Cinderella Is Dead by Kalynn Bayron

What I Loved:

I really loved that this was a retelling, but it had really interesting twists. I absolutely LOVED the extreme changes to the Cinderella story that are revealed as the story progresses!

How I Felt:

Cinderella is Dead takes the reader to a world where the kingdom of Cinderella has turned into a cruel place where women are nothing more than property to be discarded at the whim of any man. All girls must attend an annual ball where they are chosen as wives. Those not chosen have 2 more chances at a ball, after that, it’s a fate worse than death, or maybe it’s just death. Either way, women live in fear, and men rule the day.

Sophia hates all of it. Her idea of happily ever after is with Erin, not with any man in the kingdom. After her required attendance at the annual ball turns into an escape to save her life, she decides that enough is enough. She’s going to bring down the king, and stop the horrible treatment of women.

The plot in Cinderella is Dead was a lot of fun. I didn’t read too far into the synopsis of this one, so I was completely surprised at where the story took me! I thought that it was a really well put together story that had so many pieces that fit together perfectly by the end. Halfway through the book, I was concerned this was going to be a series, and I wouldn’t get the ending I wanted until a second book, but everything fell into place and created quite the exciting ending!

This is an LGBTQ story, but I didn’t feel invested in the relationships. Sophia, the MC is in love with Erin, her long-time friend, but there is another love interest that develops with the story. I saw no reason to be in love with Erin. I found her to be cruel and definitely not one to return the love Sophia was trying to give. The second romance was stronger than the first, but I still wasn’t invested in it. I think it happened way too fast, and I didn’t get time to fall in love with them. The entire romance could have been removed, and the overall plot would have held up fine. It wasn’t a bad relationship, I just wasn’t sure it was necessary for this specific story.

I truly enjoyed the characters though. Sophia is this bada$$ girl, she just doesn’t quite know it yet. It provided a great character arc for her, as she comes to be the woman she is meant to be. There’s a character named Amina that I loved. She was quick with snarky comments and filled with mystery. This is one of those stories where the bad guys are BAD, and I really enjoyed that. The king is a B.A.D. guy. Get ready to hate him with me!

Overall, I really enjoyed this story. I liked the characters, and I thought the plot was exciting and different. It offered a new spin on a retelling and kept me interested to the end!

To Read or Not To Read:

I would recommend Cinderella is Dead to readers that enjoy a strong female lead, YA fiction, and retellings!

Where to Find This Book:

Cinderella Is Dead by Kalynn Bayron is available at these sites.

Kindle | Amazon | Audible | Goodreads

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The #1 bestselling author of World War Z takes on the Bigfoot legend with a tale that blurs the lines between human and beast–and asks what we are capable of in the face of the unimaginable.

As the ash and chaos from Mount Rainier’s eruption swirled and finally settled, the story of the Greenloop massacre has passed unnoticed, unexamined . . . until now.

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Because if what Kate Holland saw in those days is real, then we must accept the impossible. We must accept that the creature known as Bigfoot walks among us–and that it is a beast of terrible strength and ferocity.

Part survival narrative, part bloody horror tale, part scientific journey into the boundaries between truth and fiction, this is a Bigfoot story as only Max Brooks could chronicle it–and like none you’ve ever read before.

Just the Facts:

Devolution by Max Brooks
Genre: Horror / Thriller
Page Count: 320 pages
Publisher: Del Rey Books
Pub Date: June 16, 2020