Cinder House
by Freya Marske
2025

This is shockingly good! It’s only 136 pages long, a retelling of the Cinderella story, and it starts with Ella’s death, because she’s a ghost for the entire story. The prince is, notably, not a ghost. Also, I have rarely hated a character as much as I hated the second step-sister.

Marske manages to create an incredibly well-developed and fascinating world of magic and politics, a cast of characters who are each unique and complex, and a host of delightful but seemingly-loose threads that all get pulled together into an incredibly satisfying conclusion. All the pieces and plot points were laid out ahead of time such that no action or event happens without plenty of backing for why and how, and yet the twists and turns were still surprising and exciting, and all the more wonderful for how everything slots perfectly into place. I read this in a single evening and am giddy with it! I highly recommend!