A Cinderella Novella: A Short and Sweet Hockey Romance

by Sadie Henley

Once upon a time, in a seaside college town in the smallest state, there was a girl named Ella Simmons. Ella lived with her wicked stepmother and two stepsisters while attending her freshman year of college at her dream school.

During her studies, she also works the snack bar at her dad’s old ice rink where the college hockey team practices daily.

Star hockey player, Dallas Dawes, works hard on and off the ice. Will he notice the snack bar girl, or will he skate on by?

Will Ella ever find her Prince Charming and get her fairy-tale ending?

*A Cinderella Novella is a light and fun Cinderella-inspired short story and is a complete standalone romance. This book is kissing only.*

92 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 25, 2026

About the author

Sadie Henley is a contemporary romance author who loves to write swoony love stories for deserving characters. Her stories are authentic and filled with heart, banter, and spice.

Sadie resides in the Northeast USA with her husband and two boys. She loves long naps on the beach and getting lost in a good book.

Reviews

[Lydia Ralte]

Received ARC.

Honest review - This novella and the plot to the 2004 A Cinderella Story movie is strikingly similar (the pen pal, the mask at the party). Too familiar infact that it's hard to pinpoint exactly if any new content is inserted by the writer.

Everyone enjoys a good Cinderella story, however, if it's done right. This was rushed and rehashed.

[Sim-fully Ever After]

3.25🌟, 1🌶️

I had a nice time with this one.

It’s a sweet Cinderella retelling set in the world of college hockey, and while the story felt very familiar, it was still an easy, cozy read that kept me turning the pages.

I liked Ella and Dallas together, especially their online connection, and the dual POV added an extra layer of charm. I just wish the characters had been a little more developed and that the story had carved out more of its own identity instead of sticking so closely to the classic retelling.

It was a cute, comforting read that left me smiling.

~~~~

Special thanks to the lovely author Sadie Henley for the ARC! 😍 All my bookish thoughts are completely my own. ✨

[Ptiteaurel]

Aujourd'hui, je vous parle d'une réécriture court et très sympa de Cendrillon. Pour ceux qui n'osent pas se lancer dans une lecture en anglais, je trouve que c'est un bon choix car le vocabulaire est simple et l'histoire bien remise dans une version moderne.

Ella Simmons est une jeune femme qu'on va adorer car elle n'a pas eu la vie facile. Elle a perdu sa mère à sa naissance et son père alors qu'elle n'avait que 10 ans. La vie de ses parents était digne d'un conte de fées avant que tout ne bascule. Quand son père, champion de hockey, a refait sa vie sa belle mère, Vienna, lui a pourri la vie. Elle n'a pas une minute à elle, travaille tout en essayant de concilier avec ses études à Bristol Bay University. J'ai aimé les moments qu'elle peut passer avec SoloSurfer car cette relation faite de SMS est une bouffée d'oxygène.

Dallas Dawes est la star de l'équipe de hockey. Il n'a pas besoin de chercher bien loin pour trouver une jeune femme prête à se jeter à ses pieds. Cependant, on ne le voit pas comme un séducteur et on va l'apprécier. Son père lui met la pression pour jouer dans une meilleure équipe que celle de la fac mais il refuse. Il vit une mauvaise passe sur la glace et son jeu s'en ressent. Il n'est pas du genre à sortir faire la fête et il aimerait passer de bons moments avec des personnes qui le voit pour celui qu'il est vraiment. Il va demander à BBUgirl de se rencontrer enfin et ce sera digne du conte originel. Pas de chaussures de vair mais une chaussure haut talon et un portable oubliés seront les seuls indices pour la retrouver. Quand il commence à découvrir Ella, il ne peut s'empêcher de penser à sa Cendrillon, ce qui prouve qu'il ne veut pas jouer sur les deux tableaux.

Bref, cette novella est le genre de romance qui fait du bien, qui nous donne des étoiles dans les yeux. Alors oui le récit et l'intrigue sont cousus de fil blanc mais quoi de mieux pour se vider l'esprit et profiter d'une belle histoire d'amour. En tout cas, j'ai envie de découvrir le roman de l'autrice qui est une romance sportive.

[Hilma]

A Cinderella Novella by Sadie Henley is a cute and sweet retelling of the classic fairytale Cinderella. Sadie Henley made the setting around ice hockey, which is in my view a unique setting.

When Ella’s father dies, she has to go on living with her stepmother. Of course, like in the original fairytale, her “family” uses her a kind of slave. Thankfully Ella does not let that get in the way of her enjoying college and her work at her late father’s ice rink. There she can watch the college ice hockey players, but she also has a great online and unknown friend. That was a great asset to this lovely short and quick read, as we, readers, know who this is, because we have a dual POV. I always like these kinds of stories. The second voice in this story is Dallas Dawes, ice hockey star. But is he Ella’s Prince Charming?

Both Ella and Dallas are great and normal characters and they come across really good. This short story follows the events in the original tale, but Sadie Henley made some really good changes. The writing style is flowing and I enjoyed reading this heartwarming novella a lot. It has two of my favourite things: a fairy tale retelling and a kind of hockey romance. It also has some drama, humour, mystery, betrayal, hope and, of course, romance. And like in any other fairytale, at the end things are ending like they should.

A Cinderella Novella has surprised me in a really nice way. I read in almost in one sitting and now I cannot wait to read more books like these. I also want to read more books by Sadie Henley. Hopefully she’ll write more hockey romances. If you like a nice Cinderella story, this is definitely the book you should read.

[Aim]

Let me just start by saying… I was really excited for this one. A Cinderella Story (2004) is my all-time favorite movie. Now take that and put a hockey spin on it? Sign me up!

However, I was disappointed by this one. It was too similar to the movie that it felt icky. Especially the first 50% of the book. After the 50% mark, it got a little better and felt less… copy paste. But by then, I already had the ick and was just trying to make it through the rest of the story.

Dallas Dawes vs Austin Ames?
BBUGirl vs PrincetonGirl818?
SoloSurfer vs Nomad?
“You already have a job. So it’s like skipping a step.”
Snack Bar Girl vs Diner Girl

It’s tough because fairytale retellings happen all the time and are so common, but this one felt too similar to the OG movie with Hilary Duff & Chad Michael Murray and is it fair for authors to take a book or movie that already exists and just change some small details and then call it their own?

Like I said, I will give the author credit. The second half o free novella was much better and didn’t feel like I was reading the movie script with a few changes here and there. It felt more original. But the first half… 🥴 I think if the author revisited this story and went back and added some more originality to the story, it would be much better and I wouldn’t feel so icky about it.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️✨
Spice: ❌

Tropes:
🩵 College Hockey
🩵 A Cinderella Story “retelling”
🩵 Snack Bar Girl x Popular Hockey Player
🩵 Pen Pals
🩵 Hidden Identity

[April]

I received an ARC copy in exchange for an honest review.

Unfortunately, I chose to DNF this novella at around 15%.
I requested this ARC because I genuinely enjoy Cinderella retellings, and the premise sounded like exactly the type of story I would love. However, I struggled to connect with the book and found it difficult to become invested in the story.

Because this is a novella, I expected the plot and central conflict to establish themselves fairly quickly. Instead, much of the opening focused on introducing Ella's home life, her crush on Dallas, her anonymous texting relationship, and the hockey setting. While these elements all fit the story, I never felt a strong hook that made me eager to keep reading.

I think part of the challenge was that there was a lot of setup for a very short book. As a reader, I already understood the Cinderella framework from the title, blurb, and premise, so the early chapters felt slower than I expected for a novella of this length.

This may work well for readers who enjoy sweet contemporary romances with a gentler pace, but I personally needed a stronger sense of momentum earlier in the story. Since I wasn't connecting with the book by the 15% mark, I ultimately decided not to continue.

I appreciate the opportunity to read an advance copy and wish the author success with the release.

[Probably Reading Romance]

I wanted to love this as I love A Cinderella story the movie, but this just unfortunately wasn’t what I expected.

This book was 70 pages. It took me a while to get through it because it was SO similar to the movie.
Austin Ames Dallas Dawes.
The Halloween Party.
Dallas dresses up as Prince Charming but was supposed to dress up with his two friends as Rock Paper Scissors. In the movie, they’re supposed to be the Three Musketeers, but Austin dresses up as Prince Charming.

A lot of the conversation was the same. “Sometimes I don’t feel like I belong. Do you ever feel that way?” The conversation about no one‘s gonna understand our costume since we were supposed to be rock paper scissors.
The scene where Vienna rips up the will is very similar to the movie how she runs out of the house.
The scene where the two stepsisters reveal who Cinderella is was very similar, but not the same.

I will say that the saving grace was that the second part of the book or maybe the last 2/3 felt like its own story. It didn’t feel the same as the movie and the way that Dallas asks for Cinderella was really clever. It did hook me the last 2/3, so I did like that!

This could’ve been so so so cute and unfortunately, I feel like it missed the mark.

[Samara Brooke]

It's a short and sweet read, especially if you're a fan of fairy tale retellings and currently obsessing over Off Campus (and can't wait for the next season to be dropped).However, I would have DNF'd this book if it wasn't so short. I just figured I'd stick it out to the end. Why? Because it was too eerily similar to the 2004 'A Cinderella Story' film. If you've seen that movie, you'd think it was based off of this book if this had been written around 2 decades ago. The main difference is the sport the MMC played - football in the film vs ice hockey in this book. It's so similar that any physical description the author offered of her characters flew over my head. I was actually seeing Hilary Duff, Chad Michael Murray, and Jennifer Coolidge play out the scenes in my head. Even some of the plot points were close - wedding dress vs bridesmaids' dress. I loved this book because I loved the movie. But I also disliked this book because of the same reason. I know there isn't much room to improvise when it comes to retellings - but this felt (I hate saying this!) like a cheap knock-off.

[Kelli Lunsford]

If you've seen A Cinderella Story, you've pretty much read this book. While there are some differences between the movie and the story, the overall plot felt very familiar and predictable.
The biggest differences are that this story takes place around an ice rink instead of a diner, Ella and Dallas are college students rather than high school students, and they attend a party at the hockey house instead of a Halloween dance. There are several other similarities that fans of the movie will quickly recognize.

That being said, I still really enjoyed this book. It's a novella, so it's a very quick read. I finished it in just two days. Even though I could easily predict where the story was going, it was fun, sweet, and entertaining from beginning to end.

If you loved A Cinderella Story, there's a good chance you'll love this book as well.

Release Date: June 25, 2026

I received an Advance Reader Copy (ARC) from the author and read it through BookFunnel. All opinions expressed are my own.

[Nickole]

Rcvd an ARC from the author.

We meet Ella who is slaved away by her evil step-mother and bullied by her 2 daughters. Her father died in a car accident years ago and it still hurts. She works in the rink that her father owner so that helps. She met a boy on a hockey chat and had been talking to him for months. We meet Dallas, captain for the university's hockey team. He's been chatting with a girl from thr hockey forum and asks her to meet at the Halloween party. Ella is shocked she said yes but its worse when her evil stepmother maker her work but with a little help she makes it and it shocked her solosurfer is none other than hockey player Dallas. And like any Cinderella story she needs to leave ny midnite losing her phone in the process. Dallas is playing like crap and seeks out Cinderella. After a bad game Ella takes him to play one-on-one and Dalla learns that she can play. Things go from bad to worse for Ella all thanks to the hag that had ruined her life. Can Ella hope for the best or will the evil witch get the last word.

[Lexy Yates]

Overall a cute story that follows the recipe for a Cinderella tale. I know it’s supposed to be a novella and they are rather short, however the book felt super rushed. Even adding a bit more explanation and detail to parts would have made a world of a difference for the reader. The lack of detail and explanation and inner thoughts at times made the characters seem to act completely out of turn which was hard to get past at times. The dialogue could have been evolved/edited as well to make the writing sound more advanced. To me this copy I received as an ARC read more like an early draft that still needed to be developed, or it was written for lower level chapter book readers. I may try to read another from the author that is not a novella and see if I like her writing.
It wasn’t a bad book by any means just to clarify, the story has potential just would have liked to see it developed more.

[Verity Thornhill]

I really enjoyed A Cinderella Novella ❤️ It was short and very sweet and had enough changes to the traditional fairytale to keep me interested throughout.

When Ella's parents both die by the time she's 10, she finds herself living with her stepmother and stepsisters, who are anything but kind. Her stepmother now owns the ice rink, that was her father's legacy.

As well as college and working hard at home, Ella also works in the snack bar at the ice rink. But that has its perks as she gets to watch Dallas - the star hockey player.

As the story unfolds we learn more about Ella and Dallas and we get the Cinderella midnight moment ❤️

This was a lovely read and I'm looking forward to reading more from Sadie.

I received an ARC of A Cinderella Novella, but the decision to leave a review was my own.

[Colleen N]

Solid and Fun Story

I really liked the twist on the story with where it took place and the characters. I especially enjoyed the side character of Faye. I thought that it flowed very fast and was well put together, and I liked that the author had a real charismatic writing style. I’m sure everybody who reads in Novela says the same thing, but I really wish that his had been longer. I think it easily could’ve been a wonderful full length novel. I enjoyed that the author really focused on Ella and Dallas. I do wish there had been just a tiny bit more with the other characters, especially their friends. I would love to see this set into a series of Novella’s or even longer books that also touch on the main characters of this book moving forward. This was a very enjoyable read for me.

[Briana Scott]

A Cinderella Novella
Rate: 4/5
Spice:0/5

What to expect when reading;
-College Romance
-Hockey Player MMC
-Cinderella Inspired
-Secret Admirer
-Dual POV Novella

In this book you get to follow Ella and Dallas. Ella works at her late dads hockey rink. Dallas is the hot star hockey player. She is used to going unnoticed, but what if that comes to an end? This was such a great novella, even though it was short it was still jam packed. Ella and Dallas were so cute, it has the perfect amount of elements as a Cinderelle inspired story. This is my first time reading Sadie Henley and I can't wait to read more from her.

Side Note;
-Faye & Harry for the win lol

Fav Quote;
•“I hope so. She’s my Cinderella, and I need to find her.”

[Laura Parker]

All i can picture while reading A Cinderella Novella was the movie A Cinderella Story. The plot and text were so identical I couldn't replace the characters with who they were. Yes I understand it was hockey based instead of football but the book was literally written with the movie (not written by the author) in mind. It even had quotes or very close to quotes from the movie all throughout the story. I wish she would have been creative without using a movie scenario to write from. If you didn't know there was a a movie first the book would have been excellent which is why I gave it 3 stars.

[Marissa]

I received this as an advanced readers copy.

I truly enjoyed this book. It’s kind of like the Cinderella story but this one is about hockey players. The story of Ella and Dallas was so fun to read. Each of the characters have their own personalities. The way Ella was treated by her step mother is no way to be treated. The way her friends didn’t let her be treated the way she was is how friendships should be. If you liked Cinderella story you’d like this short read. The way it was a short easy read made it easy to like this book. I read it in 1 day. I’m eating it 4.75 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

[Sarah]

Received an ARC copy.

If you love A Cinderella Story then you'll wonder if you have read this before. Adding the ice skating element is cute but it didn't add or detract from the story for me.

The book is well written, no grammatical issues, typos or monotonous paragraphs. It was a quick read, about 2 hours for me and I appreciate the opportunity to read it early. The characters were fine, I think they needed a bit more personality.

It's an enjoyable novella, it's just so close to something I know that I can hear Hilary Duff reading her lines which were, at points, verbatim.

[Kristina Holmes]

This was my first book by this author. It’s a quick read and a nice way to spend an hour of me time. I like a Cinderella retelling and enjoyed the hockey spin on the tale. It is a quick paced story, so the details aren’t fleshed out (it is a novella, so that is to be expected), but I did find myself enjoying the moments and the overall storyline. I liked the twist at the very end and how the author integrated the original parts I’ve grown up loving about Cinderella but with the hockey elements.

[Joanne Lau]

3.5 star (being rounded up to 4)

It's a short novel, I started reading and in my mind I was like "sure, I think I will like this book, it gives me A Cinderella Story (the movie) vibe". As the book continues, this feeling does not leave you, even the dialogue was very similar. Technically it was written well, no errors etc, and there wasn't anything that stood out (e.g. characters / feels etc). It was overall, cute.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Kahgreymom]

Cinderella Story meets Hockey!

This is a short short that is hockey/Cinderella themed.

Ella is an orphan left in the care of her stepmother after losing her parents. She works at the family ice rink while attending college. Upon meeting her mystery man in the college chat room is invited to a party. Ella has to be home by midnight, put leaves something behind. Her mystery man is looking everywhere for her. Will he find his miss party guest?

[Sarah Paige]

I received the ARC for this and as a huge fan of everything Cinderella I just had to read it. I wasn’t disappointed it combined 2 of my favourite topics Hockey and Cinderella. Ella is sweet and had beautiful character growth and Dallas was the same. It was everything I could have asked for in a Cinderella/Hockey book. I wish it was a full length novel, but in saying that it’s a light read that I enjoyed.

[Erica]

This novella delivered what it promised. A sweet Cinderella Story re-telling with a hockey twist.

I appreciated the FMC also had a connection to hockey because who doesn’t love a girl that can play!!

I wouldn’t say it was earth shattering or hugely different than any Cinderella tale, but if you’re looking for a quick sweet novella - this is it 😊😊

Thank you to Sadie for providing me with an advanced copy 💜💜

[Ella]

DNF after Chapter 4!

I understand that writing a Cinderella take is hard to keep from being repetitive and the same story, but there were literal quotes from movie scenes for another Cinderella Movie (with Hillary Duff) that made this completely impossible to read. I do not believe this should be published at all due to the amount of similarities to a movie and I feel that it needs to be reviewed better for this kind of thing.

[Rebecca Dawson]

[eARC]This was a quick and easy novella to read.

Anyone fond of The Cinderella Story movie will love this book.

Set within the hockey world, Ella is treated terribly by her stepmother and stepsisters. She happens to start talking to Dallas (the hockey jock) through an app and even when they finally meet at a costume party, Dallas doesn't realise that Ella is his chatgirl.

As with the movie, the stepmother gets what's coming to her and Ella and Dallas get their HEA.

[SKY Easton]

Review of advanced copy from author

🌊🎭🏒🍿⛸️👗🏫👩‍❤️‍💋‍👨This story follows Ella, who is mistreated by her cruel stepmother and stepsister, which inspires her dream to one day escape their Cruelty. But along the way, she meets her mysterious pen pal, Dallas, who is a talented hockey player striving to prove he’s the best in college. So they met and know Dallas is looking for his mystery girl but then he finds her and they live happily ever after .

[Britt Betch87]

I went into this expecting a quick romance, but it had a lot more heart than I anticipated. The chemistry between the main characters was easy to root for, and I loved how the story balanced sweet moments with just enough tension to keep me turning the pages. It was fast-paced without feeling rushed, making it the perfect one-sitting read. If you’re looking for a feel-good romance with lovable characters and a satisfying emotional payoff, this one definitely delivers.

[Mellie V.]

ARC review. Cute story, essentially it’s Ella aka Cinderella looking for her Prince Charming aka Dallas. She finds her Prince in a hockey player she is crushing on both in person and online. Dallas is crushing back but they have no idea who each other are since they’ve barely spoken in person. I thought the short story was cute and had a good flow. I wanted Ella to have a happily ever after which she absolutely deserved after everything she’s been through.

[Kayla]

To be honest, this is a 80% copy of A Cinderella Story (2004) almost down to the dialogue. Hidden will, dad’s business run by step mother, chat room, hidden identities among many many more. It is so apparent that I started making comparisons in my notes app, and it’s startling. I mean Dallas and Austin; both cities from Texas! It’s literally a shortened version of the movie and that’s a bit concerning to be honest.

[Morgan]

This was a cute novella of a Cinderella story.

If you like Cinderella, and a hockey romance this is a great short read!

Ella is working at her parent’s hockey rink under her stepmothers rules. Dallas plays hockey for the University they both attend. The ending is actually so cute and I loved it! 🥰

[Courtney Gittins]

This was modern Cinderella re-telling with A Cinderella Story vibes but with a hockey twist. I found it to be an enjoyable and very quick read that had me smiling at the end.

This story is told in dual POV, it definitely gives 2000’s vibes and is a sweet story (no spice).

Thank you to the author for providing an advanced copy, I am leaving this review voluntarily.