A 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.
Okay, I really liked this book. Cinder has been on my radar for a long, long time. When I went to New York it was there, BAM, on the shelves and it was waiting, beckoning for me. THIS BOOK. This book added all the elements of Sci-Fi, Romance, Super Cool Techy Stuff (patent pending) and a hint of Dystopian which is a cocktail of everything I like in a book. But more than that is how it is executed. Believe me when I say Marissa Meyer is amazing at setting up worlds. From currency to royalty to social systems, okay, its good its really really good (omg my vocabulary skills need some polishing).
So, as I was saying this book is a cocktail of everything I like. Lets start with the characters. Cinder is hilarious. She's unlike the 'ermahgawd im so innocent and so pretty and theres this cool prince and we should marry and live forever weuhksjdf' NO. She's really spunky. She has attitude and has grease on her fingers and is a MECHANIC. She is literally as far from a Cinderella as you can get whilst still keeping the general premise of the novel about Cinderella. And Iko is the queen of androids. She adds so much comedic relief and had me laughing out loud with some of her lines. However the only downside of the story would be Prince Kai. His character felt really bland like a boiled potato. (His character gets a whole lot more interesting in the next book don't worry, review for Scarlet up next Thursday) And Queen Levana is the kind of woman who will yet at you for using plastic bags instead of recycled ones. She is fierce.
Okay moving on to the plot. I'm not gonna sugarcoat it, it was pretty mediocre. To be fair though, it is the first in a series and I understand that a lot of world building has to be done. Another factor is that it is loosely based on Cinderella so the general storyline follows it in some way. I thought the most touching part of the plot was when Peony looked into Cinder's eyes and died and I could not. Like I stood up and threw the book down and went to get some Mango Ice Tea downstairs because nonono was that gonna happen. Also, it was very predictable. Like how Cinder was the 'Chosen One' who would rebel against the Lunars. Sounds like the same recycled dystopian plotline ever (cough THG, TMR, Divergent Series, Matched Crossed Reached, Delirium Pandemonium Requiem). But besides that it was good. Not great. Good.
Sorry this was short, update will come soon. Have a good one ~ J Woo.
