I know, I know, it’s a fairy story, of course it’s not logical, but…this felt off even by the world it creates. That said, there’s a pretty weird logical hiccup in the plot. (Especially the focus on the roses, which hit a definite soft spot for me.) I would definitely say push through the unnecessary foreword to get to the story proper, because it’s better than the foreword led me to believe. This did go into new territory, which I was grateful for and really interested to see. While I like queer fairytale retellings, I don’t like them when they just substitute a Disney character for another gender, or make out the character to have been trans all along, and then tell me the exact same story. It’s a Cinderella retelling (obviously…) and it does go fairly far off the beaten track, which is nice. But it’s hard to forget the greatest night of her life when every rose she plants is a reminder. Dumped by her wicked stepmother on the farthest edge of the kingdom, Ella must find a way to let go of the princess and the beautiful life they shared for an hour. For a moment she glimpses a world that can accept her, and she holds on tight.

The princess is elegant, bold, and everything Ella never knew she wanted. While Princess Lizabetta invited Cole to the ball, she doesn’t blink an eye when Cinderella is the one who shows. For the first time, strangers see a woman when she walks down the stairs. Where else can she go?Īn opportunity to attend the royal ball transforms Ella’s life. She cooks, she cleans, and she tolerates being called the wrong name for the sake of a roof over her head. Eleanor can’t stand her, and after Ella’s father passes she’s forced to revert to Cole, a lump of a son. She was happier in skirts than trousers, but that was before her stepmother moved in. She’s known since she was young being a woman just fit better.

Cinder and ella