was pleasantly surprised.
This was a pretty agreeable read that didn't require too much thinking on my part and meant i could fully immerse myself into the story.

It feels very much on the younger side of YA which i sometimes found a little frustrating but i'm very aware that i am not the target audience and that a younger one might have a much more enjoyable reading experience.

The representation in this is fantastic and definitely something the genre needs more of.

Thank you to Netgalley, Kalynn Bayron & Bloomsbury publishing for my arc of Cinderella is Dead in exchange for an honest review.

Synopsis: Cinderella has been dead for 200 years but her legacy lives on. The women of Lille must live up to her standards and every year they attend a ball hosted by King Manford and be chosen by a suitable husband. It's three strikes and you're out, with the girl who attends 3 balls without being chosen forfeited and sent to the workhouse. But for Sophia being chosen has never felt like a choice. All she wants is to spend her life with the girl she loves, her best friend Erin. Everything changes on the night of the ball when Sophia flees and finds herself in Cinderella's mausoleum. There she meets Constance, last known descendant of Cinderella's step sister and holder of the key to the family secrets and the secrets the people of Lille have forgotten. Together they vow to bring down the king once and for all.

I absolutely loved this book even more than I expected to. If you're going to give me:
A fairytale retelling
A boss feminist cast
A down with the patriarchy storyline
Powerful LGBTQ characters
A witch
Necromancy
Dark/evil/foreboding villains
A mysterious forest
Then you've pretty much got me book line and sinker. There are so many wonderfully powerful quotes and ones that I think will definitely resonate with the readers. Kalynn Bayron gets to the heart of the small problems in society relating to feminism as well as the larger ones and I think that's so powerful. Plus it's one of the best fairytale retellings I've read since A Curse So Dark & Lonely so there's that too!

That cover is absolutely, wonderfully stunning. Striking and powerful and one of those images that sticks with you throughout the book. And makes you so damn happy when the moment portrayed happens.

Cinderella married her prince and lived happily ever after, and now her story is told to little girls everywhere. Reminding them they must attend the ball, they must meet a man, they must dress pretty and look stunning to attract someone and if they are good enough, perhaps they will be visited by the fairy godmother. 200 years after the death of Cinderella, Sophia does not want to go to the ball. She does not want to find a man and live the life laid out before her. She wants to run away, preferably with Erin, but there is no where they can go, and Sophia soon learns she is not the only one who doesn’t want the life presented to them through Cinderella’s story.

This book feels unique. It’s not a retelling, and the twists it adds on Cinderella’s story make it feel so fresh and different. As huge a Disney fan as I am, the way Cinderella is idolized here makes for some uncomfortable reading, and it works so bloody well. It’s hard not to see parallels with the whole ‘Disney Princess’ fascination, the way we bring up little girls to believe they should want the life of a princess even when it is completely and utterly unattainable.

The book has some powerful social commentary, moments which make you stop, and think, and absorb, especially in the way society treats women and little girls. In this world, men get away with anything. If they get bored of their wives, they can ‘forfeit’ them. No one bats an eye if a woman is covered in bruises. And little girls are forced to tie their worth into being pretty and wearing dresses, with their parents often using up their life savings so they can go to the ball.

This is a story of rebelling without a rebellion, of two young women fighting against an unfair, unjust system, battling for what they believe is right, and pushing against the tide of popular opinion. Sophia looks around and sees people who are either happy with the system, or content not to tip the scales. But she also sees fear, and the way people who could change things are held down. But she fights on, because she knows it is the only way she can be happy.

Cinderella is Dead is a beautifully powerful novel about finding your own path, and doing what is right even when it feels like everyone is against you. Sophia is a wonderful character, strong and brave, and the f/f relationships are weaved in so well, I was cheering for Sophia to find her happiness the whole way through. This book shows how one person can make all the difference, and if you haven’t read it already, I would only ask, why not?

I went into this book with such high expectations. The premise is AMAZING and I was so excited to read this. I was expecting this to be an easy 5* for me, it ended up as a 4* so its still a really good book, but there were a couple parts I was disappointed in.
The Characters:
I liked Sophia and Constance, however (and this is my gripe with so many YA fantasy's) why do you make the unskilled protagonist be the one to save the day when there are better skilled/qualified people in her group??? Main example of this: its Sophia who's dressed up and sneaks into the cuttilion to murder the king. Constance stays hidden outside the palace. Reasons why this is dumb? 1. Sophia doesn't even know how to hold a dagger, let alone confidently use one, whereas Constance has been trained in hand to hand combat since childhood. 2. Sophia is currently Public Enemy Number One, whereas Constance's face is unknown in the kingdom. 3. Subsequently, Constance literally did nothing in this whole climatic scene and was completely wasted.
On this as well, their love storyline. Yeesh, this girl was madly in love with Erin, then falls madly in love with Constance after 2 minutes of meeting her- can we not just be friends?
World Building:
I liked the world, and I felt it was pretty well described. I particularly liked how other it built on the Cinderella fairy tale as well as drawing from others as well.
Twists and plot:
Overall- pretty good. Yes it was highly predictable what the king was doing and all the other twists relating to him. I was surprised by the twist regarding Amina. One thing that did annoy me was the dropped plots. For example Erin- I'd have liked to understand why she was so angry when Sophia returns, and if she ever did love her. I want to know why all the guests at the ball were asked to leave through the back door other than as a plot device.

So yeah. Good book- I enjoyed it. It didn't live up to my ridiculous expectations but I would read more by this author. 4*
I received an e-arc from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I felt really conflicted with this book to begin with, after seeing multiple negative reviews and struggling to get in to it myself, I truly believed this was going to be a book I put down, however, I persevered with the slow start and I am so happy I did so because WOW - this book was all types of incredible! The whole premise of this story was extremely fascinating and once it really kicked in, I was completely hooked. It has the right amount of action, romance and tenderness, filled with some gasp-worthy surprises and twists near the end, providing readers with the perfect amount of entertainment.

This was truly a female empowered story, that first began with abusive and manipulative men taking the lead, however, Sophia was having none of it and helped do everything to put her town right. The world truly is a woman's world and this book showed exactly that.

The premise of this was fascinating and well executed: women have been manipulated into believing the sugar-coated version of Cinderella’s love story and anyone who doesn’t fit the strict male-dominated values is imprisoned. Sophia is terrified of the ball, of being pawed and leered at, of being a pawn in a man’s game, so she flees. In the hidden mausoleum of Cinderella’s final resting place, she meets Constance, who is like her and wants to topple the unfair system and the lies surrounding Cinderella’s so-called “happily ever after”.

Unfortunately, I didn’t quite believe the romance between Sophia and Constance. Between Sophia still having feelings for her best friend and the pace of overthrowing the patriarchy, the romance kind of fell by the wayside. Not to say that it was badly written or anything, I just wanted to be swept up in it. But the plot? That was incredible, especially the subtle hints to the original tale and then subverting them, making the women of this story take centre stage, as is right.

There were lots of twists and turns, it was very fast paced and full of secrets waiting to be uncovered. I even gasped a few times with surprise! All in all, a solid read for me, maybe could have benefited from a bit more world-building but the message and the story were great.

I went into this with mixed expectations as i saw the five-star reviews and was wary of people were over hyping this book however i really enjoyed this book and it had the right balance between tenderness and action. I really enjoyed how this blended the original tale and modern sensibilities into something new. The romance was sweet and i liked how it showed the varying attitudes. Overall this is an excellent andreally important fanatasy novel.

Cinderella is Dead was a fast paced story that turned the famous and beloved fairytale of Cinderella on its head. It was much more Christian Anderson-esque than Disney though! What I enjoyed most of all was the fairytale elements mixed with strong feminist themes. The world that this story is set in is a dark and dangerous place, where patriarchy rules supreme and women are treated as objects, playthings and second class citizens. It's much more of a grim, dystopian place rather than a glamorous utopia you'd find in a fairytale.

There were a few things that rubbed me the wrong way though. Sadly, the story fell a little flat for me. It seemed to rush on, with everything told to us really and not shown. The insta love element didn't work for me either and had me rolling my eyes a few times. The characters frustrated me at times and I didn't feel completely invested in them. I liked Sophia as a main character but I didn't connect with her really. Her strong spirit and feisty attitude was compelling but as the story progressed I didn't fully believe in everything she did.

Overall, I liked this story. I liked the fresh outlook on a traditional fairytale and how diverse it was. However, it wasn't for me and wish it had more depth and intrigue.

Unfortunately I have got 30% in to this and I am not finding that I am clicking with the story. I can see how this might interest people but it is not working for me. I do not want to go any further and give an inaccurate and unhonest review.

"Do not be silent. Raise your voice. Be a light in the dark" - Cinderella is Dead 👸🏽

Thank you to Tandem Collective, Bloomsbury Publishing and Netgalley for sending me a copy of Cinderella is Dead 😍

Oh, my goodness. This book. THIS BOOK! I'm struggling to put into words how I feel about this book. It's so beautifully written and ridiculously captivating. I didn't want to put it down once I started reading. Absolutely not what I was expecting.

Kalynn's writing style is incredible and I'll definately keep my eyes open for more from her in the future. She's taken the original Cinderella Fairytale and flipped it on its head in this beautiful retelling and I don't think I'll ever see the OG story the same way again.

I loved this book so much, cannot fault it at all. If you want a queer Cinderella retelling, this is absolutely the one you're looking for. Huge 5 🌟 from me. If I could give it more, I would 👸🏽

"my mother taught me that I am a whole person with or without a husband" - Constance 💛

This was such a gripping YA fairytale retelling that I feel should be a staple on any young fantasy lover’s shelf. Bayron uses the metaphor of fairytale stories that all girls are fed unquestioningly in their youth, to represent dangerous patriarchal ideals. She packs this book with strong, feminist characters who question the world around them.

The romance between our two female MCs is really tender – Sophia has made the difficult choice to leave behind her first love, Erin, who will not fight for their relationship, to try and find a better life for herself. She quickly begins to develop feelings for the feisty, unapologetic Constance and must deal with the guilt of leaving Erin behind, whilst discovering new feelings and a new relationship. Constance was understanding of this, and never jealous. It was healthy, there was no rushing into the relationship – their love just felt genuine and tender and sweet – yet was also not a key central pillar of the plot.

Our main plot is focused on breaking down the lies in the society of Lille, uncovering difficult truths and breaking down the laws and ideals of this toxic patriarchal society. It was full of twists and turns that kept me guessing, even when I felt like I could predict the outcome and we were heading somewhere predictable, I was surprised. I felt like there were real relevant undertones here to the modern media situation – Sophia discovers throughout the book how misleading the media of her kingdom can be – that the story that has been spun and is considered truth is not all what it seems, and has been manipulated by those in charge.

While obviously widely exaggerated from our society, this book does draw a lot of extreme parallels. It portrays young people questioning their leaders and their history, what they have been taught and know. Sophia is an incredible lead, who knows her own mind and whilst is terribly afraid, acts anyway for the good of herself and her people. I want to put this book in the hands of every young fantasy reader, to show them a strong, questioning, black, lesbian lead character. Cinderella is Dead really is the fairytale retelling that YA needed.

It also does feel to me that Bayron slipped in references to future fairytale retellings that could be a companion to this novel, which I would be so excited to see! She referenced a Snow White retelling within this book and I’m gonna be so mad if she doesn’t write it!

I’d like to finish this review with one final thought: Fuck the patriarchy.

Author: Kalynn Bayron
Genre: YA Fantasy
Format: E-Book Advanced Reader Copy
Published: 6th August 2020
Pages: 385 Pages
Rating: 4 Stars

*I received a copy of this via Netgalley from the publisher, however, this in no way influenced my opinion. Thank you to Bloomsbury YA for providing me with a copy.*

Content Warning: misogyny, domestic abuse, racism, homophobia and death.

“When the leader of this kingdom treats women as property, it sets an awful precedent. People think it’s okay to do the same.”

So this novel takes place 200 years after Cinderella found her Prince Charming and every year the girls of the kingdom have to go to a ball where they have to be chosen by a man to be their wife. Those who are not chosen after 3 attempts are taken away and never seen or heard from again. However Sophia does not want to be chosen because she is in love with her best friend Erin.

So, I requested this due to the premise and I thoroughly enjoyed the way the author took the original Cinderella story and made it her own. The Cinderella tale in this was a lot darker than the Disney version and I loved that. This was an intense read from the very beginning which pulled me into the story and setting – it was well-written and the world building was great. My favourite thing about this novel is the main character Sophia, she was very determined and a badass. She stood up for what was right and sought to make change along with Constance. Constance was also an interesting character, I was so happy to find out she had a connection to the original Cinderella story, however I would have liked to hear more of her backstory. One aspect that was enjoyable was the banter between Amina and Constance it was such an interesting dynamic. I really liked the romance between Sophia and Constance, they were so cute and I was rooting for them. The last part of this was really intense and I was so concerned for the safety of Sophia and Constance. There were some interesting plot twists that were unpredictable in my opinion. My only issue with this novel is that sometimes I found it a bit repetitive.

Overall this was an exciting YA Fantasy that turned the original Cinderella story on its head. It has a badass and driven main character and includes a f/f relationship.

This had a great premise, and I think it's a good re-telling of Cinderella. A feisty lesbian protagonist. I found her quite vivid.
At times it was a bit too angsty, but overall gripping entertaining read.

Thanks a lot to NG and the publisher for this copy.

While I commend and appreciate what this book was trying to accomplish, it just didn't work for me. It tells the story of Sophia, a young woman living in Lille almost 200 years after the story of Cinderella. Every year, the women of the town are forced to attend a ball to be 'chosen' for their happy ever after. The basic plot here was fine and there were a couple of points that I enjoyed, but overall, I thought that the writing was pretty poor. The dialogue was clunky and painful at times and the pacing of the narrative just didn't make sense. I feel like the story would have worked better if the book had been longer, giving the relationships time to mature in a more natural way. I liked the commentary on the role of women in society and enjoyed Sophia as a protagonist, for the most part, but I just didn't vibe with the book as a whole.
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review.

The story is quite promising and dark. I really liled the atmosphere, it was dark and very immersive, it kept me reading. However, I lost interest in the story after putting the book down for a while due to some personal reasons ans couldn't connect to the story again.

While I appreciate this retelling for what it is, a POC and LGBT book with a f/f relationship, I can't rate something higher than 3 stars if it didn't hold my attention even after putting it down for a bit.

However, i feel like this just wasn't the book for me right now, it's not bad at all and I'd recommend it if you're the target audience (YA)

Cinderella is dead but her story lives on. Sophia has been raised in a society that owes everything to Prince Charming and Cinderella. The world faced unimaginable famine and death before Charming swept in to rescue the lands 200 years ago – and ever since the kingdom has ruled under a munificent ruler who makes it law to remember Cinderella’s story and her sacrifice. But generosity can only extend so far, and as such every women must adhere to strict rules that leave them completely at the hands of their husbands and fathers. They have no rights of their own, no free speech, and every year at the age of 16 they must attend a ball at the palace to hopefully be ‘chosen’ as a bride. Those not chosen must be ‘forfeit’, and never return home. Sophia is different from those she has grown up with. She doesn’t want a husband – all she wants is Erin. But when disaster strikes at her first ball, she must take a dangerous journey to find her freedom, and discover the true history of Cinderella and her place in this story.

To start with the positives, I really enjoyed the beginning of this. The setup is done really well, with some decent descriptions of the village Sophia lives in to give off an unsettling fairy tale vibe in a dystopian setting. Sophia’s friendship group is also quite sweet, with an obvious close bond with Erin, and affection for best friend Liv. They share a common concern for each other, and in the beginning are all very supportive, and it was nice to see. I also loved to see a strong YA queer black protagonist. Sophia’s is just is who she is, beautiful and strong, and I want to see more YA fantasy novels that explore the black narrative away from that of just the traumas of the past. To make her sapphic, and have Sophia just accept that this is who she is made her even better. More publishing houses need to take note that in 2020, this is the kind of diversity we want on the market.

I also liked Sophia’s character for the most part. She’s brave and strong, someone who knows her own mind. She knows she’s ‘different’, but she doesn’t want a knight in shining armour. She wants to be the knight. She wants to make her own decisions, and not live her life being controlled by a cruel husband. And she’ll do it at any cost. I know some people may see this as selfish, but I prefer to think that Sophia is thinking of the greater good. Change comes at a cost, and it’s one she’s willing to take. She doesn’t want to conform to what one man thinks is acceptable. She also raises some important points about society, and the power men have over women – even good men turn a blind eye to the suffering. However, I do think at times it got a little bit too heavy handed.

In terms of the pacing and plot, I do think at times that the story itself becomes more illogical as it goes along. The small amount of back story we are presented with about Prince Charming, Cinderella and the following king’s feels overly complicated, and after the ball scenes, everything starts to unravel – almost as if the author didn’t really know where to take the story, and had too many ideas. We begin to skip over large portions of time when travelling with Constance and Sophia, meaning I never felt a strong connection between the two, and we never really see the two develop the kind of relationship the author is going for. Their pairing always feels a little disingenuous as a result. Everything also feels a little too convenient, as though Sophia falls into her plans and ideas rather quickly and easily.

The writing is ok, if a little on the simplistic side, and some of the lines used are a bit cheesy, but I think this will appeal to a younger YA audience. It was certainly easy enough to read, as well as being quick. The world building is also severely lacking at times – I don’t feel as though we really got to explore much of Sophia’s world outside of the very limited places Sophia herself visits. I also would have liked to have seen more of a motive and backstory behind the fairy godmother. She was a really interesting character, with a great twist to her tale, but I wanted to see more of why she did what she did. A flashback scene probably would have really helped at a crucial moment here.

An interesting retelling with a lot of great ideas and wonderful diversity, I just think it falls a little flat in execution.