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Cinder (The Lunar Chronicles, #1)

Marissa Meyer

Start date: September 1, 2021

Finish date: September 30, 2021

Discussion: Book of the Month

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What Members Thought

Feb 04, 2019 Aly rated it really liked it

Shelves: romance, ya, audiobook, retelling, 2019, 2020, sci-fi

2nd time reading

I think I liked this more the second time around. It felt like it went by faster and I was able to pick up on some smaller details. There are a lot of hints about Cinder's past I noticed, plus having read Levana's story gave me a lot of insight too. I like Cinder, even if she sometimes is pessimistic and thinks her world is ending without really trying to fix it. Peonie is so sweet and her relationship with Cinder is great.

Iko is one of my favorite side characters, she's a robot ...more

11 likes · Like · see review

Jan 08, 2014 C.P. Cabaniss rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: science-fiction, young-adult, dystopian

My actual rating is probably a 3.5/5, but I always round up. This was a book that kept popping up and I kept ignoring it. I honestly did not think I would enjoy it very much, but everyone was talking about how good it was so when I came across it at the library I decided to take the chance. I found it interesting and rather captivating, though I would not say it is an all time favorite for me. Cinder was hard for me to connect with, but I found her story compelling nonetheless. I never really fe ...more

4 likes · Like · see review

Jul 06, 2014 Melany rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2015, own, 2022, own-physical

I kinda regret rereading this book. I thought going in I wouldn’t like it anywhere near as much as I did the first time and in that respect I was wrong. I did enjoy rereading way more than I thought I would. The short chapters were a breeze to get through, along with the simple but pleasing writing style, and the fast-paced plot and lovable characters made rereading this a lot of fun. What made me regret rereading this book and the following rereading of the whole series comes down to two main t I kinda regret rereading this book. I thought going in I wouldn’t like it anywhere near as much as I did the first time and in that respect I was wrong. I did enjoy rereading way more than I thought I would. The short chapters were a breeze to get through, along with the simple but pleasing writing style, and the fast-paced plot and lovable characters made rereading this a lot of fun. What made me regret rereading this book and the following rereading of the whole series comes down to two main things, one I was prepared for and one that caught me very off guard.

The first was the main reason I felt I needed to reread this series, I wanted to know if the Lunars were as annoying and frustrating as they were during my first read-through., and I’m not surprised they are. Queen Levana is not (IMO) a good villain, she stumps around like a spoiled child and no one can stop her. Not only does she have the ability to control people's minds, feelings, and even their bodies everyone on her planet can do that, maybe not to the lengths that she can (view spoiler). There is no possible way for the heroes to win at all without literal divine intervention, and I find that extremely annoying. It makes the story less fun to read (at least for me) that the heroes don’t stand a chance.

The second reason I regret rereading this book caught me by surprise because I forgot one of the major plot points of this book and series (view spoiler)

Part of me wants to lower my rating of this book but I don’t feel it would be fair. My first reason for disliking this book is a problem with future books that I vaguely remember, and if my experience with this book is any indication I most likely am remembering wrong. And the second issue is completely not fair and this book shouldn’t be judged for it. Overall think is a very strong first book in a series and was enjoyable to read it (IMO) deserves the rating it has. ...more

2 likes · Like · see review

Nov 18, 2014 Sara rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

They hype for this series is seriously unbelievable! Honestly, I need to know the secrets to getting the word out and getting so many people to fall into this book. I was honestly nervous about reading this one, I mean I love a good re-telling, especially of a fairy tale! However, my limited knowledge of cyborgs (minus Cyborg from the original Teen Titans, not this new shit stuff, don’t even get me started on that!) made me a bit nervous, after all I did see iRobot and was less than impressed. H ...more

1 like · Like · see review

Mar 26, 2016 Linda C rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: suspense-thriller, fantasy, paranormal, futuristic, romance-futuristic, young-adult, asian, dystopia

The setting is 126 years after World War IV in New Beijing; populated by humans and androids. Cinder is a cyborg mechanic with a computer enhanced brain and a mechanical foot and hand. The story is a retelling of Cinderella in a fun and action packed dystopian plague filled world. There is an evil Lunar Queen who plots to take over Earth and uses brainwashing to control humans and hide her true nature. There is a Prince attracted to Cinder, but not aware of her cyborg side. There is a stepmother ...more

1 like · Like · see review

Aug 27, 2014 Tânia rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: backlist-2020, dystopia, retellings, 2020-retelling-reading-challenge, fairytale-retellings

I think I enjoyed Cinder so much more this time around. This book tackles many important themes ("ownership," war, politics, technology, and so on) and makes us think what means to be human in a posthuman body. Moreover, this time around I did appreciate Cinder's and Kai's building relationship a lot more.

However, reading about a plague while living under a pandemic may not be a great idea...
Anyway, onto the next book of this futurist retelling series. 😊

*****

I will re-read Cinder very soon (so ...more

1 like · Like · see review

Sep 20, 2018 Nalz rated it it was amazing

I really liked this book - it was a reread for me but I loved the action of it, loved that Cinder is a cyborg and that their hackers, evil queens, and it was a great retelling of Cinderella. Can’t wait to go forward with this book series!

1 like · Like · see review

Aug 25, 2012 Jenn rated it really liked it · review of another edition

It wasnt what I was expecting. But I did enjoy the story. Some things seemed almost.predictable. But regardless, it was a great book. Very well written.

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