Summary from GoodReads:

After her father’s disappearance, Cinder leaves home for a servant job at the castle. But it isn’t long before her sister Ella is brought to the castle herself. What Ella finds there starts a quest that will change her life and the entire kingdom. Cinder and Ella is a Cinderella story like no other, and one you’ll never forget.

My Review:

Cinder and Ella is a fairy-tale re-telling.  If you read many of my reviews, you know this is a specific genre that I absolutely adore.  Even at 35, I never get tired of fairy tales and Cinderella is one of my favorites.

Melissa Lemon takes a far different path then anything I’ve read yet.  She splits Cinderella into two people – Cinder, a daughter who is obedient, servile, meek, and calm and Ella, a fiery-tempered girl who wants something more for her life.  Added into the mix is a legend of trees, kidnapping, evil Princes and clumsy Knights.

I will admit, this was a cute story.  It had a good message, dealt with some universal themes (needing independence, showing responsibility) and had a sweet love story threaded through it.  I think it’s a story that any young girl in her teens would enjoy, provided she wasn’t overly cynical and looking for sparkly vampires or the like.

Still… there was something a bit lacking.  I can’t really place my finger on it, but I think it had to do with Cinder.  I just couldn’t connect with her, instead getting the feeling that the book was more about Ella.  That isn’t in itself a problem, but when you name your book after two characters, I sort of expect them to be equally treated, and they weren’t.  Cinder came off as a bit of a sop and Ella was definitely the likeable, easy-to-connect-to character.

All that aside, if you are wanting a bit of a different twist on Cinderella, this isn’t a waste of a read.  It’s interesting, cute, will make you laugh and is short enough to read in one sitting.

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