Author: Kalynn Bayron
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Pages: 400
Source: NetGalley
Buy: Amazon|Barnes & Noble|Indigo Canada|Book Depository
Rating: 3/5
"It’s 200 years after Cinderella found her prince, but the fairy tale is over. Teen girls are now required to appear at the Annual Ball, where the men of the kingdom select wives based on a girl’s display of finery. If a suitable match is not found, the girls not chosen are never heard from again. Sixteen-year-old Sophia would much rather marry Erin, her childhood best friend, than parade in front of suitors. At the ball, Sophia makes the desperate decision to flee, and finds herself hiding in Cinderella’s mausoleum. There, she meets Constance, the last known descendant of Cinderella and her step sisters. Together they vow to bring down the king once and for all–and in the process, they learn that there’s more to Cinderella’s story than they ever knew . . . This fresh take on a classic story will make readers question the tales they’ve been told, and root for girls to break down the constructs of the world around them."-Goodreads

Thank you Bloomsbury YA and Netgalley for giving me the chance to read and review this E-ARC. 

Kalynn Bayron has created a unique twist on the tale of Cinderella. I enjoyed the overall premise of this novel. I also love the diversity presented in this book. My favourite characters were Constance and the fairy godmother. I was fond of the interactions between the two of them and Sophia. 

Bayron did a good job of plotting and unravelling the truth behind Cinderella's story. I thought Cinderella's story was well thought out in this standalone The author has also created a scary dystopian world for women. Mersailles is a highly patriarchal kingdom where women are oppressed and forced into marriages at annual balls. 

I did not like Sophia at the very beginning of this story. However, she started to grow on me by the end. She is a very strong female lead and she starts off that way. She is not afraid to speak her mind and notice all that is wrong within Lille's society. 

This book was a bit slow, in pace, for me. The story, including the ending, was also a bit predictable.

I felt the romance and character development could have been a bit stronger. The romance, that appears later in the book, was a bit rushed. The characters fall in love, almost, instantaneously without really getting to know one another. 

I also felt that Sophia's relationships with her friends (Erin and in particular Liv) could have been stronger. I felt Liv, Luke, and even Erin to some extent were characters who were important one minute to Sophia and then forgotten a second later. 

Overall, I encourage fans of fairytale retellings to check out Cinderella is Dead on July 7, 2020.

Author: Tahereh Mafi
Publisher: HarperCollins
Pages: 462
Source: The Ripped Bodice
Buy: Amazon|Indigo Canada|Barnes&Noble|Book Depository
Rating: 4/5
The explosive finale to the New York Times and USA Today bestselling Shatter Me series. Juliette Ferrars. Ella Sommers. Which is the truth and which is the lie? Now that Ella knows who Juliette is and what she was created for, things have only become more complicated. As she struggles to understand the past that haunts her and looks to a future more uncertain than ever, the lines between right and wrong—between Ella and Juliette—blur. And with old enemies looming, her destiny may not be her own to control. The day of reckoning for the Reestablishment is coming. But she may not get to choose what side she fights on.-Goodreads

I have mixed feelings about the end of the Shatter Me series. I enjoyed this book but did not like this as the ending to a series. I felt there should have been another novel. That Imagine Me was a rush to end things. This felt especially true with that epilogue. 

Author:Marie Rutkoski
Publisher:Farrar Straus Giroux
Pages:355
Source: Chapters/Indigo
Buy:Amazon|Chapters|Book Depository
Rating:4/5
"Winning what you want may cost you everything you love They were never meant to be together. As a general's daughter, seventeen-year-old Kestrel enjoys an extravagant and privileged life. Arin has nothing but the clothes on his back. Then Kestrel makes an impulsive decision that binds Arin to her. Though they try to fight it, they can't help but fall in love. In order to be together, they must betray their people . . . but to be loyal to their country, they must betray each other. Set in a new world, The Winner's Curse is a story of rebellion, duels, ballroom dances, wicked rumors, dirty secrets, and games where everything is at stake, and the gamble is whether you will keep your head or lose your heart. -Amazon Canada"

The Winner's Curse is one of those books I have crossed paths with many times when I am in a bookstore. The book was published back in 2014, and I feel bad for not picking it up sooner. It is told from two POV: Kestrel and Arin.

Rutkoski's writing style flows nicely through the book. I found the last hundred pages to be a bit rushed. There were also topics that the character's alluded to instead of actually talking about them. This made the book, in my opinion, a bit confusing at time. It might be that I am horrible at picking up at things that should be obvious.

Kestrel and Arin have strong, distinct personalities. I felt Rutkoski did a fantastic job at developing their relationship with one another and slowly incorporating their backstory into the novel.

I also was pleasantly surprised to find out that this book doesn't, really, have a love triangle. That is ok because I totally ship Arin and Kestrel.

The only character that I felt could have been better developed was the antagonist. Again, with me thinking the second half of the book was rushed, I didn't feel like I could connect with this person's character.

The ending of The Winner's Curse will definitely leave readers wanting more and lucky for me the full trilogy is already published.

I am curious to see how this trilogy will develop and which direction it will go in. I am also hoping we see more of Kestrel's friends, Jess and Ronan, in the next book. Ronan was also one of my favourite characters, and I was sad we didn't see him much in the second half of the book.

What are your thoughts on this book?