Nobody understood her love of the night.
If you know me at all, you know I’ve never really been a lover of scary. In that same vein, monsters and darkness have never quite appealed to me. But I do absolutely adore retellings. And in that thinking, I was more excited than I expected to be when I stumbled across Wiley Blevins’ Cinderella and the Vampire Prince. And even with that excitement, this story genuinely surprised me. Illustrated by Steve Cox, this isn’t exactly the kind of story I would usually pick up but I’m certainly glad I did.
I Have This Friend
So, one of my all-time best friends is a huge fan of all things scary. She grew up watching horror movies and still loves them to this day. The first time I read Cinderella and the Vampire Prince, I immediately thought of her. And I haven’t really stopped since. This is honestly one of the most exceptional spins on the Cinderella story we all know and love. It’s wonderfully unique and, in many ways, quite exceptional.
Cinderella and the Vampire Prince follows your typical Cinderella tale, with one exception. Cinderella loves darkness. She loves the night. In fact, she spends much of her time dreaming of it or exploring it. Finally, we arrive at the ball and we hit another change. The prince is not just a prince, but a vampire!
Beauty of the Night
I’ll be honest here. The artwork wasn’t really for me. I already don’t really care for spook-related stories and here we are with a book that shows a very stereotypical Dracula on its cover. Cinderella, while quite pretty, doesn’t make up for the fact that her stepsisters are exaggerated caricatures. The party attendees are all various different monsters, some you may recognize. And the fairy godfather? Bleh.
But, when all is said and done, this is still some beautiful art. The characters all have unique and distinct personalities, both in story and illustrations. Cinderella and her outfits are beautiful. And the settings? I loved it.
As the Clock Stopped on Midnight
This is definitely a book I would love to have on my shelf. As an avid fan of retellings, and Cinderella retellings in general, I always love to see new takes. Cinderella and the Vampire Prince is one of the more unique takes I’ve had the pleasure of reading. Better yet, this book isn’t whitewashed and the main character has a Hispanic look to her both in features and clothing.
I’m glad to have had a chance to read this book and eager to see others get that chance as well. It’s definitely a great read to have on hand in the month of October.
🦊🦊🦊🦊
| Instagram | Twitter | Goodreads | Bloglovin’ | Facebook |
Reader Fox 