February Intermission: Cinderella is Dead - Kaylnn Bayron

Hi there!

Welcome to our February Intermission for Kaylnn Bayron's Cinderella is Dead.

Trigger Warning: Violence, Misogyny, Domestic Abuse, Murder, Public Execution, Homophobia, Bullying, Child Arranged Marriage, Child Abuse

Overall

For the first half, there was much more action than we expected before the climax! We liked it for sure. Lots of well-written characters and well-written social commentary that are both presented in such a way that respects the intelligence of its readers.

We didn't expect this book's social commentary to be so well-spoken in every way it possibly could have been. We like that the book respected its readers in a way that meant we could see exactly what the author was trying to speak about without feeling like things were too on the nose.

Making this story a continuation of Cinderella INSTEAD of a re-telling of an empty child's tale was very smart - it also shows how history is twisted to benefit the victor's agendas.

Sophia's Family & Sophia Herself

Establishing where our heroine comes from was very important to the author. Sophia's Mother is walking the line; her mother loves her and understands her and her romantic interests, but makes sure Sophia knows that she has to follow the rules to survive in the world they live in.

Her father was a very upsetting character to be honest, because he fell into the trap that the other men in the story fell into - the illusion of their control over women.

Sophia & Erin

Sophia seems to be very much like her grandmother in part one - very spitfire rebellious, and wise beyond her years. That being said, she's also shortsighted and flawed just like a normal person, and was very believable as a character. Everything we saw between Erin and Sophia, was mainly motivated by Sophia's attempt to get Erin to leave with her.

Erin didn't want to be rebellious like Sophia, and Erin's point is that she also had to walk the line - she chose to obey and feel safe instead of going out on a limb to take a stand, and that's okay too. She had no security or knowledge of what could happen to her if she disobeyed or rebelled.

Breaking Free

After the King kills the Seamstress, Sophia gets away and meets with Constance, whom we love very much. We like that Constance and Sophia openly like each other and Sophia is openly in love with her like the instant she saw her.

Right at the beginning it felt like they're the only two lesbians so they kind of have to get together without really knowing each other. We could have had more time to get them together instead of right at the beginning, instead of Constance feeling like a rebound instantly.

Conclusion

We thought this book was VERY relevant, jam-packed and poignant with social commentary—a FANTASTIC set-up for an epic plot. We can't wait for part two!

With love, see you soon!

Ceraya & Brieanna