Sapph-Lit | Cinder House
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Cinder House
Freya Marske
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Sparks fly and lovers dance in this gorgeous, yearning Cinderella retelling from bestselling author Freya Marske—a queer Gothic romance perfect for fans of Naomi Novik and T. Kingfisher.
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.
Rediscover a classic fairy tale in this debut novella from "the queen of romantic fantasy" (Polygon).
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Posts about this title from Sapph-Lit
Sapph-Lit\ \ Nina\ \ • Dec 19 2025
All the books grotto & Sapph-Lit gave away at last week's annual Holiday Book Fair 📚☃️🎄
thank you to everyone who came to scoop up some queer literature and celebrate with us, to our fabulous and supportive publishers & @threads, to @kimnarby for her sneak peek reading of Saturn Returning, and to @thestandardhighline for hosting us! We hope you’re all REALLY 👀 enjoying the goodies we stuffed into your totes from our friends at @dameproducts @getmaude @flybyjing @cheerielane 🫶🏽 these book parties really fill our cup and we already can’t wait for the next! Follow us to stay tuned! ✨🌈
46 books
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Posts about this book from across Bindery
Sapph-Lit\ \ Nina\ \ • Dec 19 2025
All the books grotto & Sapph-Lit gave away at last week's annual Holiday Book Fair 📚☃️🎄
46 books
2
Ladybug Books\ \ Samantha\ \ • Oct 12 2025
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[Hello friends, and welcome to my first Bindery newsletter! I am hoping to post these once a week to provide a little recap of my reading week, along with some book recommendations and books on my priority TBR. If there is anything else you would like to see in these newsletters, let me know!\ \
- *\ \ Reading Updates: Audiobook | Finished: Remarkably Bright Creatures \ \ Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐\ \ Thoughts: My mom has been trying to get me to read "the octopus book" for over a year at this point, and I finally got to it. It absolutely does not surprise me that my mom gave an amazing book recommendation. Remarkably Bright Creatures is a charming, heartfelt book about family, grief, community, and growing old. Marcellus' chapters were so unique and endearing. Though I love how everything came together, I found myself wishing for something to add an element of surprise to the story. The plot plays out exactly how you would expect. Though it is a very sweet story, it can feel a bit one note. Cameron's character was also quite grating at the beginning. Though I appreciate his growth.\ \ Audiobook + Ebook | Finished: The Second Death of Locke \ \ Rating: ⭐⭐⭐\ \ Thoughts: I don't think you understand how high my hopes were for The Second Death of Locke. It was one of my most anticipated releases of the year—I really thought it would be a guaranteed five star read. It took me a month to read this because I just didn't care about the characters, the plot, certainly not the romance. It's not that I actively disliked this, but I just felt so indifferent towards the story to the point that I had to use the audiobook to force myself to finish. With the lady knight aesthetic, the cover, themes of devotion and betrayal, and comp to Gideon the Ninth, I was expecthing this story to pack so much more of a punch. It feels like this book played it too safe with almost everything, resulting in an underwhelming story that lacks tension. The characters are just nice. They're nice, kind, and in love to the point that they feel borderline one-dimensional. The romance lacked any tension because they were both clearly in love from the start. I was particularly disappointed in Grey as this "lady knight" character. I have a lot more thoughts in my full review on TikTok if you're interested. Long story short, I think this is my most disappointing read of the year so far.\ \ Audiobook | Currently Reading: My Friends \ \ Progress: 16%\ \ Thoughts: The first ladybugs.mom audiobook recommendation I actually picked up was My Friends by Fredrik Backman. This story is incredible. I am absolutely loving the audiobook but I know that this is one that I want to read with my eyes so that I can tab all of the amazing lines about art, life, and friendship. I'm planning on starting over with the physical copy once I finish my current physical read.\ \ Paperback (ARC) | Currently Reading: Agnes Aubert's Mystical Cat Shelter \ \ Progress: 60%\ \ Thoughts: The Howl's Moving Castle vibes are strong with this current read. Too strong? Undecided. Heather Fawcett delivers another delightful cozy fantasy read, this time with lots of cats. This is a very heartwarming read so far and I love the choatic whimsy of the magic and the cat shelter. I do find myself wishing for a little bit more of a plot. I think I prefer the combination of cozy, romance, and magical action featured in the Emily Wilde series. Regardless, I am really enjoying it and hope to finish soon!\ \
- *\ \ On my radar (possible next reads): \ \ I recently found out that Cinder House is actually a novella! A queer, Gothic Cinderella retelling, this will be the perfect read for a moody fall evening.\ \ \ \ The people are loving this and I could not be more excited to read it. The only other thing I have read from Marie Lu is the Skyhunter duology but that remains one of my favorite YA fantasy series. Urban fantasy with alchemy, I cannot wait to get started!\ \
- *\ \ Fantasy Standalones Perfect For Fall: \ \ I feel like I am constantly starting new, incomplete series and I can never catch up. Recently on my TikTok I recommended some completed series, but here I wanted to shout out something even rarer—fantasy standalones. I narrowed the list down to a few recommedations that I think would be perfect to read during the fall.\ \ \ \ The Maiden and Her Monster by Maddie Martinez: This recent fantasy release beautifully weaves Jewish history and folklore together with a fantastical world. In order to save her mother from being accused of a crimes she didn't commit, young healer Malka journeys into the forest to find the monster that is stealing the village's young girls. In the forest, Malka stumbles across a monster, but not the one she expected. She makes a deal with this disgraced golem that gets her involved in politics, rebellion, sinister threats, and ancient magic. I highly recommend the audiobook in particular. The narrator does a fantastic job bringing Maddie's beautiful writing to life!\ \ \ \ Year of the Reaper by Makiia Lucier: This YA fantasy story absolutely swept me away when I read it last year. In this book we follow Lord Cassia who returns home after being held prisoner in an enemy kingdom for years. A near death experience during his captivity has left him with the unusual ability to see the dead. His emotional return home is interuppted by an assassination attempt that sets the court on the trail of a terrible secret. I absolutely love this story. Cas is such a compelling main character and I loved watching him start his journey of healing. There are great family moments in this as well as a sweet romance subplot.\ \ \ \ Ink Blood Sister Scribe by Emma Törzs : Ink Blood Sister Scribe is a tightly woven story of family, loyalty, and power. This book is a unique love letter to books that reminds me a lot of The Starless Sea(another great standalone). What I enjoyed the most was how everything connected together. None of the reveals were particularly shocking, but it is incredibly satisfying when an author effectively uses every single element of the story.I loved the book based magic system and I really appreciate how the author explored the topics of conservation, power, and control through the library and the books.\ \
- *\ \ Have you read any of these books? I would love to hear your thoughts! See you next week with more reading updates and book recommendations.\ \ Happy reading!\ \ Samantha (ladybug.books)\ \ Join for free or login](https://ladybug-books.binderybooks.com/item/rQuiLGKpWddiZmcCjAWa/)
Ladybug.books Newsletter (10/5/25 - 10/11/25)
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The Inkborne Society\ \ Azhangia\ \ • Oct 3 2025
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\ \ Join for free or login](https://azhangia.binderybooks.com/item/7yIVUIbPELjhWaR02aGj/)
October 2025 Book Releases (Fantasy & Sci-Fi)
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Limmadi8\ \ Madi\ \ • Jul 23 2025
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One of the most unique Cinderella retellings I’ve read #cinderhouse #freyamarske #freyamarskebooks
One of the most unique Cinderella retellings I’ve read #cinderhouse #freyamarske #freyamarskebooks #lgbtqbooks #lgbtbooks #fairytaleretellings #cinderella #cinderellaretelling #booktok #books #bookreview #bookrec
1 book
Limmadi8\ \ Madi\ \ • Jul 23 2025
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Not packing 10 books is harder than you think as a mood reader. #booktok #books #vacationbooks
Not packing 10 books is harder than you think as a mood reader. #booktok #books #vacationbooks #cruelisthelight #cinderhouse #amongghosts #fantasybooks #cinderellaretelling #romantasy #paranormalbooks
3 books