Reviews

The good
- A Cinderella retelling where she is a black trans woman and the prince is a princess. This book is great just for fact it exists
- While I found the first part a bit boring, from the announcement of the ball onwards the story was very entertaining
- The trans joy of Ella when she wears the dress!! When people see her as a woman at the ball!! Getting to know people and saying that she's Ella!!

The neutral
- The story is more focused on trans pain than trans joy

The bad
- In my opinion, considering that Ella is seen as a man from her family, the family dynamics don't make sense compared to the original story

queerafictionado's review

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fast-paced

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

3.5

I absolutely love the idea of a trans Cinderella! It just seems like a perfect way to retell this rather problematic fairy tale. I was really hoping to see this story transformed and filled with trans joy, but that isn’t quite what I got. I knew going into this that it was obviously not going to be all sunshine and rainbows. I mean…it’s Cinderella. Evil stepmother and stepsisters are kind of part of the deal. But I felt like more of the focus was on the transphobia from her step family than on her trans joy which is what I was wanting. And then in the midst of all the hardship and turmoil, some parts felt a little too easy and at times even contradicting. The other issue was that I couldn’t tell what time period the story was taking place in. At times it felt like it was supposed to be more historical and at other times contemporary, which made it difficult to fully immerse myself in the world. I did enjoy the story. It was a quick read with a unique twist on the Cinderella story. It just didn’t wow me and fell a little short of what I was hoping for from a trans Cinderella retelling.

🏳️‍🌈Rep: Black Trans FMC, Sapphic LI (note: author is not black)

📝Tropes/Themes: Young Adult, Fantasy, Sapphic Romance, Fairy Tale Retelling

Content Warnings

lynn_reads's review

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3.0

It was fine. No character development and predictable but sweet

alainajreads's review

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hopeful 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

3.25

A short and sweet retelling of the Cinderella story. As with many other novellas, I did wish there was more world building, establishing the setting, and character development, and there was a lot of the Instalove trope with Ella and Princess Lizabetta. I also wished Ella’s stepfamily would’ve gotten their comeuppance and that there had been an epilogue to further Ella and Lizabetta as a couple. It was cute, though a bit corny at times, and I was glad to see Ella build her confidence and get her happy ending with her princess away from her stepfamily!

Read for the Trans Rights Readathon

uvglopanda's review

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emotional hopeful lighthearted sad fast-paced

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

3.0

Cute short and fast. Felt more like reading a synopsis of a much bigger story and could have been far more fleshed out to become a longer read.

Very little description of the world just...suddenly MAGIC!

Read for the Trans Rights Read-a-thon and probably won't check out the other titles simply because not my length/detail/pace style.

Finishing it in 2 days is a record for me.

Heads up for some triggering behavior!

Content Warnings

divergentpixie's review

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adventurous hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective 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? Yes

4.25

Oh my gosh. So cute. I loved the chemistry between Ella and Princess Lizabetta.
Read for the trans right readathon!
*transphobia, deadnaming, abuse

Content Warnings

bloodymoon13's review

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adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring 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

4.0

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