Ella is a haunting.

Murdered at sixteen, her ghost is furiously trapped in her father’s house, invisible to everyone except her stepmother and stepsisters.

Even when she discovers how to untether herself from her prison, there are limits. She cannot be seen or heard by the living people who surround her. Her family must never learn she is able to leave. And at the stroke of every midnight, she finds herself back on the staircase where she died.

Until she forges a wary friendship with a fairy charm-seller, and makes a bargain for three nights of almost-living freedom. Freedom that means she can finally be seen. Danced with. Touched.

You think you know Ella’s story: the ball, the magical shoes, the handsome prince.

You’re halfway right, and all-the-way wrong.

In Cinder House by Freya Marske, the author has created a unique Cinderella variant, a novel so unusual that I absorbed it in one day. In Cinder House, Ella is a haunting, a ghost and she is hungry for life, for freedom. And with a fairy bargain, she can have that moment. But in this version, what she does with that freedom is only the start of the story. 

I love the differences to the original fairytale, the intricacies of Ella’s abilities as a ghost haunting her house and the world is intriguing, especially how magic works in different ways, including how fairies manipulate magic and the bargain that Ella makes. Even more interesting, is how the author slowly reveals the truth for all of the protagonists, including Ella and the unexpected ending, friendship gained. This is a gorgeous, brilliantly executed tale that keeps the core of Cinderella while coming up with a unique version.

If you like Cinderella tales, I strongly recommend Cinder House. It is a unique Cinderella story, with an emotional story, strong characters and unique magic systems. It also has Ella who is beautiful and intriguing to read about. I loved the story but most of all, I loved Ella’s ending, bittersweet in some ways but gorgeous in others. 

Rating: 5 out of 5 letters. 

MacMillan Publishing

Freya Marske website