There is something magical about a retelling isn’t there?  Well, I certainly think so. And that is why I was incredibly excited to pick up Cinderella is Dead by Kalynn Bayron. Fortunately, I was not disappointed. Cinderella is Dead is a vibrant, adventurous, feisty retelling that I simply could not put down. But it’s also not completely a retelling either. Instead, it uses the Grimm fairy-tale as inspiration before taking off on it’s own. This was just one of the reasons that I truly enjoyed reading this book. On top of a creative and imaginative story, you also had stella characters that you could not help but root for and a historically vibrant, yet still fantastical, world to boot.

Cinderella is Dead follows Sophia as she is invited to the Ball for the first time. The ball where she must be her best self in order to be chosen by a suiter – a male suiter of course, who would claim her as his wife and essentially become his property. But Sophia has a problem because she doesn’t like men. She likes women. Specifically one woman in particular. Sophia is ready to fight but Erin isn’t, leaving Sophia unsure where she stands. But when everything goes out of control, Sophia has to decide if she is going to continue to live like this or if she will take steps to change everything.

I was pulled into this story quickly and easily and found it very hard to put the book down once I was. I really enjoyed watching Sophia as she grew in character. I enjoyed watching as she met up with Constance and where their journey ended up taking them. The story that follows the two of them is intense, full of active and a lot of kick-ass moments too. I read through the book quickly, fully immersed in the world and action taking place. I loved the way that Kalynn Bayron depicted the world and how Sophia dealt with it. I really loved how the book ended as well and all of the little other mentions of fairy-tales that were thrown in too.

All in all, this book is an incredible read and one that I absolutely recommend. It is a book that has a blossoming romance that is slow but also delicious too. It also doesn’t detract from the main plot which is always a good thing. I really enjoyed Sophia as a character but I think I would have loved this book so much more had we also gotten Constance’s perspective. I think that would have just pushed this book into being a little bit more exciting. But, as it were, I still really enjoyed the book and will definitely be reading whatever Kalynn Bayron decides to write next.