Cinderella is Dead by Kalynn Bayron
Synopsis
"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 . . ."
My Thoughts
I could not put this book down! I adored the characters: Sophia who has an amazing amount of tenacity and heart and Constance who was equally strong-willed though more of a disaster child than Sophia and I loved it.
I love retellings and so I knew I would end up enjoying this one easy. But aside from the joy of seeing a spin on an old story, I really enjoyed the strong messages of do what's right even if it's not easy, through this one. This book also didn't shy away from saying that just because the evil ruler goes down, doesn't mean that society is going to change overnight, which I think is something we all need a reminder of. And I think this book handled that in a really fantastic way. And though the storytelling could be a bit simple at times and perhaps everything wrapped up just a little to easily for the magnitude of problems that existed in this one, I really enjoyed the overall story and messages present in this one.
So do I recommend it? Absolutely! This sapphic retelling of Cinderella with a badass tilt, was totally worth picking up and reading!
Genre: lgbtqia+, fantasy, retelling
Representation: Black MC, lesbian MC, gay SC
Content Warnings: animal death, arranged marriages, death, domestic abuse, homophobia, kidnapping, misogyny, murder, physical assault, selling people, sexual assault (nonconsensual kissing)