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Cover of Cinder House

Cinder House

by Freya Marske

🌶️🌶️mild·spoiler

Why Read This?

A Cinderella retelling where the ghost IS the house — Gothic yearning, queer poly love, and prose that aches with longing.

Synopsis

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 ). At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

At a Glance

3.82 ★ Goodreads
Spice Level🌶️🌶️mild
Endingspoiler
PairingPOLYAMOROUS / MULTI-PARTNER
Romance Pacingmedium burn

Top Tropes

fairytale retellingforbidden lovefound family

Mood

atmosphericmysteriousbittersweetromanticmagical

Book Details

Goodreads Rating

3.82 ★

Page Count

144 pages

Published

2025

Primary Genre

Gothic Romance

Pairing

POLYAMOROUS / MULTI-PARTNER

POV

Third Person

Romance Pacing

Medium Burn

Cliffhanger

spoiler

Audiobook

Available

Yes

Format

Single Narrator

Narrator

Anna Burnett

Tropes

RomanceMagicActionAngstWorld
Theme Constellation

Mood & Vibe

Mood

sign in to see writing style, pacing & more

Characters

FMC: survivor sign in to unlock

Spice Details 🌶️

Three brief but clear scenes, two surprisingly kinky. Arousal filtered through Ella's ghostly experience of being the house — sensory details like footsteps on carpet feel electric. sign in to unlock

domestic abusemurderdeath of a parentphysical abusetortureviolenceanimal cruelty (off-page)

World & Setting

gothic sign in to unlock

Reading Context

cathartic release sign in to unlock

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