Release Date: August 6th 2020
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Pages: 400
Find it on: Goodreads. BookDepository. Waterstones.
Source: The publisher kindly sent me a copy of this book to participate in the Tandem Collective readalong.
Rating: 4.25/5 stars

Synopsis

It’s 200 years since Cinderella found her prince, but the fairytale is over.

Sophia knows the story though, off by heart. Because every girl has to recite it daily, from when she’s tiny until the night she’s sent to the royal ball for choosing. And every girl knows that she has only one chance. For the lives of those not chosen by a man at the ball . are forfeit.

But Sophia doesn’t want to be chosen – she’s in love with her best friend, Erin, and hates the idea of being traded like cattle. And when Sophia’s night at the ball goes horribly wrong, she must run for her life. Alone and terrified, she finds herself hiding in Cinderella’s tomb. And there she meets someone who will show her that she has the power to remake her world.

Review

I absolutely love stories inspired by fairy tales so when I read the synopsis for Cinderella is Dead I was so intrigued to read it. The story follows Sophia who lives in a kingdom ruled by men. She knows the tale of Cinderella – all the women in the kingdom do. When she comes of age she’s sent to the palace to participate in the choosing – to be chosen by a man or become forfeit. Being chosen is the last thing Sophia wants, she’s in love with her best friend Erin and after a disastrous turn of events, must flee for her life. While on the run she finds out that the true nature of the Cinderella story might not be everything she thought it was.

As soon as I picked up this book I became completely sucked into the story. Kalynn Baron has taken a well known tale and completely turned it on its head. The story is a pretty fast paced one and I found myself completely racing though it, desperate to know what was going to happen next. Baron has created a fascinating world where Cinderella might be dead, but her story has lived on and shaped the lives of every woman in the kingdom. The story does have a few plot twists, a few of which I guessed quite early on. This didn’t lessen my enjoyment of the story because it was such an addictive and entertaining read.

Sophia is a brilliant main character. She’s so determined and she stands up for her beliefs. I also really enjoyed the romance in the story although it did happen a little bit quickly for me. Baron has an absolutely gorgeous writing style and this ended up being one of my favourite reads of August. If you’ve been intrigued by this one I’d definitely recommend picking it up and I cannot wait to see what Baron writes next!