Cinder

this is much more YA-ey (and interesting) than I thought it would be based on the synopsis. can't wait to read #2

Love the concept of this book! Cyborg cinderella?!? Hella yeah! I'm definitely interested enough to want to read the rest of the series. My only complaint is that the plot was a bit predictable...still a nice light read though. I plan to start the next in the series soon!

Because I can't for the life of me figure it out!! Now, just knowing how amazing it was, and that I was denying myself the pleasure of this amazing book, just depress me!

Where do I even begin with this book? I went in a little skeptical, unsure if I would really enjoy it or not. Quickly, though, I was sucked in. The first chapter kept me interested and each chapter urged me into the next. It was ridiculously difficult to convince myself to set it down long enough to do anything else. Needless to say, I finished the novel very quickly.

In New Beijing, humans have cyborg parts, there were androids, people on moon (Lunars), and a deadly plague that is slowly ravaging the population. Cinder is a mechanic cyborg. She was not a full cyborg, mind you, she has part cyborg because of an accident that happened when she was young. There was Iko, a house robot that is so hilarious, I loved her as well, there were her stepsisters and her evil stepmother, and there was swoon-worthy prince Kai!!


As a child I loved the classic story Cinderella. The magic of the fairy godmother and the happily ever after. Meyer is able to take relatable characters and mix them with magical amazing stories that everyone loves.
I recommend this book and series to anyone who likes an action filled fantasy.

4.5 stars I seriously didn't expect to enjoy this book as much as I did. It was a charming surprise! I really like the twist on the ‘modern' fairytale retelling, and I'll definitely continue on with the series! Can't wait to see how this ~war will end!Totally called that Cinder was Princess Selene though. It wasn't very subtle...

Cinder is a mechanic, and also a cyborg. Unable to remember her parents, or life before becoming a cyborg, she believes herself to be just another second class citizen of New Beijing. Soon after her operation and adoption, her adoptive father died from the deadly disease letamosis. Hated by her new mother, she keeps her head down and tries to stay out of the way. Until Price Kai walks into her booth at the market. Her life will never be the same. YA is really hit or miss for me. I loved this book though!! I would start to listen to this book, and lose myself in the world created by Marissa Meyer. I am going to start the next one in the morning!

3 and a half stars. I'm a sucker for fairy tales, and after hearing about this series for a couple years now I finally bit the bullet. I was prepared to be underwhelmed but was pleasantly surprised.

I love the futuristic element. The story is admittedly easy to predict in a lot of ways, not only because of the familiarity of the Cinderella fairy tale but the VERY broad hints laid out. I actually took a note when I guessed the “big twist” of the story - page 39. That said, the writing is good, the world intriguing, and for anyone that likes fairy tales and the retellings, definitely worth reading. I had to keep reminding myself it's a YA book...therefore not to expect the depth I like in “adult” fiction. It was a fun, fluffy, mind-candy read, and I enjoyed it enough to keep reading the series.

I found the concept more intriguing than the execution. This is YA literature, and the writing is simplistic at times. Still, there were some surprising choices along the way and Dr. Erland's moral ambiguity added interest for me.

Scifi fairy tales...
UTTERLY AMAZINGNESS is what I would use to describe these books. And it does not disappoint in the least! 5 stars!!

4.5/5 stars

Okay! You guys were right—this was fabulous and I need the whole series now. This was totally different from what I was expecting, and I loved the Sci-Fi/fairy tale retelling mashup.

O livro estava ótimo.
A autora conseguiu me vender que uma Cinderela ciborgue que trabalha como mecânica era uma boa idéia. O livro tem alguns problemas que deixei passar sem dificuldades. Comprei a maioria dos personagens, e achei um ótimo livro pra faixa etária que ele se propõe (16?), inclusive acho que é um ótimo presente, e daria sem medo para minhas primas mais novas.
O único (grande) problema é como o livro é bem bom até uns 85% e depois disso é só downhill e ele vira uma bola de neve de decisões erradas.

Previous Review

“Soon, the whole world would be searching for her- Linh Cinder. A deformed cyborg with a missing foot. A Lunar with a stolen identity. A mechanic with no one to run to, nowhere to go. But they would be looking for a ghost.”

I absolutely loved this retelling of Cinderella. It was so creative and intriguing. I actually felt worse for Cinder than I do for the original Cinderella. Maybe it's just the context of Cinder's life. I mean even though she learns something exciting about herself, it's not a completely happy ending because she still has to escape her current predicament. I look forward to Meyer's retelling of the other fairy tales.

I really enjoyed this one: Listened to this one in the car. I'd say I ‘couldn't put it down' - but that makes no sense. Instead - I was coming up with reasons to run errands just to keep listening to it. It's a familiar story with a twist that I enjoyed. Be warned, though - it ends on a cliffhanger, so have the next book in the series ready to go!

Honestly, the end kind of made everything else better. This is HIGHLY predictable. Like, there are no surprises in this except that the author is not afraid to kill off characters (which is great), but everything else is very easily called. Anyway, I like where it's going so I gave it 3 stars because as a stand alone book and for the majority of it, it is not perfect, however it is entertaining and it definitely makes me want to keep reading so I will keep reading hoping that the rest are better :)

What a creative retelling of Cinderrella set in the future featuring cyborgs!
Great story, imaginative and great fun to read. Of course the ending is predictable but since it`s a series it will go further than the classic fairytale.

Ahhh I finished rereading this via audiobooks. Finally I'll have a chance to wrote this amazing book a review... Review to come...

OH MY GOD, WHAT
DID I JUST READ THE MOST EPIC RETELLING OF CINDERELLA EVER IN THE ENTIRE WORLD HISTORY OF CINDERELLA RETELLINGS?
Yes.
I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHAT TO SAY, I JUST LOVED IT SO MUCH
IT CAN'T END LIKE THAT, I DON'T UNDERSTAND HOW ANYTHING WILL BE FIGURED OUT IF THE NEXT HAS A NEW PROTAGONIST
WILL WE SEE MORE OF KAI AND CINDER, BECAUSE I NEED MORE KAI AND CINDER, I NEED MORE OF CINDER PERIOD. AND KAI.
I DON'T KNOW, MAN, I JUST REALLY FUCKING LOVED IT, LIKE, FUCK, HELP ME, I DON'T OWN SCARLET OR ANY OF THE OTHER BOOKS HOW WILL I SURVIVE????
And, ohmyfuckinggod, Queen Levana, I can't even comprehend the evil that lives inside of that woman, like what even.
Honestly, I feel like reading it again, literally, right now. And I just finished it.

It isn't the author's fault this wasn't as good a book as it could be. This would've been such a good book IF:
1) it weren't so damn predictable; seriously, I can't be the only one that guessed that Cinder is Princess Selene. For one, it was stressed how important it was that Princess Selene was alive. There were only rumors that she was even alive. However, as we all know, if it's stated in the book, no matter how unimportant or unrealistic it may seem, it's always incredibly important to the plot and, as I like to call it, the “big unsurprising surprise.” There were way too many connections to make between Princess Selene and Cinder. Cinder doesn't remember anything from her childhood, which is highly suspicious. Gasp, ohmygosh, could she have gotten it from the fire Princess Selene was in? Not a long shot, considering she's the main character and all. Plus, this story's based on CINDERALLA. Of COURSE, she's going to be a princess or some other big-shot. But that isn't completely the author's fault. I guess I'm just annoyed she didn't get to this “big surprise” earlier in the story; it would've saved a whole bunch of time.
2) Kai and Cinder's relationship wasn't so aggravating. GAHHHHH there's so many things getting between them it makes me want to throw a lamp at someone. Their failing relationship can't be completely blamed on outside forces (AKA the bitchy stepmother, stepsister, Queen Levana). Kai and Cinder are driving a wedge between themselves, too. Seriously, buck up already Cinder. If Kai doesn't like you for being a cyborg or a Lunar or whatever, then just dump his sorry ass. Or, in this case, just ignore him. Your low self-esteem is killing me; I need more witty one-liners. I can't take all this looking-down-at-the-ground-omg-I-hope-he-doesn't-hate-me-for-yada-yada-yada. I'm dying here. And you, Kai, mister-prince-turned-emperor. Yeah, I'm calling you out. Could you BE any more of an IDIOT??? Yeah, she's a cyborg. So what? It's not like she threw herself into that fire when she was a baby. How do you THINK people get turned into cyborgs? I know you guys are going to end up together in the end anyways since I foresee a HEA at the end of the trilogy. But come on; move it along people! Get over your stupid disgust and prejudice against cyborgs. We've got bigger problems. And could you be denser? Of COURSE Cinder didn't tell you about being a cyborg and a Lunar. How could she? You're already looking at her in disdain.

So yeah, this was just me venting. The book wasn't all bad. It intrigued me enough to get the rest of the books in the series. However, I'm really hoping I'll like the second book better than the first. I'm also hoping Cinder will get her ass in gear enough to yell Kai, Adri, and everyone else that shunned her into shame. That would be quite pleasant. Sadly though, I'm predicting Cinder will just be wandering around, alone and lost, for a majority of the second book. Well, here's to hoping.

Here is an exception to the rule. Remember this because there are few of these.

I started to hear a lot of hype around this series (as I write this there are currently 3 novels, several novellas and another novel set to release later this year) and everyone was stark raving mad about how much they loved it. I already owned Cinder (I think I got it one day when it was on sale for $2.99 or something), but hadn't read it yet because it just wasn't high on my radar. When I started hearing more and more reader friends raving about it I was both curious and put off. Generally when people all really love a book I end up disappointed in it. Few exceptions occur (Twilight was the weird one off), but generally when people go nuts over a book I distance myself.

But many of the reader friends who loved it had similar loves as me so I thought, I have the book might as well give it a shot. And it was good! Cinder is a fun, complicated character and the story itself (a retelling of Cinderella - obviously) was much more complicated than I expected it to be so it held my interest quite well.

It was most certainly a book that kept me reading and enticed me enough to continue on with the series. A nice mix of romance, teen angst, sci-fi and suspense.

So, my plan to wait until [b:Winter 13206900 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles, #4) Marissa Meyer https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1426654088s/13206900.jpg 18390887] comes out before marathoning the whole series has fallen apart. The more I heard about this series, the more I wanted to read it... and so I did.While the writing is beautiful and the story compelling, it should be noted that it takes a while for things to start rolling. In fact, the ending of this book is more like a whole new beginning for Cinder. The plot is a bit predictable, but it still kept me at the edge of my seat. Cinder and Prince Kai have great relationship dynamics too, and as horrible as it may sound, I liked where they stand at the end of the book.No magical love-solves-all resolution, no instant acceptance, but still sweet nonetheless. Or maybe I can say this because [b:Scarlet 13206760 Scarlet (The Lunar Chronicles, #2) Marissa Meyer https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1342485529s/13206760.jpg 18390691] and [b:Cress 13206828 Cress (The Lunar Chronicles, #3) Marissa Meyer https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1379083526s/13206828.jpg 18390772] are out already, so I don't have to wait to read the continuation with impatience eating me out.Also, the story vaguely reminds me of Sailor Moon. Which is always a good thing.I do have to agree, however, with the reviews stating the lack of Asian culture, despite the book taking place in Asia. The terms alone are not enough for the world-building to stand firm, so the occasional mention of them make the setting feel rather surreal. Hopefully the world-building will improve in the next books though.

I really enjoyed read this book and i will definitely finish the other two books. I don't read a lot of these types of books so this one was different but i enjoyed it. I had a hard time with reading this book during the beginning of the book since i am not really familiar with fairytale retellings but once the story picked up and i learned more about the story and the characters i really enjoyed it. I would definitely recommend this one and continue on with the series.

Sucked me in right from the start, although I'm not quite sure why; possibly Cinder's sarcastic streak, maybe the creative insertions from the traditional tale, the rapid pace certainly helped and some pretty believable fantasy world-building didn't hurt what was a marvelously innovative take on Cinderella. My only complaint is that the plot arc followed the fairy tale too closely, resulting in ending foretelling; there's probably no way to avoid this without going completely off-tale, though.

Very very interesting. I'm glad that she didn't end the book with Kai embracing Cinder for who she is-what she is. And it is more convincing and realistic for people, even the glorious Prince Kai, to have prejudice against cyborgs. It's a common thing in all cultures and for him to accept everything about her is going to be tough for anybody. I quite liked this one! On the next :)

I didn't really like the book at the beginning but about half way through I started to like it a lot and got absorbed in the plot line. I can't wait to start Scarlet and see what happens.

Such a great, creative sci-fi retelling of a classic fairy tale! Loved it! Looking forward to reading the next one!