Read Cinder, they said. It’s great, it’s awesome, you’ll fall in love with it, it’s totally worth the hype, they said. I caved. I did it. And yes, I admit it, it was great. Forever thankful for the sweetness of Joan @ Fiddler Blue for sending me a copy of this book, telling me to join the hype. I DO NOT REGRET IT, PEOPLE.
BEIJING, A PLAGUE, AND SOME ANDROIDS HERE AND THERE.
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“There’s no story,’ I say. ‘I saw you one day, and I just knew.”
The world Cinder lives in is completely different from ours. First of all, because she lives in a city that doesn’t exist -well, Beijing exists right now, but believe me, NOT as it is in the book-. Second, because this world is threatened every day by the plague, a sickness making your skin turn strangely blue, and that no one found a cure for in years. And third, well, because she is an android, and she’s not the only one. Weird, right? Fantasy, dystopia, a little mystery and a whole lot of WHAT IS HAPPENING is going on in this book, but the most impressive has to be the world-building. It’s different from anything I’ve read before, and I loved how we always get deeper into details as the story goes on. It goes from the emperor ceremonial to the tools and everyday technology they use, but it’s just amazing to see to what extent the author imagined the world. And Cinder, especially.
GREAT, RELATABLE CHARACTERS. PRINCE KAI, LET ME LOVE YOU.
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“Do adults realize how lucky they are? Or do they forget that these small moments are actually small miracles? I don’t want to ever forget.”
As an android, well, Cinder is no ordinary character to read about, and it did take me some time to get used to the flash info, warnings and stuff she can have into her brain, unfolding before her eyes, like she’s a computer screen. I mean, it’s weird, right? Yet it’s very impressive, once again, how the author manages to think such details for her main character. Despite this MASSIVE difference between me and Cinder, I could relate to what she felt and could really care about this character. I was scared I wouldn’t be able too, because it was too far off. Well, she’s an android, but she’s human, too. She has feelings, emotions, desires to leave this stupid step-mother and this messed-up world, she just wants things and she felt completely real to me. I loved her. She’s not the only character I fell in love with, to be honest. Prince Kai was really awesome, as far as princes go, he wasn’t only handsome in my mind, but caring, thoughtful, and oh, his ways of flirting with Cinder all the time just made me smile. Okay, I am a marshmallow even in books like these, can’t deny my true nature now, can I?
CINDERELLA, WITH A SIDE-DISH OF WEIRDNESS
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“I’ve always thought the best relationships are those that are as happy and content in silence as they are in action.”
I’ll be honest here, Cinder wasn’t what I was expecting to read, AT ALL. I was told this was a loose retelling of Cinderella, and I was wondering just HOW that would work after reading the synopsis. I now get the references to Cinderella in the book, and it was good to see, but this definitely is no fairy tale. It’s way too crazy and different to be, and I think that’s good. Unlike the old fairy tale you’re thinking about reading on old, yellowish paper, Cinder unfolds before your eyes just like a movie, a movie you’re not sure you want to watch, but end up anyway, and then you can’t stop. ’til it reaches the end, and you’re left wondering YES, but what next?!
OVERALL
One more book to cross of the “hyped books I need to check out list”, and with a big heart right next to it. Because now, I can see why you all told me to read it. The world-building, the characters, the plot and the twists, it all makes up for a great tale I loved, and, if you haven’t yet, you’ll love to read, too.
Final rating: 4 drops!
Did you read Cinder? Do you want to read it? Should I buy the next book in the series RIGHT NOW? Share your thoughts in comments!
Marissa Meyer, Cinder (The Lunar Chronicles #1), Published by Feiwel & Friends, January 3rd 2012.
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.beloved series.
Yes! The rest of the series just gets better and better!!
Ohh really? I am so impatient to read it then! 😀 Thank you!
I loved Cinder! Definetly buy the next book in the series, you won’t regret it!
Oh, well I definitely WILL, I loved it, I need to have the next book now 🙂 Thank you so much for stopping by!
No problem! I love your blog 🙂 xx
Aww, thank you so, so much <3
I just finished it today. Loved it! Drafting my own review right now. Probably going to take a while, too busy reading Scarlet. Haha.
Ohh, so glad to hear you loved it as well! You’re so lucky having Scarlet already, I need to buy it soon, I can’t wait! Are you enjoying it so far? 🙂
So far so good. Loving the new characters, especially Scarlet and Wolf.
Ohh well so glad to hear it, I need to get that book soon 🙂
Awesome review! I loved this book too, but the whole series just gets better and better with every book. And if you turned into a marshmallow over Kai, just wait till you meet Captain Thorne *swoons* <3 <3
Aww thank you so much <3 I can't wait to read the rest of the series, ohh you're making me way too impatient now 😛
Can’t wait to see what you think! 😀 I marathon read them all in January, they’re so addictive.
I hope I can read the next book soon, then, I’ll definitely let you know when I do 😀
I’m soooo glad you loved Cinder! I absolutely loved this book and it gets better and better. Hope you love the rest of the series! Great review! 🙂
Aww thank you so much! <3 I can't wait to get to the rest of the series, you're making me so, so impatient to read it now 🙂
THIS BOOK WAS AAAMAZINGG 😀 I wrote a review for it not a long time ago too ahha 😀 I’m so happy you loved itt so much!! 🙂 Can’t wait to read the sequels!
Yaaay! I’m so glad you liked it as well, I am really SO impatient to get to the sequels, they seem SO good! 😀 Thank you so much! <3
I’m so glad you enjoyed this book so much! I recently featured it in a list of books I don’t want to read, but now it actually sounds quite good! I’m not sure on the retelling element, and the cyborg part, but I love the idea of disease. This sounds super weird (and obviously I don’t want this to happen in real life or anything), but I actually really like reading books about disease infecting the entire world. It’s so interesting and scary! That aspect of Cinder kind of makes me want to read it, but I think I’ll still need a little more persuading, haha 😀
Lovely review, as always, Marie! <3
Denise | The Bibliolater
Aww thank you so much Denise! Well I’m glad you’re a little more into reading this book after my review. I get why it’s not a book for everyone, and I was kind of reluctant about the cyborg part, because well, it seemed so weird, but it turns out that it wasn’t that weird or unsettling. Well, I hope you’ll still give this book a try maybe someday, or read an excerpt to convince yourself? 🙂 Thank you so, so, so much Denise! <3
This is me too haha. I’m sitting on the fence for this one! Might just read it to stop thinking about it…
Oh yes, read it! I would love to know your thoughts about this one 🙂
I’m so happy you enjoyed this book. I hope you love the remaining books because it just keep getting better
I feel like I will LOVE them, I can’t wait to read them 🙂 Thank you so much! <3
I’m glad you enjoyed it Marie! I’ve heard many things about the series, and even though I’ve only read the first one, I heard the series gets better and better with each installment. Maybe it’s time I picked up book 2? 😀
Thank you so, so much! <3 I keep hearing the same thing, so I'm guessing it really does get better…we both should read book 2 then 😀
BUDDY READ??
OHHH that would be awesome! <3 No idea when I'm going to buy it, though, haha, I just spent way too much on books this month…
Oh this is such an amazing review! And I am so so glad you liked this book as well, although now you’ve read the first one I’m probably gonna be bugging you to read Scarlet next! I completely agree with you about the world-building, it’s amazing, and yes Prince Kai is definitely awesome. He is my second favourite male character, he was just edged out by Thorne!
Awww thank you Beth! <3 Well, you're not the only one urging me to read it, ahah, and I heard it just keeps getting better, so…I feel like I should buy it right now! 🙂
That’s all right ❤️ and the fact that I’m not the only person recommending the next book should tell you it’s even better! My favourite of the lot is Winter so you’ve still got the best to come in my opinion 😀
Ohh, really? I find that it’s so rare, that people think the last book in a series is the best one. I’m excited to get to it then! 😀
There have been last books in series that disappointment me, not because they were bad but just because they didn’t live up to my expectations. Honestly though that wasn’t the case with Winter, it is my favourite of the series!
Well, I’m so glad to hear it! It’s quite a big book to end a series with, and I’m really eager to get to it…well, probably in a little while, but still, ahah, I will 😀
Oh it’s the biggest book in the series! But I think it needed to be to successfully tie off all the loose ends from the first three books. Winter is definitely worth the wait, and in the meantime Scarlet and Cress are amazing as well 😀
You’re right, and nothing makes me happier than a series that ends on a great note! 🙂 I can’t wait, I need to buy at least Scarlet in my next book haul!
Then you’re definitely going to LOVE Winter, and yes, I am so so excited for you to start Scarlet you have no idea! 😀
Hopefully I can buy it before the summer comes, but I have so many books I bought already, hahaha, they are everywhere I swear !
Oh I know what you mean. I have way WAY overspent this month, and not even by a little bit either. I just keep buying and pre-ordering books even when I know I don’t have the money for them, or the space either now!
Ahah, oh, same thing here, but well there are just too many books I want… I recently bought new books, and I am trying to stop myself getting new ones ’til I read these…
I’m putting myself on a book buying ban for the next month and a half. I’ll just have to re-read some of the (many) I already have!
Ohh no, that must be SO hard. I always tell myself I should stop, but…I can’t, ahah. Well I’m sure you have some awesome books to re-read 😀
I think I’ve brought enough this month to cover my book buying for the next three months. And I still have about five pre-orders I’m waiting on arriving in the next few weeks! Oh yes I’ve been meaning to do some re-reads at some point this year, guess this is the perfect time 😀
Oh wow, you must have bought A LOT, since you read a lot of books per month, ahah. well it’s great to know you have some books prepared :p Oh, what did you pre-order? 🙂
Yeah it was probably more than I’ve brought in a month before. I’m gonna do a book haul post when the last of them finally arrive. I’m still waiting on some I pre-ordered being dispatched and delivered to me! Let see, pre-orders were The Raven King, The Rose and The Dagger, A Court of Mist and Fury, Bone Gap and The Star-Touched Queen because I loved it so much! 🙂
OH YES, a book haul post, I can’t wait to see all of the wonderful books you bought! OhHH Bone Gap, I pre-ordered that one as well, I can’t wait to get it! 🙂
There’s a lot, I reckon it’ll be my biggest book haul to date! But once they’ve all arrived I’ll definitely post one! Yeah I definitely can’t wait for Bone Gap to arrive either, I may have to re-read it once it does!
I can’t wait to see all the wonderful books 🙂 I’m excited to get Bone Gap as well, I feel like I’m going to LOVE it.
They’ve been dispatched from Amazon! Finally! Probably won’t be able to post my book haul post until next week though.
Well, I’ll wait 😀
OMG Cinder is the actual best and I’m so glad you liked it and isn’t it just so freakin’ fabulous! And Kai and Cinder are such and amazing ship and Kai is so mazing (Search for cinder fan art, btw, there is some amazing art out there, including beautiful beautiful pictures of Prince Kai. He used to be my desktop background) So glad you liked this, Marie!
Oh yes, I loved Kai, I wanted to see even more of him in the first book, he was such a fantastic character! Thank you so much, I know what I’m going to spend my day doing now, ahah, searching for beautiful fan art! 🙂
Yes! You should buy the rest of the series! And let’s buddy read Scarlet together ♡♡♡ I hope it only goes upward from Cinder 🙂 And yes, swoon over Prince Kai so bad. Cinder is a great fairytale retelling with just the right twists and turns. Just amazing 🙂
I will, I’m not sure when but I will sometime soon, I need to! Ohhh, that would be great, yes, let’s do that! <3 It was incredible, really worth the hype, I am excited to read more <3
Just tell me when. But I’ll probably buy my copy if I could find a cheap one in Singapore by June. It would be so fun. I’m deeply praying to the book gods that Scarlet will be just as good.
Oh yes, I’m praying, too, but I’m hearing it just gets better and better! 🙂 It would be really fun indeed, well, I’ll let you know! 😀
YAAAAAS ! This makes me so freaking happy ❤❤ (Cinder is a cyborg by the way ? Iko’s the android)
Now go read Scarlet AND Wolf by Wolf ? I’ll keep bugging you until you do, I’m warning you ?
OH right, damn, thank you so much, ahah, I got kind of confused… Ahah, keep on bugging me, I WILL read those books, I promise 😀
Hahaha yeah that book does it sometimes, so many new terms thant you feel like drowning in them 😛
Don’t worry about it I will ? YAY ! ❤
I’m not that good with all the new vocabulary and I’ll take “being French” as an excuse, hahaha even though it’s bad. 😛
Hahahah it is a pretty bad excuse I must admit ? (especially because those words are used in french too, but Shh! We’ll keep it a secret)
Hahahaha, yes, but let’s pretend they’re not, for a second? No? Okay, well…I’m the queen of bad excuses, you’ll know that now ? ? ?
Gotcha ! ?? yeah as I said, let’s keep it a secret ahahaha!
Exactly 😛
I am so glad you enjoyed it, Marie!
I also just recently read this and I loved it so much. I’m much more used to falling in love with the male characters, but how could I when Cinder was a sweetheart that must be protected at all costs? She was definitely my favorite character!
I can’t wait to read the other books as soon as possible! ?
Oh yes, Cinder was such a great character, one of the best I’ve read, really, I loved her so, so much 🙂 I’m excited to read the other books as well, hopefully soon 😀 Thank you so much Lais! <3
Ahh I really need to read this! For some reason the whole android thing has put me off, but hearing you say it’s worth the hype… OKAY. OKAY I WILL READ IT! As soon as I can! Which might be months off but still!
YES, read it! This whole android and cyborg thing really put me off at first, because I’m not used to that, at all, ahah, but it was such a great surprise! Hopefully you’ll feel the same way about it 🙂 Thank you so much Annika! 🙂
I keep hearing great things about this! I need to put it on my TBR right now!
Oh yes, you should ! I would love to know if you like it or not 🙂
I loved Cinder as well ❤️ Though I haven’t yet started Scarlet ? Great review Marie!!
Yaay, so glad you loved it! I need to buy Scarlet soon, I can’t wait! Thank you so much Jenna! <3
after reading your review and everyone’s comments, wow! Everyone seems to love this book! I have no idea about what books are hyped or not, so I actually hadn’t heard of it but the premise of the book sounds so interesting! Will definitely put it on my reading list 🙂
Well, the hype definitely is something you find out when getting into book blogging. I had NO idea such thing existed before, either, ahah. But once you start looking at book blogs and Goodreads and everything, you’ll find out that there are books that EVERYONE just can’t stop talking about. It’s crazy!
I hope you’ll decide to read this book, it was really good, I’d love to know if you like it! Thank you so much Josephine <3
Great Review! I’m so glad you finally read it and enjoyed it! I hope you like the rest of the series too! 😀
Thank you so much Raven! I really can’t wait to read the next book, I’m so excited! 😀
Yayy!!! So glad you liked it!!! (gosh you have no idea how tense I was when I read that opening paragraph :p )
Hahaha, oh well I’m happy if it worked, I’m a bit cruel at times, haha, sorry about that. It was such a great book, I was anxious when I started reading it as well 😛
Thank you so much <3
haha well it definitely worked! haha I know the feeling- hyped-book (or the will-it-won’t-it-be-good?) anxiety plagues everyone in the book world! You’re welcome 🙂
Oh yes, it makes me feel so stressed out to read these kind of books, ahah, the pressure is real! But I’m glad I enjoyed this one 😀
hahaha I know right! That’s great 🙂
I just finished reading Scarlet and it was brilliant! I definitely recommend you read it.
-Melia @ Theimmortalreaders
Aww, I’m so, so glad you liked it so much! I loved Cinder, and I’m really eager to buy the second book. Hopefully I will, soon! Thank you Melia! 🙂
I’m so happy you loved it! 😀 Yes go buy the entire series right now. And don’t forget Stars Above. The series just gets better and better 😀
OHh right! I always tend to forget the books between the books, haha. Thank you for reminding me, I will need to get ALL of these soon, hopefully! 🙂
Oh there’s Fairest too haha! I forgot about it ? I haven’t read that one myself yet either, since I haven’t been able to find it at the bookstore yet so I keep buying other books which leaves me without any money to order it ? Yes you do! 🙂
Ohh, right, well I’m definitely keeping note of these books, wouldn’t want to miss out! 😀 thank you so much! What would I do without you! <3
Your review and the comments in this thread are making me think I NEED to read this book. I’ve seen it floating around for a while, but you may have just been the one to convince me! Is it similar to any other books? Would you say it’s more fantasy or magical realism?
I may review this book haha, so here’s my blog in case you’re interested: http://readbyjess.blogspot.co.uk/
Oh YES, you really should! I’m so, so happy if I could convince you! It’s really quite unique, I couldn’t think of anything really similar, to be honest, the plot is so unique! It’s fantasy 🙂 I really hope you’ll read it, and please let me know if you do, so I can read your review 🙂