Reviews tagging 'Domestic abuse'

Cinderella Is Dead by Kalynn Bayron

336 reviews

megdough's review

adventurous emotional medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Lesbophobia, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Death, Hate crime, Murder, and Gaslighting

Minor: Animal death, Body horror, Gore, Trafficking, and Death of parent

maybeimali's review

adventurous dark emotional inspiring mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

If you love the story of Cinderella do not read this. Great feminist text that gripped me. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Police brutality, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Homophobia and Lesbophobia

zombiezami's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Homophobia, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual assault, Torture, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Murder, Lesbophobia, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Kidnapping, and Classism

Minor: Bullying and Infidelity

paigereitz's review

adventurous dark emotional inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.5

This was a cute story and I enjoyed it, but it was a little direct/on the nose at times. I really liked the concept, but the delivery was so-so. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Misogyny, and Lesbophobia

Minor: Sexual violence and Death of parent

laineydunne's review

adventurous dark emotional inspiring mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Hate crime, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Lesbophobia, Sexual harassment, War, and Injury/Injury detail

roorooreads's review against another edition

dark reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

This just did not work for me unfortunately. The writing seemed to be written very young, especially with the themes found in this upper YA book. I loved the premise and hearing a different side of the story. But the romance was insta love and in my opinion, insta love that was not done well. The interactions of our main character Sophia and her love interest felt very awkward and forced. I will say there was one thing I didn't seem coming but the rest was fairly predictable. I really really wanted to love this book but unfortunately it just wasn't for me. I do think though that this would appeal to a younger teen audience who are ready for some slightly more mature themes. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Sexism, and Trafficking

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Blood, Kidnapping, Murder, and Gaslighting

proudtobeabookaholic's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Cinderella is long since dead, but not her story. Every girl has to recite it every day, from when they're tiny until the ball when they have the chance of being chosen as wife to a man. But Sophia doesn't want to be chosen by a man. She's in love with Erin, but that's not acceptable. Sophia tries to prompt Erin to run away with her before the ball, but Erin wants them to abide by the King's laws - no matter how unfair they are. Sophia refuses to give up, but to resist the King may lead to death...

A delightful and different twist of Cinderella! The crown approved version of the story is actually pretty far from the truth. With it the King has gathered unprecedented power of the people and anyone trying to oppose is punished with death. It's mostly women who suffer under the King's laws, and it's clear they're considered less valuable than men. It's really frustrating to read, especially when we know there are women suffering like this in some parts of the world, even today. Sophia refuses to accept this, but I wouldn't call her a classic heroine. She's afraid and doesn't quite know what to do, but she's still intent on making a change. At the beginning she's alone, but then she meets Constance, a descendant of one of Cinderella's step sisters. She's got the real story about Cinderella, the ball and Prince Charming, and together they plan to overthrow the King. 

I enjoyed this book very much and I was always eager to pick it up and continue reading again! I like that the main character is a black, gay woman; it's a great contrast to the original story. I also appreciate that Sophia is very human, and someone who eventually can't stand the life she's meant to live. She decides that she and every other woman is worth more. A strong feministic message! I definitely want to read more by Kalynn Bayron!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Grief, and Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Domestic abuse and Physical abuse

jachnax's review against another edition

dark hopeful inspiring slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

I liked it but the plot was a little bit all over the place and some stuff was just a bit unlogical and convenient for the characters. Some repetitions were also a little annoying and i would have liked the book to explore the ending a bit more and get some more after. Overall its good.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Homophobia, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual assault, Lesbophobia, Toxic friendship, and Classism

Minor: Domestic abuse

pkc's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

I bought this on a bit of a whim in 2021 thinking “why not indulge in another subversion of the Cinderella fairytale?” but I guess…like there’s no other subversion worth consuming. This is it. 

Holy crap I LOVED this story.

The protagonist was so engaging, so strong but proudly showed her vulnerabilities. The villain made my skin crawl. The love interests were fully formed characters in their own right who didn’t just serve to enhance the protagonists story. Representation was incredible (a POC MC, very queer).

Around the tail end of last year, I saw someone do a list of reading icks that they’d hope might be left in 2022. One of them was adults reading young adult books, as if it was somehow a lower class of read that shouldn’t be indulged. It really rankled me when I saw it as a 33 year old lover of YA and books like this beautifully explain why. 

This a story, aimed at young adults, that is absolutely about using your voice to speak out against oppression. It’s not the manic pixie dreamgirl or feelingsy guy that you find in the stereotypes that the genre is wrongly thought to comprise of exclusively. 

Sophia is a strong, ferocious human being who is guided by and intently focused on the right thing to do.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Biphobia, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Hate crime, Homophobia, Sexism, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Outing, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

directorpurry's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual violence, Violence, and Lesbophobia