Published: January 3, 2012
Pages: 387
Source: Bought
Rating: 5 Stars
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.
In short: Cinder by Marissa Meyer was compulsively readable and quite simply, the BEST fairy tale retelling I've ever read.
I knew pretty early on that Cinder was going to be a WIN for me. With a futuristic Asian setting, a plucky cyborg for a heroine, and the intrigue behind the mysterious Lunars, I was hooked from the start. Cinder is compulsively readable, equal parts comforting as a retelling of a well known fairy tale and exciting as an original futuristic world. As a fairy tale retelling, Cinder was definitely predictable, but there was still enough excitement and creativity in the setting and concept to ensure I was never bored despite this. Also, the final reveal was SO obvious, right from the beginning, that I have to imagine that Marissa Meyer meant it to be predictable. And in that sense, I thought the obviousness added to the fairy tale feel as fairy tales are quite predictable themselves.
Cinder is a standout as a protagonist. I felt instant sympathy for her as a cyborg orphan who is essentially a slave to her step-mother. I didn't pity her mind you, because Cinder is above pity. Cinder is one capable cyborg! She was not one to rest on her laurels and be emo about her situation, as terrible as it was. She rebels subtly, in her own way, and I loved her for it. The romance was pretty swoon-worthy, as well. Prince Charming has got NUTHIN on Prince Kai.
Cinder wasn't perfect... Of course - being me - I took issue with the flimsiness of some of the so-called scientific explanations (it was really just magic). But I can't say it matters much when I take into consideration how much I enjoyed myself while reading Cinder. It was SUCH a fun and addictive read. I loved picking out all the nods to Cinderella as well as making note of the interesting spins on the original story. Cinder is most definitely the BEST fairy tale retelling I've ever read. I cannot wait to see what is in store for the characters and the story in Scarlet!
Other Reviews:
Courtney Reads A Lot
Late Nights with Good Books
Lunar Rainbows
Author Links:
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Goodreads
I have read so many good reviews of this but have never had a chance to read it.
ReplyDeletegreat review!
Http://www.daydreamerN.blogspot.com
Yeah, the ending was a little predictable but I still enjoyed it. Scarlet is even better, the ending isn't as predictable.
ReplyDeleteThis makes me so excited and happy that I've got the book waiting on my shelf right now. I would expect Cinder to be pretty memorable - both Asian AND a cyborg. Marissa definitely put a lot of her own creativity into this retelling, and I'm so glad you loved it. Can't wait to read this now! Lovely review, darling. :)
ReplyDeleteSo glad to hear you enjoyed. I couldn't connect with this one but love to see how much others loved
ReplyDeleteYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY AYLEE!!!! So glad you loved this one too! I know nothing about science so any of the explanations for various things just rolled right off me and I went with them, but I'm glad any issues you had didn't take away from your overall enjoyment! I can't wait to see what you think of Scarlet, I loved that one just as much as Cinder:)
ReplyDeleteAhhhhhhh I love this review, Aylee! CINDER was one of my favourite books before I took my hiatus, and I'm so glad to see it getting the love it deserves! Wonderful, wonderful review...I can't wait to see what you think about SCARLET :)
ReplyDeleteGlad you liked it!
ReplyDeleteI liked the book but didn't love it, yet I can see the awesome in it (it was a weird reading experience) and I agree that Cinder was a great protagonist.
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ReplyDeleteCinder is a fabulous book, but Scarlet is even better!
ReplyDeleteKate @ Ex Libris
I'm so glad you liked this book! I read it last year, and I absolutely loved it. I'm about 3/4 of the way through Scarlet now. You definitely have to read that one! I was afraid that it wouldn't live up to my expectations, but it totally has so far!
ReplyDeleteYesssssssssssss!! I thought you'd like this one and I am SO glad you finally got the chance to reading it. I will say that although Cinder was fantastic, I think I liked Scarlet more. The story just keeps getting better.
ReplyDeleteGreat review Aylee, I'm happy to see that you enjoyed this one.
Wow, now I know I REALLY need to read this! It's been on my list for awhile now, of course. I haven't really read many fairy-tale retellings (that I can remember) but this one certainly sounds unique.
ReplyDeleteHaha, and I thought I was one of the last ones to read this book! I'm so happy to hear you loved this one. I agree that it was extremely predictable, but perhaps it was meant to be that way. Cinder was definitely a likable character and this book was just lovely. I took a look at your list of books you bought but hadn't read, and oh my goodness, if you don't read The Lightening Thief soon, I will CRY. It was basically my FAVORITE series in elementary. And now, Heroes of Olympus (the second series to it) is one of my favorite series. But anyway, back to Cinder... haha. Wonderful review, Aylee! :)
ReplyDeleteEeep, I'm so glad you enjoyed this one as much as I did, Aylee! Cinder was most definitely a fantastic protagonist, yet I never pitied her at all. I admired how she was so strong when her past was so bad! I agree that it was a bit predictable, but I think everything else really made up for it, especially how simply readable it was.
ReplyDeleteLovely review, Aylee! If you enjoyed Cinder, you're going to LOVE Scarlet. ;)
I can't believe you hadn't read this yet! I love this series so much. I think the world building i really fascinating and its such a great cast of characters. Glad to see you've joined us fans :)
ReplyDeleteGAH, I'M SO GLAD YOU LOVED IT!! HEHE, awesome review, Eilidh!
ReplyDeleteI have this book sitting on my shelf gathering a little bit of dust- I know a lot of people are gasping right now. I hope I have time to read it this summer. Loved your review :).
ReplyDeleteCinder is such a good book! Wait till you see Prince Kai in Scarlet! And that's not necessarily in a good way - but Meyer does really cool and unique things with his personality and story that you don't expect.
ReplyDeleteSigh, this review was just lovely to read - you really did Cinder justice!! When I saw you were reading this on Goodreads, I was curious to know if you'd love it and I am so excited that you did :D Despite being so predictable as you mentioned, it manages to stay completely engrossing! And you're right, I just loved & respected Cinder to bits too ♥ And agreed, Kai is THE original Prince Charming now in my books too hehe
ReplyDeleteOmg so happy you finally read this! Isn't Cinder's character fantastic? I love how determined she was - like she wanted something and she went for it. I really enjoyed the sequel too it's a companion but Cinder and this whole story is weaved into it. It was a really fun read for sure! :)
ReplyDeleteYay I'm glad you were finally able to read Cinder, Aylee! I was really impressed with it myself, and I love fairy-tale retellings like nobody's business. It's not my favorite retelling or Cinderella retelling, but it's definitely up there. So creative and inventive, and I agree that I think Meyer did intend for parts to be obvious for the readers, and that was fine with me. I hope you're able to read Scarlet soon! I actually have to read it myself too!
ReplyDeleteGood point that Marissa meant it to be predictable - I hadn't thought of that. I only mind a story being predictable if it's boring and this one was not boring at all! I loved finding all the similarities to Cinderella, too. My favorite was the beaten up orange car :) Great review!
ReplyDeleteYay a five star review, I love reading these! :D I'm so glad it worked out, it seems really original for a fairytale with that balance between the predictable ending and the interesting world-building. Definitely going on my TBR!
ReplyDeleteWow! You really REALLY loved this book, Aylee and I'm more than glad to see that since Cinder is a book that's been on my TBR since ages. Yay! I remember you telling me you were enjoying reading this book and love fairy tale retelling on one of my posts. I love that this has an Asian setting and boy! Now let me just go read it ASAP. Wonderful review, my friend! :)
ReplyDeleteSarika @ The Readdicts
YAY! So glad you loved this one too! I agree, I think there was so muc originality that the fairy tale predictability didn't bother me at all. I loved how capable Cinder is and Prince Kai is certainly swoonworthy. I can't wait to hear your thoughts on Scarlet, in my mind it is even better than book one. Fabulous review!
ReplyDeleteYay! I'm so happy you loved it!!!! Like you, I put off reading it for so long, but then LOVED it! The futuristic setting and just everything was amazing! And I agree entirely. Prince Charming just doesn't compare. And Cinder was one awesome heroine! So glad you enjoyed it! Wonderful review!
ReplyDeleteHello! I just wanted to let you know that I nominated and awarded you with the lovely blog award. It's here http://curiositykilledmystupidity.blogspot.ie/2013/06/award.html if you want it :)
ReplyDeleteYay, I'm so happy that you enjoyed this one too, Aylee! As much as I loved the worldbuilding in this one, Cinder definitely has to be my favourite part of it because of her personality.
ReplyDeleteWhat are you reading next from your Unread shelf?
I'm unsure what I'll read next! So I put up a poll on my blog so that people can decide for me, haha.
DeleteI'm glad you loved this one. I still need to pick up my copy one of these days (once it's out of the packing boxes).
ReplyDeleteYAY!! So happy you enjoyed this book! Just wait until you read SCARLET, it's a fantastic sequel!
ReplyDeleteSo nicely reviewed. I especially liked your spot on description of Cinder. I'm really excited by your enthusiasm for this story. I've heard the second book is better than the first. I've only read Cinder so far and will look forward to your review of Scarlet in the near future.
ReplyDeleteFinally, yeeeeeeey! I love love love Cinder and Scarlet was perhaps even better :D
ReplyDeleteI loved Iko best of all the characters in Cinder and she makes a fantastic reappearance in Scarlet. I'll be interested to see what you think of Kai after reading Scarlet. I didn't like him much after I finished reading it--but maybe that was because Wolf was so utterly fawesome that Kai paled in comparison.
ReplyDeleteIt's an amazing series and I can't wait until Cress comes out!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteAh, I had a fun time reading this review, Aylee, especially as I now know Cinder's robotic friend is spelt Iko not Icho- that's what the audio book does to me, I guess! I know how to spell some of the names not exactly how they're written in the book! We had a pretty different experience with this one. I definitely wasn't thrilled with it and Cinder and Kai both annoyed me a HEAP. Kai continues to, now that I'm finished with Cress, but Cinder is definitely better. Still, I love this series now. It just took me a couple of books to get to that stage. xx
ReplyDelete