Title: “Cinder”
Series: (Lunar
Chronicles, #1)
Author: Marissa
Meyer
Publisher: Feiwel
& Friends
Publication Date: January
3, 2012
Genre: YA,
Paranormal Romance
Reviewed by: Books4Tomorrow
Source: Purchased
My star rating: 5/5
SUMMARY
Humans and androids crowd the raucous streets
of New Beijing. A deadly plague ravages the population. From space, a ruthless
lunar people watch, waiting to make their move. No one knows that Earth’s fate
hinges on one girl. . . .
Cinder, a gifted mechanic, is a cyborg. She’s a second-class citizen with a mysterious past, reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsister’s illness. But when her life becomes intertwined with the handsome Prince Kai’s, she suddenly finds herself at the center of an intergalactic struggle, and a forbidden attraction. Caught between duty and freedom, loyalty and betrayal, she must uncover secrets about her past in order to protect her world’s future.
Cinder, a gifted mechanic, is a cyborg. She’s a second-class citizen with a mysterious past, reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsister’s illness. But when her life becomes intertwined with the handsome Prince Kai’s, she suddenly finds herself at the center of an intergalactic struggle, and a forbidden attraction. Caught between duty and freedom, loyalty and betrayal, she must uncover secrets about her past in order to protect her world’s future.
REVIEW
This is
another book I’ve wanted to read for awhile, but couldn’t find the time to get
around to it. Now I’m really happy I waited, because the sequel is out and I
don’t have to wait to read the second book in this absolutely fantastic series!
I can just click on over to Amazon, purchase Scarlet, and continue where the first book left me hanging.
I
didn’t have any expectations of Cinder,
to be honest. It’s one of those books where I was, as always, completely sold
on the cover and have wanted to read it because of all the positive reviews it
had been receiving. Going into it I was just like, surprise me. And it sure did. The story, as suggested by the title,
is a futuristic version of the much-loved fable, Cinderella, but not in the way one would expect. The author used
the basis of the story of Cinderella,
but cleverly gave it a life of its own.
Cinder
is a character I liked through and through. She represented everything I want
to see in a character. No teenage angst, no drama, no relying on “the hot guy”
to save her, and thank heavens, no tantrums. Seriously, I can’t find anything
negative to say about her. I also very much liked Prince Kai. Fine, I’ll admit
I might be a little smitten with him. But only a little, okay? He’s a strong
character and I genuinely liked how he and Cinder didn’t fall into each other’s arms
in the first half of the book. I think one of the reasons I enjoyed this story
so much is because the romance is subtle and it slowly builds up, allowing the
reader to gradually fall in love the same time both these characters do. I
loved that the romance isn’t forced in the reader’s face and the author doesn’t
feel it necessary to continually remind the reader how “hot” Prince Kai is. She
remained subtle with her character descriptions and gives the reader freedom to
use their own imagination to fill in the blanks.
The
plot itself was brilliantly done. Though the basis of this story resembles Cinderella, there are so much more to it
to not be a carbon copy of this terrific fairy tale. It is rather a combination
of a darker retelling of this classic story, and the author’s own creation, set
in a futuristic setting where androids and hovers are the norm in a world in
which a plague is killing millions of people, earth is divided into a handful
of nations in the wake of World War IV, and the safety of the human race is
threatened by a race of people with supernatural abilities, known as the
Lunars. The world-building was done
superbly and although it is set in a futuristic world which we only see in
movies, the author wrote it so well, it doesn’t feel foreign to the reader. The
villains in this book are not only Cinder’s stepmom and stepsisters, but also
the Lunar queen who is constantly threatening war against earth. The author
painted the villains realistically and spent as much time developing these
characters as she did with the protagonists.
Cinder is a refreshingly unique read that
transports the reader to a world where only the wildest of imaginations dare go.
There’s so much to love about this book, and it is clear the research for topics
explored in this story such as genetics, mutations, and bioelectricity, were
done thoroughly. After I finished reading Cinder,
I couldn’t stop thinking about it. If you have this on your to-read list, bump
it to the top. If not, go get your copy asap!
READ more REVIEWS
Cinder by Marissa Meyer has 6090 reviews on
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Cinder by Marissa Meyer – Book Trailer
Cinder
is also available on audio and you can listen to an excerpt of this amazing
book by Marissa Meyer HERE.
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2 comments:
I loved everything about this book, from the cover, to the plot, to the character. Excellent. A super review. Thanks and have a great weekend.
I LOVED Cinder and I'm so glad you liked it too! Love the review :)
Sunny @ Blue Sky Bookshelf
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