Series: The Lunar Chronicles #1
Author: Marissa Meyer (Website | Twitter)
Age Group: Young Adult
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Publication Date: January 3, 2012
Source: Bought
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.
Find Cinder online
It took me a long time to pick up this book and an even longer time to write this review. Whoops. No worries though, because this book is one that has really stuck with me. When I began reading it, the only thoughts I could drum up were "ohmygoodness this book is so good" and "holy cow, why didn't I start this sooner?" and some type of high pitched squealing that doesn't really translate well over text or in real life. Either way, I'm happy to report that Cinder is officially on my favorites list. I will forever be making art eyes at it and sighing dreamily as I gaze longingly at its pages.
I was hesitant to read it at first because I knew that it dealt with cyborgs. Generally, I'm not a huge fan of robot/alien books, with the exception of the Lux series because helloo Daemon Black, but this one honestly took me by surprise. I found myself actually enjoying the parts that dealt with Cinder's cybernetic components. Her business and the way she dealt with being so different from other people made me admire her strength and stubbornness to live a life that was completely dictated by the fact that she wasn't fully human.
And then, of course, there was Prince Charming, otherwise known as Prince Kai. *dreamy sigh* guys, I love this dude so much. He was just so sweet and adorable and sincere. It was a refreshing break from the brusque, grumbly, bad-boy type love interests that have been in the books I've been reading lately. He was very sweet to Cinder and I loved that way that their relationship was a slow simmer. There was no instalove or anything like that. Anything romantic grew from a friendship and a sort of partnership first and I really enjoyed that.
Now, the only thing I really had a problem with - and the only reason I'm marking this as a four star rather than a five - was that this was kinda slow to start with me. It took me a good 75 pages to really love the characters and feel invested in the story. Up until that point, I could put the book down and forget about it for a few days.
Despite one bump in the road, I'm so so so glad I gave Cinder a chance. It was exactly what I needed and I completely fell in love with the characters and the world. I've heard the next books in the series only get better so I can't wait to pick up the next one!
“Even in the Future the Story Begins with Once Upon a Time.”
I'm probably in a very small minority of people that didn't really care for this book. I didn't dislike it but I didn't understand the hype. I'm still very interested in trying the others. Cress being the main one. A hacker? Yes, please. I'm glad you loved this one!
ReplyDeleteI've heard that they get better as the series goes on so maybe you'll like the other ones more? :)
DeleteI've been debating on whether or not to read this book because, like you, I was hesitant because of the whole cyborg thing. After reading your review, I think I'm going to definitely check it out. Thanks for posting!
ReplyDeleteI feel like it's definitely worth the read! Especially with the series as a whole gaining so much popularity! Thanks for stopping by!
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