The premise of this book, that a young girl fights to overthrow the patriarchal kingdom 200 years after the death of Cinderella promised a captivating story.
The alternate telling of the Cinderella story was very creative, and the final twist to the story was surprising.
However, the story was told through 16-year old Sophia. She is dead-set on escaping her fate of being married off at the mandatory ball that all young women in her kingdom must attend.
She is supposed to be rebellious, but comes off as a selfish brat, with no forethought going into her vague plans for escape. Not surprisingly, this supposedly strong character ends up being a damsel needing saving. And, her savior ends up being the person she falls for instantly, despite the fact Sophia has been in love with her childhood friend for years.
The dialogue between the characters is unnatural, since it is mostly a vehicle for info dumping history and preachy feminism ideals. Therefore, the characters don't feel "real", and I couldn't connect with them. Even when characters die, it is of little consequence.
The pacing was slow, with no real tension in the story to help it along. 60% into the book, all that has happened is that Sophia she went to a ball, ran into the woods and met a witch.
Unfortunately, for me Sophia was a shallow character, ruled only by emotion and was thoughtless, impetuous, and reckless; she doesn't exhibit any growth or intelligence. She takes unnecessary risks that result in predictable results where others pay for her actions, which was really frustrating to me.
This book could have been fantastic had the characters been more believeable and sympathetic. But the twist in the Cinderella story was truly unique and is worth the read.
⭐⭐⭐
Thanks to NetGalley and Bloomsbury YA for the free eARC in exchange for my honest review.
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