Cinder by Marissa Meyer

2/12/2015

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.

Thoughts

The Lunar Chronicles Series is not actually at the top of my TBR list. In fact I’ve just recently added it. I forgot what motivated me to pick this one, but I never really followed the order of my list anyway. I think partly because I kept seeing it in book blogs and Goodreads.

Cinder was the fastest book I have read since the start of this year. That is, until I read The Ruby Circle which I could’ve finished in a day, but I was doing this thing called motherhood. Considering, TRC was a shorter read than Cinder though. So I was kinda feeling some reading mojo on because of this phenomena that is me finishing two books in a week!

I’m all for fairytale retellings, especially when the protagonist is cyborg… as well as an alien! My attention was locked in from the moment I read about her robotic foot… and my focus zeroed in when Prince Kai appeared! Funny ‘cause I picture Mako as Kai which isn’t so far off, I guess. From the moment they met, you already know this guy’s head over heels with Cinder.

The story could have actually worked alone without it basing on the classical Cinderella. Nope, I can’t see any Cinderella in Cinder at all. Really, why bother with the fairytale angle? It gets attention, I presume?

Cinder’s pretty bad ass, being a mechanic and all, but is it like cheating since she’s cyborg and she knows how things work? I like the idea that one of the half-sisters loved her. Atleast that wasn’t too parallel with Cinderella. I don’t like the disease angle of the story. It gives me the creeps. Fear, death, destruction, what’s not to be creeped out about?

I simply adore Iko. I anticipate her lines more than the other characters. I can’t wait to read about her in the second book, that is if Cinder ever got to find her a “body.” I also look forward to the retelling of Cinder’s great escape from that cell she was locked in in the last part. I’m also very much intrigued with Dr. Erland, I want to know about him and his back story. He seems like someone to be reckoned with.

I’ve assessed that Winter will be released this year, so I better get a move on this series in time for its release!