Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'

Cinderella Is Dead by Kalynn Bayron

37 reviews

paigereitz's review against another edition

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, Misogyny, Homophobia, and Lesbophobia

Minor: Death of parent and Sexual violence

laineydunne's review against another edition

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

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

saskiahill's review against another edition

fast-paced

3.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Abandonment, Trafficking, Grief, Animal death, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Kidnapping, Lesbophobia, Misogyny, Murder, Torture, Animal cruelty, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, and Physical abuse

luzies's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring mysterious 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

3.75

A book you can easily read in a few days. It was a very enjoyable and quick read for me. At some points I felt like the book was trying too hard, but it didn’t bother me too much. It has nice twists and is an original, wholesome story. Would recommend to anyone who’s searching for a story with a fantasy touch and a (queer) romance sub- plot. If you like retellings, this might be a very good fit for you, too :)

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Torture, Domestic abuse, Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Sexism, Violence, Homophobia, and Misogyny

Moderate: Kidnapping, Adult/minor relationship, Deportation, Homophobia, Murder, Violence, Death, Death of parent, and Torture

a_libra_library's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

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

3.5

I loved the idea. How the story of Cinderella was used as political propaganda and our main character was ready to dismantle a throne and centuries of ideals.  
However the addition of magic and history and plot twists were too many and muddled the story. Too many lines that kind of lead nowhere. 
I loved the sapphic, black romances and our main character staying true to herself and her people- Sophia is a strong lead and I wish I could read more about her and her love interest after the story was over. 

Kalynn is such an amazing author and building a world or a scene I'm excited for her other works. She's so good at writing gore and haunting moments! 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse, Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Child death, Colonisation, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Lesbophobia, Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Grief, Misogyny, Classism, Death of parent, Body horror, Fire/Fire injury, Violence, Police brutality, and Sexual harassment

fanboyriot's review against another edition

dark 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

4.0

Such an interesting and unique take on the fairytale.  I absolutely loved the plot twist near the end and how looking back it made a lot of sense.  There was a decent amount of queer representation with a lesbian MC, gay and queer secondary characters.  It’s a bit more angsty than I would normally read but I’m glad I read it and am happy to note the ending is a Happily Ever After… just a little more violent.  Though I will say after reading a few reviews it would have been interesting to have a chapter with Cinderella’s POV sprinkled in somewhere.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Homophobia, Misogyny, Body horror, Emotional abuse, Murder, Gore, Blood, Animal death, Bullying, Sexism, and Violence

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Domestic abuse, Confinement, Death of parent, Sexual assault, Child death, Grief, and Physical abuse

Minor: Kidnapping

rainbowpridepin's review against another edition

adventurous dark hopeful inspiring fast-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Blood, Bullying, Homophobia, Death, Misogyny, Body horror, Sexism, and Murder

Moderate: Death of parent, Grief, Gore, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Violence, Adult/minor relationship, and Domestic abuse

Minor: Kidnapping

kimseokjinschild's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.0

Great take on Cinderella story, taking a darker route. The book includes modern topics like LGBTQ. I also sensed characters emotions.

I would have loved to see more detail like pov of what happened to different characters in certain situations. I also felt some scenes were rushed, unnecessary scenes were also added.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Bullying, Death, Emotional abuse, Murder, Sexism, Misogyny, and Homophobia

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Domestic abuse, Death of parent, Confinement, Grief, Gore, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, and Violence

Minor: Kidnapping

karcitis's review against another edition

adventurous dark hopeful mysterious fast-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Sexism, and Misogyny

Moderate: Physical abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Lesbophobia, Homophobia, Violence, Domestic abuse, Abandonment, Murder, Sexual violence, Grief, Death, Confinement, and Body horror

Minor: Outing, Classism, Death of parent, Animal death, Excrement, and Animal cruelty