A Cinderella Crime Story

by Gracie Qu

Aiden Hui has spent his entire life running away from Infinite, the Chinese American mafia his family has served for generations. His only hope for a life of his own is his older brother, Hui Ye—the patriarch of the Hui family. But when Aiden starts college, Hui Ye is brutally murdered, with no clues to the culprit.

Aiden is left at the mercy of his powerful stepmother, who pressures him to accept his “duty” to Infinite for the sake of her and her two children. Drowning in grief and unwilling to abandon the only family he has left, Aiden resigns himself to his fate—until he meets Brendan.

Unconditionally kind, Brendan is like a prince from a another world, ushering Aiden into a life where friendships aren’t dangerous and hobbies can finally belong to him alone. As they grow closer, Aiden’s desire for freedom reignites—even as the pressure from his stepmother mounts for him to take up Hui Ye’s place in Infinite.

But when both Aiden and Brendan find their lives in danger, a mysterious assassin who calls herself Aiden's fairy godmother intervenes. With her help—and with Brendan at his side—Aiden must confront the identity he inherited, the family he can’t escape, and the freedom he refuses to lose again.

Genres: M M Romance

273 pages, ebook

Published January 30, 2026

About the author

Writer, accountant, and anime blogger. Gracie entered daycare fluent in Chinese and completely at loss with English. It was through picture books that she learned to communicate with the kind, patient, and loving daycare workers. Since then, she has become obsessed with stories in every possible medium. Becoming an author has been her dream since first grade, and in 2026, she finally published her first novel. Aside from spending her days writing complicated characters and Asian-inspired worlds, she’s also addicted to anime, Wikipedia articles, and tax law changes.

You can find her anime obsession at her Twitter social, @Girltaku_AT.

Reviews

[Rachele Anthony]

This was an enjoyable read! My friend first heard about this book online and it’s quickly became the next book in our book club.

The combination of fairytale retelling, Chinese-American POV, and queer main characters is hard to beat. I think the author showed great skill navigating the emotional complexities and manipulation that exist between Aiden and his stepmother/step-siblings. I also enjoyed how Aiden grew into himself throughout the story. There are definitely some inconsistencies in pacing and odd/stilted character interactions, but these were not much of a deterrent.

[Audrey I.]

so cool to read a book by someone i know!! i have two nickels and i only hope i will get more in the future!! i was very swept away by all the mafia mystery stuff and i also had so many aha moments where it clicked for me which parts and characters represented different parts of cinderella… i will admit that some of the stuff clicked really late for me bc i was not thinking critically enough i guess HFJSKFK oops thats on me. especially at the end when i realized how * mirrored a character in cinderella i was like OHHH how did i not get that. anyway aiden was such a fun main character to follow and root for, and it was so interesting to see his reactions and behaviors in “normal” situations that were tainted for him bc of his mafia family background. my guy :( him and brendan were very sweet together but i actually ended up enjoying all the non-romance mystery stuff a lot more which was unexpected for me!! i ate this up so fast my eyes were glued to my kobo i had a lot of fun maybe it's time for me to branch out into this kind of genre again…

also adding on from my storygraph review, i really liked the family portrayal in this story and how aiden's relationships with his two stepsiblings were very different but both very realistic. different experiences with the same parent!! so real!!

[Interleaf Ink]

A Cinderella Crime Story is a creative and surprisingly heartfelt reimagining of Cinderella that trades ballrooms and glass slippers for a Chinese American mafia family, murder, complicated loyalties, and a sweet queer romance. Gracie Qu takes the familiar pieces of the fairy tale and reshapes them in ways that are fun to recognize without making the story feel like a simple retelling.

Aiden is an easy character to root for as he struggles between the obligations he has inherited and his desire to finally have a life that belongs to him. His relationship with Brendan brings a welcome softness to the story, particularly against the danger and pressure surrounding Aiden's family. I also enjoyed how the Cinderella elements appear throughout the story, especially the wonderfully unconventional take on the fairy godmother.

Underneath the mafia mystery and romance, there is a meaningful story about family, identity, freedom, and how difficult it can be to separate what you want from what others have decided you owe them. A Cinderella Crime Story is a clever spin on a familiar fairy tale with plenty of heart, danger, mystery, and romance. It was fun seeing just how many pieces of Cinderella could find new life in such a completely different setting.

[Slumber]

I like this re-telling of the traditional Cinderella tale. Not something you see often. It reminds me of one of those older Chinese or Hong Kong films that involve the mafia and such. Honestly, I wouldn’t be surprised if this was inspired by an anime like Banana Fish either. If you are a fan of boys love and looking for a contemporary story, then this is the novel for you. As an Asian American, I fully relate to Aiden’s thoughts and struggles with his family as some of the scenes aren’t anything new to anyone who has grown up in America, but its really nice to read a novel that showcases this side of Chinese culture. It’s glaringly obvious that the author has a ton of cultural knowledge to share with her readers. I’ll admit, I grew to appreciate many of the characters after learning about their backstories. Aiden’s love interest, Brendan, is probably one of my favorite characters because he really sees Aiden for who he is. Despite the relatively predictable plot, there are still moments that made me wonder how things happened, and it’s a great short read overall.

[Thalia Minh]

Not my usual kinda genre, but honestly, the gays are GIVINGGGG!

There’s so much deep chemistry between Aiden and Brennan that I forgot I was in a large, high-action packed mafia novel. They make me believe in wholesome romance again, and not the trashy stuff on Hollywood screen.

The book’s massive points are absolutely the dialogue and the emotional beats surrounding the theme of “freedom.” It’s not just about the gay lovebirds finding their own future, but a deeper look into families (primarily Asian-American) that often blur the lines of co-dependency, control, and ill-placed “love.” I don’t think I’ve ever felt personally close to a novel like this, even though it takes place in a stranger-than-not setting of a mafia family with Cinderella overtones.

Honestly, I can’t complain much about this book. I only give it a four stars because I was expecting more of a deep dive in Chinese triads/mafias, but if that’s the case, then the writer had to be in on something… right?

[Katja Miller]

In a world where the Cinderella story trope has been repurposed, adapted, animated, filmed in live action, and reimagined in a multitude of ways, Gracie has successfully broken the stale curse of the original story. Drawing on elements of the Cinderella archetype, Gracie has written a whimsical (yet modern), familiar (but not clichéd), and heartwarming tale that follows a young Chinese boy torn between his obligations to his family’s business (a mafia crime organization) and staying true to himself and his values. By using this familiar narrative, Gracie has created a story that transcends the repetitive recycling loop and instead delivers a thoughtful, heartwarming coming-of-age tale shaped by the complexities of Asian American upbringing and queer experiences.

This book was such a fun read, and I especially loved Celia’s character! Do yourself a favor and buy this book, you won’t want to miss out on this story!

[Paige Jones]

My friends and I decided to do a little book club for this book after one of us saw the author discussing it on TikTok!
It was a fun read! There were some interesting concepts and dynamics- for example the step mother and Aiden, and Aiden and Zhu Zhu. I also thought the parts about the Chinese mafia in relation to the US government and racism/xenophobia/sinophobia were very compelling. There were things this book taught me such as how Chinese women were not allowed to immigrate to the United States when immigration from China to the US first began.
The writing fell a bit short for me at some points but I could tell the author cared about this story and I hope she continues writing!

[Clay Levinson]

I don’t typically pick up fiction but was intrigued by a mafia and BL twist on cinderella. Sure to say, this book did not disappoint! I was hooked by the second chapter and couldn’t put it down. I fell in love with the main character as he found his voice and discovered his feelings. Also, where can I sign up for the photography club?! I want to photograph the albino squirrel!

[비우]

Gracie wrote a beautiful debut novel. As someone who is less familiar with Chinese and Chinese-American culture, it was a smooth introduction. This fairytale turned Mafia story was so fun to read. And, of course, the queer representation in addition was exactly what it needed. I highly recommend giving this a read. It's a fun and quick read!

[nana]

A really fun and interesting take on the Cinderella trope! Also, dare I say, the best fairy godmother of all time?

I read this in one sitting. The romance is cute, and the twists and turns keep you hooked. Really well-written and thoroughly enjoyed it!

[Victoria]

4,5 Surprisingly so good

[Cristina]

I really, really liked it. So many emotions were conveyed trough out the pages and there was this panic at the beginning that everything was going to end so badly but the resolution was really something else. Loveed the godmother character, such an excellent addition to the story.

[Michele (MicheleIsBooked)]

.𝙱𝙾𝙾𝙺 𝚁𝙴𝚅𝙸𝙴𝚆.⋆⊹₊
"A Cinderella Crime Story" by: Gracie Qu
★★★

Thank you so much to the author for sending me a copy for an honest review!

𝚝𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚐𝚑𝚝𝚜:
First of all, I love retellings. I love seeing the ways an author can take the skeleton of a work and make it their own and thats exactly what the author did for this book.

This book was fast paced and a lot of action was going on right from the start.
The stepmother was really unlikable and I couldn’t stand the way she’d treat Aiden, the main character. I will say that Aiden wasn’t my favorite character in the book though. He was very timid and sometimes it was a little frustrating to read about him, but Brendan, the Godmother and the other side characters really made up for it.

Somewhere in the middle, the pacing felt a little slow but it picks up and ends on a nice note.

I liked that there were little Chinese lessons sprinkled throughout as well. It's interesting to learn about names and titles!

Overall, this book was entertaining and a really interesting twist on Cinderella.

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