Cinder (The Lunar Chronicles #1) by Marissa Meyer
Genre: Young Adult Science Fiction, Fantasy Retelling
Page Length: 387
Publication Date: January 3rd, 2012
Publisher: Puffin
Rating 4 out of 5
Synopsis
A forbidden romance.
A deadly plague.
Earth’s fate hinges on one girl . . .
CINDER, a gifted mechanic in New Beijing, is also a cyborg. She’s reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsister’s sudden illness. But when her life becomes entwined with the handsome Prince Kai’s, she finds herself at the centre of a violent struggle between the desires of an evil queen – and a dangerous temptation. Cinder is caught between duty and freedom, loyalty and betrayal. Now she must uncover secrets about her mysterious past in order to protect Earth’s future.
This is not the fairytale you remember. But it’s one you won’t forget.
I recently made the choice to reread Cinder, after deciding to finally finish the Lunar Chronicles. I originally read Cinder way back in 2013 and absolutely loved it, giving it 5 stars. So I was really excited to see how I felt reading it now since my reading tastes have developed quite a bit since then. To this day I still don’t read a lot of science fiction (if you have any good recommendations please let me know!) so I was really looking forward to delving back into the world of sci-fi. I am happy to say I still really enjoyed this book and even though I read it 7 years ago I surprisingly remembered a lot of it, and I still had a really fun time reading it.
Parts I adored:
✓ The world this is set in was so cool and definitely gave me iRobot vibes but in Beijing
✓ The story felt super original even though it was a Cinderella retelling
✓ Adored Cinders friendship with Iko
✓ Focused on learning to love yourself and what it means to be human
✓ Love both the main characters, Cinder & Kai, so so much
I must say the characters were definitely my favourite part of this book. Cinder was a really great main character, she was feisty and funny with a mix of self deprecating humour and awkwardness thrown in. Kai was also adorable and sweet and I’m excited to see his character develop in future books.
This is definitely a solid start to the series and I am so glad it was as fun as I remembered it to be.
Another part of the book I really enjoyed was the futuristic space-y setting in Beijing – how cool? They had completely written off petrol/diesel cars and had cyborgs – honestly I love to see it.
Admittedly, I did drop this down to 4 stars purely because re-reading this the ‘instalove’ was a bit strong and I found it took quite a while for the actual plot of the book to get going. Also, a lot of the twists were pretty predictable (which necessarily isn’t a bad thing, and I am not sure how much of that was just me remembering it from my previous read) but the ending was great in terms of drama! Besides the somewhat predictable plot, I loved that Cinder was a mechanic and there was a strong emphasis on her intelligence and I also really appreciated the asian influences and diversity.
Overall, I would say this was a great start to the series and a solid debut. So, if cyborgs, futuristic Beijing and losing a robotic foot instead of a shoe pique your interest then I recommend picking it up.
“Imagine there was a cure, but finding it would cost you everything. It would completely ruin your life. What would you do?”
“Even in the future the story begins with Once Upon a Time.”
“I’m sure I’ll feel much more grateful when I find a guy who thinks complex wiring in a girl is a turn-on.”
“Even in the future vanity is a factor, but it is more a question of control. It is easier to trick others into perceiving you as beautiful if you can convince yourself you are beautiful. But mirrors have an uncanny way of telling the truth.”
“She was a cyborg, and she would never go to a ball.”
““We all have our weaknesses.” “I know,” said Iko. “Mine is shoes.”
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Have you read The Lunar Chronicles or any of Marissa Meyer’s works? If not, is there any that do interest you?
If you’d like to see more of my reviews click here, and if you’d like to see my most recent reviews which was about the perfect story for lost boys and girls; ‘Children have always disappeared under the right conditions; slipping through the shadows under a bed or at the back of a wardrobe, tumbling down rabbit holes and into old wells, and emerging somewhere… else.’ – click here, or one for second chance stans – click here.
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