Review: Cinder by Marissa Meyer

Title: Cinder
Series: Lunar Chronicles #1
Author: Marissa Mayer
Publisher: Feiwel and Friends

Amazon | Amazon UK
Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

 

Goodreads Synopsis:
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.…

What I thought:
I was so scared of this book. The blurb doesn't sound like anything I might like but the hype surrounding it is huge. And it had to be hyped for a reason, right? So I went for it, and I'm really glad I did.

This is an enthralling, futuristic retelling of Cinderella with story about a girl part human, part machine. The synopsis really doesn't make the book justice because the "Caught between duty and freedom, loyalty and betrayal" isn't really her choice but a choice that is made for her. And "she must uncover secrets about her past in order to protect her world’s future.…" is more about what's to come in the second book. However, this is a truly fantastic book and I loved it.

Cinder's a great character. She's so real and it's so easy to sympathize with her. And then the sympathy turns to blatant cheering. You go girl! She is tossed between a world of lies and the truth about who she really is and she has to deal with that among everything that's going on in her life. She devastated when the "good" sister catches the plague but she's the got-get-it kinda of girl and does whatever she can to save her. Despite her upbringing and harsh and unfair treatment by her family she's got strong a strong of right and wrong and does what she feels is right whatever anyone else may think.

The secondary characters is so cute and sweet, well, the ones intended to be, and I love Iko. The android with a faulty personality chip who's working on her sarcasm. Peony is a breeze of fresh air too.

The only reason I'm giving this a four star rating and not a whooping five star is because I felt the time frame is a little bit screwed. The book as it is is awesome but not quite finished. The's not enough "big" things going on in the book and in the end that actually gets resolved for me to be completely satisfied but it does make for one heck of a second book.

I feel like I'm going to be a bit mainstream here but I truly recommend Cinder with all my heart. If you, like me, is scared of the hype. Don't be, it is that good.

My rating:

About the author:
I live in Tacoma, Washington, with my fiancé and our two cats. In addition to my slight obsession with books and writing, I'm big on road-tripping, wine-tasting, and hunting for antiques. I'm represented by Jill Grinberg.

To reach Sarah, contact her here through Goodreads or by any method below!

Website: www.marissameyer.com
Facebook: Marissa Meyer
Twitter: @Marissa_Meyer