Cinder Paperback – March 29, 2018

This is really a gay fairy tale (no pun intended) cause it’s sweet and romantic, to an innocence level that only very young mind still have, but that also an adult could appreciate, if they wanted to dream.The story is Cinderella, from beginning to the end. The author didn’t try to divert too much from the original, and the only major change she did is to have Cinderella becoming Cinder, the young cousin of the two twin sisters from hell, Penelope and Jessalyn. Cinder will fall in love with his Prince Charming, Xavier, but Xavier is the heir to the crown, and he needs to marry to a certain age, to meet the requirement to be eligible to the throne, and his birthday is upcoming. How Xavier and Cinder will manage to achieve their happily ever after is part of the reason why you will have to read the story, cause that wasn’t in the original Cinderella fairy tale.I liked the author maintained the story to an “ingénue” level, just some chaste kisses; I’m not sure if the two even consummate their love, cause, well, like in the old tradition, the author says and doesn’t say, leaving to the imagination of the reader to fill the dots.Another point that I liked is how the author approached the homosexuality; first of all this is a fantasy story, so well, isn’t like there a right or wrong way, but the author simply had Cinder admit to himself he prefers men, but in a way like he was admitting he prefer fish over meat. Of course there were troubles involved, Xavier needs to marry a woman, but well, Cinder being a man wasn’t really the main issue, in a way it was more problematic that Cinder was a servant and Xavier a prince.

Right from the beginning, this had that familiar tone of a fairytale: light, bouncy, easily recognizable character types, and even a healthy level of innocence in both of the main characters, Eldon and Xavier.This does come with a twist, though, and maybe one you’re not expecting. Not that I was thinking a lot ab out it, but it sort of surprised me. How would it play out?About half way through and I still couldn’t decide if that twist was working. The writing is certainly good, the story moving along at a good pace, very readable, and nothing was too heavy, just a bit of conflict and angst. I just didn’t know yet how I felt about it, how the main conflict was getting resolved.I will say that I was definitely pulling for Eldon and Xavier to have their happily ever after. It’s a fairytale after all. ;)By the end, I still couldn’t decide how I felt about the twist and resulting resolution. Something about it didn’t sit right with me. I know this is a fairytale and doesn’t warrant much time spent in the overthinking things category, but it’s causing me to do just that.This is sweet and cute and a quick read. Whenever you’re looking for a palate cleanser, those shorter stories that allow you to reset after a particularly challenging read, this is definitely a nice option.* Originally reviewed for Prism Book Alliance®

I’ve read other fairytale reimaginings, some good, some not so good, but I really enjoyed this one. There’s a lot of humor, and a lot of sweetness, too. Unlike in the original, the prince gets the opportunity to spend time with his spouse-to-be, and it’s a treat to see their relationship develop. The magic here’s a bit different, and very clever. I haven’t read any of this author’s other books, but I’ll be giving some of them a try.

This story is an interesting idea with an appropriately fairy tale style of writing, but it's just too underdeveloped to be memorable. In fairy tales we are told that the handsome prince falls in love with the princess/servant girl/mermaid etc and we just have to accept it, but in a MM romance writer's reinvention of a classic I would have liked to feel a real emotional connection and some angst about their being of the same gender, if not from the characters themselves then at least from their community. If that kind of depth and conflict is not what Marie Sexton intended with this project then I don't see the point of writing it at all.On reflection, the conversation that takes place at the ball when Eldon looks like a girl is rather sweet, showing that the prince is drawn to Eldon as a person regardless of gender. If not for that, this would only rate 2 stars.

I was a little worried this might be a little cheesy at first. But once I started reading it I found it truly wonderful! I rarely ever get to read fairy tales with a twist of this kind that don't turn into a ridiculous mess of magic and poof happily ever after. This was truly a wonderful read. I highly recommend it! Especially if you're a fan of homosexual romance! I absolutely adore it! And the author wrote in her own interesting twists to the story. Like a witch instead of a fairy godmother helping the main character. And the gossip the servants talk about happening in the kingdom hint at other fairy tales happening at the same time. That was a remarkably pleasant surprise! I only wish it was longer and a bit more in depth so I could enjoy more happenings with Cinder and the Prince.I only have 2 complaints about 'Cinder.' The first is that there are a few mistakes like double printed words here and there. Though this is easy to look past. The second, most HUGE (for me) is after I grew to love and support the two main characters SO much and wanted to see them finally consummate it in their lovemaking scene, their love making was completely skipped over! I was looking forward to seeing the two characters finally love each other in such a way but it was skipped. It left me hanging and more than a little sad and dissapointed at that.Other than those 2 things. If you're looking for a quick, really cute, pulls at your heart strings and leaves you with happy butterflies kind of read than 'Cinder' is for you! Even more so if you enjoy the twist on fairy tales! I really truly loved and enjoyed it and think it's worth the read. I wish there was more!

A gender-bender retelling of Cinderella that will enchant the readers.It a worth reading a short story that will give you all the feels.

I love everything I've ever read by this author, and this doesn't disappoint. She creates believable worlds and characters who are often far from perfect, but who you can't help caring about and rooting for.

it was.... weird. i picked it up because of this mlm recommendation list and the others books were really nice. and they said that this was their favourite out of all the mlm cinderella stories but?????? it was????? so weird??????? (spoiler alert?) the very "female" part with the very female arousal was... and the part where Xavier, out of nowhere, admitted that he actually wanted to touch kiss etc. eldon all along while being completely smitten by the female version was a bit hard to wrap my head around. ig it would be because he was in love with the same person so he felt a bit weird that he was in love with two people at once so he didn't let his feelings manifest in the romantic way but like eh. it was ok-ish tbh, leaning towards slight disappointment? but that's because i was expecting too much from a very heterosexual story somy bad ig

It’s as silly as those terrible hallmark movies and just as enjoyable. I highly recommend it for anyone looking for a light entertaining read with just the right amount of fluffy ridiculous storytelling

I was smiling right through the story. I loved the ending. Thank you for writing such a lovely light story.