Cinder is the first book in the Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer. The synopsis is:
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 was a meh for me. It was pretty great, an entertaining as hell book. But there is one factor that put me off in a major way. Like other reviewers/bloggers that have read this book, I figured out the major plot twist early on. While I normally don't mind speculating early and getting it right, HUGE "hints" that basically gave it away were peppered throughout the novel. Said twist ends up being revealed at the very end, but when that occurred, I sighed, because I already knew that information. That took major points from this book for me, because while speculation is all good, dropping huge gimme's are not. But, the rest of the novel was pretty enjoyable, kept me on edge, and gripped me. I was really invested in Cinder's story, rooting her on. The love story felt real, and all in all an excellent story.
Cinder was a great protagonist :) She had me rooting for her instantly, and I bonded with her (chalk that up to another fictional BFF on my list xD) I felt for her, and wanted her to get the hell away from her stepfamily. I loved her arc, wanting to find out what was going on, and using her kick-ass mechanic and cyborg skills to figure things out. I hated how she was treated, by everyone, especially her stepfamily. Speaking of her stepmother, X_X I wanted to punch her in the damn face. She was such a putrid character, and just disgusted me with her behavior. If she were real, I'd probably curse her out xD. But as the wicked stepmother, she was perfect. And of course, what's a Cinderella story without talking about the prince? I loved Prince Kai. I loved him all around, from his sweetness, to his loyalty, to his determination. Yet another fictional guy added to my crush list. And of course, I think my favorite character was Iko. She was hilarious, but also crazy loyal to Cinder. I loved her dearly. The main villain scared the hell out of me. She was legitimately evil, and I wanted her to be defeated so badly. She made me shiver, but she was definitely well written.
Ms. Meyer has a good writing style. I love how she built her world, and the technology fascinated me. The only exception is that one issue I talked about earlier in my review. Ms Meyer, if you ever read this while writing Scarlet, I hope you don't repeat the same mistake twice, because it ruined a lot of the mystery for me and lots of others.
Was it worth the hype? I'd say yes, for the most part.
I'll next be reviewing Under the Never Sky be Veronica Rossi.
Until next time, viva la literature!
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