I loved the premise and the way the story of Cinderella was twisted into something very different, both in the official version of the country and in the "real" version that was uncovered as the story went on. And I liked the main character, Sophia, who was brave, big-hearted, hopeful and fierce. Sadly the plot felt a bit rushed, both in terms of character arcs and romance (and don't get me wrong, I WANTED to get behind the romance because I think it could have worked well with a bit more development) and in terms of the sudden decisions the main characters made several times that drove the plot. This would probably work better for the younger end of the YA audience, with the fast pace and sense of adventure and injustice that were the strongest things about it.

200 years after Cinderella’s death, the kingdom that she used to live in has become a dystopia. When girls turn 16, they are forced to attend a ball, where the men of the kingdom choose which girl they want to be their wife. Any girl that doesn’t get chosen by the time they’re 18 is taken away, never to be seen again. Main character Sophia doesn’t want to go through any of this for all of the obvious reasons, and also because she’s gay and in love with her childhood friend.

I loved this book!

I’ve seen a lot of people pitch it as queer girls in a fairytale setting teaming up to overthrow the patriarchy, and that’s exactly what this book is! The examination of misogyny, sexism, and to a lesser extent homophobia, and how the world of this book relates to our own, is about as subtle as a brick to the face, but that is the opposite of an issue for me. People with the same view as the villains in this book still exist in the real world. Some anvils need to be dropped. I enjoyed this book being so clear and unambiguous, and it’s definitely going to bring joy to the young girls who read it.

Did I mention that this book is queer yet? It’s queer as hell! Our main girls are very gay for each other and are completely unapologetic about it, which I adore! Girls waxing poetic about other girls is A+++ and that was very present in this book.

A small detail that I really appreciated was Sophia’s attitude towards dresses and traditional femininity. At the start of the book, she’s being prepped for the compulsory ball, and is obviously unhappy about it. But later on she says that she does like dresses, and sparkles, and all that. What she doesn’t like is being forced into them for the gaze of anyone but herself. I related to this a lot, and I’m sure that many people who read this book will too. And even if they don’t relate to it, it still serves as a good reminder that femininity in and of itself isn’t a bad thing, rather it’s the expectation of conformity to a specific performance of femininity that’s bad. Plus, sparkly hairpins double as lockpicks.

There was also a (possible) Shrek reference that made me laugh when it was revealed. I don’t even care if it wasn’t intentional, I love it anyway.

I would’ve liked to have seen a deeper exploration on how LGBT+ people are treated in the kingdom. This does get briefly touched on, but in nowhere near as much detail as how women are treated, and while it’s obvious that they’re not treated well, I’m still left with some questions. The ‘forfeit’ system, and how that works, is also left a little unclear. Enough information is given so the reader can understand that it’s bad and to be avoided, so the story functions perfectly well without a detailed explanation, but I still would’ve liked one. But these are nitpicks! That I didn’t even come up with until I was halfway through writing this review! Honestly, this book is great and I had a great time reading it.

All in all, I would recommend this book to people who like fairytales, dystopias, queer girls, and smashing the patriarchy into tiny little pieces.

Thank you to netgalley for this advance review copy. (For reference I read this during Covid 19 lockdown)

Generally, I’m not a fan of fairy tale retellings. I loved this one though. I think because it’s a retelling mixed with dystopian. Plus enough unexpected but believable to plot twists.

Black queer Cinderella!! Yes please. For over 200 years the girls of Lille have been expected to attend balls where men will decide whether they are worthy of marriage or not, said to go back to Cinderella finding her Prince Charming at a ball. Only Sophia doesn't want to marry, at least not to marry a man, and she believes that attendance to the ball shouldn't be mandatory. But in Lille those thoughts are classed as treason, and when Sophia causes a stir on her first ball she just about manages to escape the kings clutches, but her journey takes her down a path she never expected, and she may just realise that everything she has believed to be fact is indeed a lie.

Sophia is such a kick ass character! She fights the patriarchy in every way she can, putting herself at risk along the way, but she just wants a life where women can choose for themselves. Choose who they want to love and marry, what life they want to live and to be able to move freely without fear of death. She goes above and beyond to achieve this, knowing it might end in her life being forfeit, but if her death effects the change that is needed then she feels it is worth the risk. Pretty much all the main characters in this book are women, in fact the only male MC is the antagonist and man is he creepy, he is pretty much the antithesis of Prince Charming, and this was one of the reasons I found it so easy to bond with Sophia, I was completely behind her take down of the patriarchy.

This book was extremely fast paced, I felt that it could have been made into a duology? However, the authors writing style and general pace of of the story line meant that I polished this book off in a matter of hours. There is no good place to put this book down, every chapter ending is its own cliffhanger. There were plenty of twists and turns in this book and even right at the end I still wasn't 100% sure who we could trust.

I love that this book gave us the Cinderella story we all know and love, but gave it a massive twist. The King uses the story, Cinderella finding her Prince Charming and living happily ever after to create the conditions the women live in, however, there is another story. One that only a few people know. One that shines a whole new light on the tale we all know, and it's only when that story comes to light that Sophia realises how wrong Lille is, but even then, she can never imagine the true depravity that runs at its heart.

There is a great f/f romance that runs through this book as well as a few other queer characters. The romance was fast paced, mainly due to the pacing of the book, but I loved how it very fast, could have been a series, but i liked how fast paced it was and flew through the interactions between the pair, both snarky and sweet.

This is a book about revolution, about how not everything is always as it seems, and all it takes is one person to question those in charge, one person to spark a revolution and change the world as we know it. Filled with brilliant and powerful women of colour. I will certainly be picking up any other works by this author.

Oooh, this is *gooood*. Really clever twist on a fairy tale & what's behind "Happy Ever After". Cinderella is Dead by @KalynnBayron is published in the UK next month by @KidsBloomsbury (I read a #NetGalley, thankyou!) but a brilliant read for #PrideMonth https://t.co/AqSKpwetOy

2.5 stars.
I was super excited to read this, mainly because of how beautiful the cover is, but also because I love retellings, and love LGBTQ representation in books. However, sadly this didn’t quite meet expectations.
I can't fault the originality behind the story, for me that was the highlight. It took aspects of the original fairy-tale and turned them on their head. I especially liked the idea of all the young women being forced to attend the ball, and often dreading it- so unlike the original story.
The pacing was really off in my opinion. It seemed like in the first three quarters nothing much happened, and then in the last quarter everything was very rushed. I couldn’t get over how quickly everything got wrapped up, with very little real action (also what happened to Erin?! I really wanted to know how things turned out for her!). The twist about where the king was getting his powers from, I saw coming from the second Sophia found the body that looked like an old woman. It was something I've seen done in multiple books and films, so it was infuriating that Sophia couldn’t figure it out, she didn’t even seem to give it that much thought at all really. There was a plot twist that I didn’t see coming, however I felt like it didn’t have quite as much impact as it could have done.

I liked Sophia as a character, however I couldn’t work out what was so “special” about her. The whole time I was reading I was expecting there to be a reason why the king was so desperate to hunt her down. It’s mentioned that there are other people starting uprisings, yet he seems more obsessed with finding Sophia? Constance was my favourite character. I liked her fierceness and determination and think she’s a great role-model for younger girls! Amina was a really strange character. She was supposed to be super old but she acted and spoke like a sassy teenager? I felt like an opportunity was missed with her. Sadly there was very little character development throughout the book and a lot of the characters lacked strong and believable motivations.

I was really excited to read an LGBTQ romance, however, great as it is to show diversity, I felt like the relationship between Sophia and Constance was pussyfooted around. The relationship wasn’t really explored which was really disappointing. It seemed very ‘insta-love’, which is one of my least favourite tropes.

Overall, I think the story had a lot of potential, it just failed to live up to it. The originality of the story is to be commended, and I think most people will enjoy that aspect. I think this book is better suited to younger readers, perhaps middle-grade rather than adult. I'm sure there will be lots of people who love Cinderella Is Dead, I just sadly wasn’t one of them.

Disclaimer: I received an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

This story is a retelling of Cinderella - but better! I don't like Cinderella as a story and this doesn't paint it in a good light so I like that. It is about a girl called Sophia who grows up in Lille. They have to have a pristine copy of the Cinderella story in all their houses and there's rules that they have to follow. The women are oppressed and the men can do whatever they want. Every year the women have to go to an annual ball held at the palace, it's mandatory as soon as you turn 16. They have to dress up whether their family can afford it or not and the men get to choose who they want to take as a wife. You can go three times and if you’re not chosen by the second or third time, you are basically a forfeit and get sent to work in a workhouse or sent to the palace and then never seen again. Sophia is a lesbian so has even more reason for not wanting to be chosen. She is also in love with a girl called Erin so she’s worried about her being chosen too.

Oh my god, I loved this so much! I really liked the characters and one of them definitely reminded me of Merida from Brave.
I initially thought it would have more fantasy elements in it but i'm really glad it didn't. I also felt that the action moved at a good pace and didn't get caught up in long descriptive passages. There wasn't too much world building but I feel like you really got an essence of the atmosphere, of what Lille was like under the King's rule and I found it really easy to imagine. Overall, if you're looking for a strong female lesbian main character and a story that doesn't romanticise the story of Cinderella, this is it. I got so emotional that I cried at the end, that is how good I thought it was - highly recommend.

Cinderella is Dead is up there with one of my favourite books of this year. I love a retelling, I love Cinderella and. I LOVE THIS BOOK. I mean I use the word retelling loosely however elements of a retelling are definitely there.

I just loved everything about this book. There were so many twists and turns right up until the very end. I was literally on the edge of my seat from start to finish and so many elements within this book took me by surprise.

I loved Sophia, such a strong, wonderful, independent female who every main female protagonist should aspire to be. Honestly she is wonderful and I was routing for her all the way. I also loved the fairy godmother, such a sassy queen .. well I’ll not give the rest of my opinion her her because spoilers!

I have already preordered myself a copy of Cinderella is Dead and I am actively making sure other people do too. Such a brilliant book and I can’t wait to hear other people’s opinions.

Me calling this a retelling is a little bit of a misnomer as CINDERELLA IS DEAD is more of an interrogation of the fairy tale than a straight retelling (but that's a very specific tag, so 'retelling' it is for my stats!). Kalynn Bayron deconstructs the fairy tale and weaves it into a fierce feminist tale of rebellion and fighting for a better future, while exploring how stories can be twisted to serve the narratives of those in power.

The two hundred years distance between Sophia and Cinderella allows for a deeply twisted story to be slowly teased out across the book. The first version told is the one we all know like the back of our hands, but the deep consequences of it immediately hint that something is deeply wrong and that there must be a <em>real</em> version out there for Sophia to discover.

The reveals were well spaced out to allow anticipation to build for the next piece as a picture of a despotic ruler and his deep desire to create a world that matched his ideals. The pieces were big enough to be satisfying at that point but to make me want to read on and find out the rest.

The world itself is horribly oppressive in its treatment of women, and it was so much fun to romp through with Sophia and Constance as they set about tearing it down. At the same time, it's not spitting on "traditionally feminine" things like clothes or cooking (which I see far too often and it makes me clench my teeth), but rather centres it on the ability to make choices.

The post-finale felt very quick (and I was wondering why they defaulted to a monarchy considering the absolute power of it had been part of the problem). I think a little more time could have spent on it to make it feel a little more realistic that they were able to take have a transition of power considering the armed people were men who had an interest in keeping the status quo.

Overall, it's an exciting tale guaranteed to keep you reading.

I could not put this book down! It was so good. The old Cinderella fairytale is now dead after reading this. It just doesn’t compare. This is better, more true and speaks to my heart in a way the other one just didn’t.
It’s Cinderella in a way that speaks to what is going on now. Speaks to the ugliness inside men. The want of women to be strong to not be brought down by degrading rules and to love and live how they like.
There is darkness and twists and the whole thing just grabs you and pulls you in.
Plus there are some great one liners especially the one about pockets.
A fantastic read that I would recommend to anyone

Unfortunately I didn’t finish this book; the concept is great, but I have read many books with similar protagonists facing similar challenges. If you enjoyed We Set the Dark On Fire, Only Ever Yours and Modelland and are looking for a book set in another patriarchal society where women are forced to compete, but decide to rebel, I would recommend this book.

I hate to say this because I know a lot of people have enjoyed this story and I was so excited for it however the intriguing story line has so much potential but just wasn't executed in the way I hoped!
I enjoyed the characters and romance in this story enough to get through it and the back story and concept of the fairy tale was fascinating.
However, I was bored all the way through as not much happened for the first 3 quarters of the story and then when the action does finally start, its wrapped up in mere pages without a major hitch to be seen. I was so baffled that when I finished I actually went back to check I hadn't skipped 30 pages somewhere and missed the action. If there is going to be that much hype up to the ending action scene, please give me some action.
There was a twist that I didn't see coming and I enjoyed but felt could be rewritten to pack a punch and have an impact as it is probably supposed to.
I know a lot of people will love this book and it does have so much potential, it just felt too much like a rough draft for me than a finished book.

‘Cinderella is Dead’ is pitched as Queer Black girls take over the patriarchy – and it pretty much does exactly what it says on the tin. This is a fun, quick read – the sort of book I’m so glad today’s teenagers get to grow up with. The plot is mostly predictable, the twists standard young adult fantasy fare, but the fierce sapphic women are delightful enough to read about to make this a worthy addition to the genre.

The book follows Sophia – unapologetically herself, but born into a world where that person isn’t accepted. In her world, men rule the roost. Women are required to attend once-yearly Balls – in homage to the original Ball where Cinderella found her Prince Charming – where they will be selected by a husband. If a woman fails to be chosen, she is cast out. There is no space for women who think for themselves – let alone women who happen to fall in love with other women. Sophia does both, and she can’t understand why no-one else seems to be fighting for change.

I love Sophia. Plenty of teenagers will empathise with her rage at the world and its injustices, and her determination to fight against it – even when everyone else has given up because of the seemingly insurmountable odds. Sophia is feisty and reckless, but also beautifully caring and human. She’s fiercely loyal to her friends – even when they can’t see it – and sticks fast to her principles even when they get her in trouble. She isn’t unflawed – her practical skills are lacking (which leads to a brilliant scene between her and Constance about making bread, my favourite part of the book) and she trusts incredibly quickly – but her heart is always in the right place.

Constance is the badass warrior woman all girls want to be. Need to make a bomb? She’s your girl. Want to know how to kill a man? She’s got that down. I actually wish we got more of her backstory because her upbringing sounds incredible but very little of her past is revealed. Her relationship with Sophia was delightful – perfectly paced and believable, which is something of a rarity in young adult romance. I was rooting for them the entire time.

Overall, this is an excellent young adult fantasy. The twists might not surprise you, but it’s still fun with characters you want to root for. Recommended for any teenager and any young adult fantasy fan – especially those who need more sapphic characters in their lives.

Loved this book from beginning to end. This alternate story of Cinderella is imaginative, gripping and has real page turning quality, not to mention a fantastic cover! Absolutely recommend.

I LOVED this book! I was immediately drawn into the interesting world of Lille and its politics, particularly how partriarchal it is. It was really uncomfortable to read about and I found myself feeling the same way as Sophia.

It is also such an interesting take on the classic Cinderella fairy tale and was redesigned by Bayron into something unique and fresh. While some parts I found a little rushed, I overall really enjoyed the way the relationships developed and how sometimes you have to put your own happiness above someone else's, especially if they're not reciprocated.

I highly recommend Cinderella Is Dead, especially to those who enjoy a unique and interesting retelling...and lesbians taking down the partiarchy. Because I did.

I absolutely LOVED Cinderella Is Dead. I knew from the very first moment that I saw the title that I had to get my hands on a copy!


Oh boy, did this book meet my expectations and more!


Cinderella has always been a favourite Disney film of mine and so seeing it turned into this dark and gritty retelling was a breath of fresh air! Sophia lives under the rulership of a King that, to put it ever so bluntly, does not care, nor like women.


Women are treated as second class citizens, and their only purpose is to attend the Royal Ball in the hopes to be chosen for marriage. After which they will spend the remainder of their days living to serve their husband, and not forget the asshole King.


The book deals with misogynism and homophobia and explores how our MC (Sophia) seeks to fight this injustice and be free to love the woman that she wants. 

That's right, WOMAN. Not only is this book f/f but it features solely BLACK characters. I felt that the author is talking about her own experiences, as well as other queer black people that are constantly having to deal with injustices. This allowed me to really think more about what has happened in the world and what is currently happening.


The world-building was phenomenal; I felt as if I was true with Sophia the entire time on her mission. I loved her passion and fiery attitude and I was rooting for her the entire time.


The pacing was steady which was fantastic. It really enabled to build the tension and keep things exciting!


The only thing I wasn't so mad about was the 'insta-love'. It is not my favourite troupe but I really liked the love interest, so I could put it to one side and just enjoy the romance.


Hands down this is the book to read of 2020. 'Queer Black girls take down the patriarchy' is what I have seen this book been described as, and I couldn't agree more!

5 STARS!!

I applied to read Cinderella is Dead because I love retellings and lesbians. This was promoted as the next big thing in YA fantasy because it had a lesbian POC as the main character, Sophia. The blurb also sounded amazing, a Cinderella style cult where girls are forced to attend a ball? Count me in!

However, this book just felt really flat for me. It didn’t seem like it was written in 2019/2020 because the feminism seemed really dated. I think that we’ve moved on from the one note ‘all men are evil’ that every male character in the book suffers with, (bar Luke who has three scenes and is gay, and in the words of Crazy Ex Girlfriend: Let’s generalise about men! Apart from the gay ones).

It also didn’t seem very gay? Sophia talks around her feelings for girls, instead of outright stating that she wants to kiss Erin and Constance. It seemed like the author wanted to write a lesbian protagonist, but didn’t want to actually write girl on girl action. Also, because nobody really had a problem with any of the characters being gay, what were the stakes? There wasn’t a strong sense of heritage or descendants as even the monarchy comes from elsewhere. So why weren’t gay relationships more of the norm? Surely there would be more gay men in Lille?

Also I saw all the plot twists coming a mile off. From the moment the corpse of the ‘old women’ showed up, I realised the King was draining the life from all the women in the kingdom to stay alive. And yet it took Sophia until the end of the book? Sophia, my girl. Figure it out.

I also want to know why Sophia is so special. She escapes from the palace, like a lot of other girls, and somehow the Kingdom is in uproar, and the King is absolutely obsessed with finding her? Yet it’s already stated that other girls have escaped. It seemed like the author was trying to have a Hunger Games, leader of the revolution moment, but Sophia is really average.

In conclusion, if this book had come out in 2013, I probably would have enjoyed it as a small lesbian. However, in 2020, the politics seem out of touch, and the characters are very flat. I probably wouldn’t recommend this to adult readers, more middle-grade.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.

2.5 stars, rounded up to 3.
I wanted to like this book so much more than I actually did. Part of the reason I've rounded up my rating is because, I'm sure, some of my issues with Cinderella Is Dead are based around personal tastes. (Possibly I just don't like monarchy-based fantasy, YA or otherwise, and I should stop attempting to convince myself otherwise).
That said, I was intrigued by the premise initially - especially as the main character is a black lesbian. I've not read many fairytale retellings before, and I was keen both to see one with wider representation, and to see how this one in particular played out.
The intriguing premise, however, was let down by character development which was rather thin on the ground. Although the narrative was definitely fast-paced, especially in the latter third of the book, and I wanted to find out what happened plot-wise, I just wasn't emotionally invested at all.

Thank you to Netgalley and Kalynn Bayron for giving me the opportunity to read an advance copy of Cinderella is Dead in exchange for an honest review.

With such a strong title to a novel, it’s easy to predict that an author would struggle to maintain the sense of danger and mystery that is immediately evoked. However, as Kalynn Bayron opens on the revelation that Cinderella has been dead for 200 years and introduces us to two young women hiding from those who are sure to kill them, I think it is safe to say that she has the drama side of things covered!

The kingdom of Mersaille was once ruled by none other than Prince Charming and Cinderella. After her untimely death, Cinderella’s tale is held in almost biblical stature for generations, with young girls reciting it each night in preparation for their own chance to attend an annual ball once they turn 16 and wishing for their own fairy godmother to grant their happily ever after.
However, as the reader enters the town of Lille 200 years later, we witness that life within the kingdom is far from that of a fairytale. The balls that act as a tribute to Cinderella are mandatory meat markets with lecherous “suitors”, domestic violence and the suppression of women is commonplace and the ruler, Prince Manford, thrives on the power, fear and violence.

The reader witnesses this abysmal society through Bayron’s use of a first-person perspective: that of our protagonist Sophia. Sophia is everything a modern protagonist should be: she questions the unjust world around her and, having just turned 16 is preparing to attend her first ball, not with excitement, but with trepidation.
Sophia reveals to the reader that a girl only has three chances to be chosen by a suitor at the ball, after that she is considered forfeit, taken away from her family in disgrace and placed either into a workhouse or service. Men, however, are under no such conditions: they can attend balls when they wish and can choose a number of girls if they want to. Many girls’ singular hope is to be chosen by a good man at the ball, one who will not beat her, perhaps even one who will take them away from Lille. This is not enough for Sophia, she wants more for her life and, as she says herself:
“I don’t want to be saved by some knight in shining armor. I’d like to be the one in the armor, and I’d like to be the one doing the saving.”

At the beginning of the book, Sophia’s main gripe with the society she lives in is that it will not allow her to be with Erin, the girl she loves. As the book continues, the underlying theme of the rights and treatment of women strengthens, along with Sophia, but the first few pages at least are centered on the teenage relationship between Sophia and Erin.
What I absolutely adored about Bayron’s writing style here is the complete lack of shock or awe in this relationship: it is mentioned right from the start and at no point in this novel does Sophia “come out”, there is simply no need. All those around Sophia, who know her and care for her, are aware of her feelings for Erin and, although Sophia is occasionally referred to as “different”, the author chooses to abolish any unnecessary labels within her novel.

Unfortunately, Bayron does not have an easy ride in store for Sophia: reeling from a firm separation from Erin, Sophia is cast a lifeline, an “easy way out” in the form of a local boy who is also “different”. Sadly, this option is quickly and dramatically ripped away from her: forcing her to find her strength pretty damn quickly as she begins a life as an outlaw.
Along her path, Sophia meets two strong female characters: Constance and Amina. Although, wildly different, both these women play a significant role in Sophia’s self-discovery.
Amina is as far from the traditional fairy godmother image as you can get and, although she feels guilt for her previous actions, it takes meeting Sophia for her to recognise her previous denial and to help change the way of the world. Amina is a protector to Sophia right to the end, in her own unique way.
Constance, what can we say about Constance? I defy anyone to read this book and not fall in love with this girl! Constance possesses the strength that Sophia does not yet recognise within herself; she is fiery and, as a descendant of an “evil stepsister”, leads a resistance movement to uncover and publicise the truth about the real tale of Cinderella. Despite, technically saving Sophia towards the beginning of the story, Constance is not Sophia’s saviour: nor is Sophia the saviour; however, the power that they find together is monumental.
Constance is a complete juxtaposition to Erin: whereas Erin accepts the rules of society out of fear for herself and her family, Constance actively rebels against them. It is almost as if they represent the paths Sophia has to choose from. Nevertheless, along their adventure, Sophia and Constance’s relationship strengthens into love. This is no fairytale, love at first sight deal though! If anything, the slow-burning romance between the two made it more believable and I really appreciated that Sophia didn’t just rebound due to Erin’s choices: she had been burnt and she was still unsure of her own feelings never mind anyone else’s.

At the hands of Bayron, Sophia experiences heartbreak, friendship, murder, love and conspiracy: she is on the brink of danger too many times to count and is constantly second guessing who she can trust. Yet, it is clear that the author adores her main character: Sophia’s journey to realise that she is enough is incredible and the strength that she finds within herself is inspirational. Sophia is also surrounded by a cast of strong female characters: there are no Prince Charming’s in this novel that’s for sure!

I wasn’t that far into this book when I decided I need to read more of Kalynn Bayron’s work. I love how there are no chapters in this novel, we are taken on this relentless journey with Sophia: the reader is not given a chance to stop and take stock, reflect or rest until it is all over and this creates the tensest experience. Even we don’t know who to trust towards the end!
‘Cinderella is Dead’ is powerful, thought-provoking and is constantly leaving the reader guessing. On a basic level the novel deals with violence, love, politics and a little bit of necromancy thrown in there for good measure. However, the intelligent writing as well as the massive plot twist and the controversial subjects of LGBTQ love, women’s rights and domestic violence lifts this novel from that basic level into, what I predict could be a bestseller.

Cinderella is dead and the king is using Cinderella’s story as a means to control the female population of Lille. The king created this terrifying and oppressive kingdom where girls are obliged to attend a ball where they are picked as wives. Failing to find a suitor, women will be forfeited. Girls mysteriously disappear and women have no say in their life choices Their only role is to get married and obey their husbands, often subject to horrible aggression and violence. Sophia can’t accept this life. She wants to fight this system and she is not afraid to speak up and question the king’s rules. More importantly, she wants to protect her lover, Erin, from this life.

This retelling of Cinderella story is nothing like you would expect. Kalynn Bayron presents a brilliant, almost dystopian, retake of this fairy tale with fierce queer characters. Sophia has been labelled “different” by the society and her family, because she is in love with her friend Erin, and because she would rather find a princess than a Prince Charming. But when her turn to attend the ball comes, she decides to fight the system and her abusive suitor.

Sometimes the tone of the story is rather dramatic (probably a few trigger warnings should be advised), and it tends to have horror movie kind of moments. Still, it’s a fast paced read with a solid and conclusive plot, with lots of unexpected twist and is well developed. I almost believed that the actual Cinderella story we all know is a lie. Sophia is a strong heroine, she is the knight with the shining armour, but I liked all the characters, especially Luke – oh Luke!! I wanted to see more of him.

I wonder if the writer is thinking about doing something similar with Snow White, as there were hints in the story about things not being what they seem for the evil step-mother. Cinderella is Dead is a powerful feminist retelling with a strong world building and amazing queer black female character that you will not be able to put down.