From the Bookshelf of Nothing But Reading Challenges…

Cinder (The Lunar Chronicles, #1)

Marissa Meyer

Start date: March 23, 2012

Finish date: March 31, 2012

Discussion: Books of the Month

Why we're reading this: We voted and this one will be one of March's Books of the Month. Here is a link to the discussion: http:/…more
[close] We voted and this one will be one of March's Books of the Month. Here is a link to the discussion: http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/8...

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What Members Thought

Jun 19, 2014 Stormi (StormReads) rated it really liked it

Shelves: audiobook

Listened for fun through audibles.

First Thoughts: It was better than I thought it was going to be, I am not real big on getting books that have a lot of hype. Normally if they are hyped up I don't like them, so this one was a surprise.

When it comes to fairy tale retellings I am sort of iffy. Some times I like them and some times I don't, so I really wasn't sure if I would want to try this because of all the hype. This one is about Cinderella but at the same time it isn't like any type of Cindere Listened for fun through audibles.

First Thoughts: It was better than I thought it was going to be, I am not real big on getting books that have a lot of hype. Normally if they are hyped up I don't like them, so this one was a surprise.

When it comes to fairy tale retellings I am sort of iffy. Some times I like them and some times I don't, so I really wasn't sure if I would want to try this because of all the hype. This one is about Cinderella but at the same time it isn't like any type of Cinderella I have ever read. Cinder is a cyborg and was adopted. When the man that adopted her dies she is left with the woman who never wanted her and her two kids. Though of the the girls is really mean the other one is actually really nice to Cinder.

Cinder is also based in New Beijing which is also something new for the Cinderella tale. Cinder is a mechanic and a very unusual girl. When her sister who is nice to her gets sick with the plague that is going around Cinder finds out that she is immune. She also finds out some other things about herself that could get her in even more trouble than she is already in. Cinder is a pretty interesting character and has a lot of guts.

Prince Kai, is suppose to be wed to the Lunar Queen. It's not something he wants to do and he has been on a quest to find someone who is suppose to be dead. Prince Kai meets Cinder when he needed to get his android Nancy fixed. Nancy has important information that he needs and hopes Cinder can fix her. The Prince seems pretty cool and has a heavy weight put upon him.

The Lunar people seem to remind me a little be of a cross between werewolves (living on the moon) and vampires (glamours, not liking mirrors, etc). They are not a very nice race of people, especially their Queen.

Cinder has a lot more action and moved at a fast pace which I like. I love all the parts that were sort of like Cinderella combined with all the things that were not. So far there is not HEA in this fairy tale retelling and I kind of like that. (Not to say that it might not happen eventually but that is why it's a series..lol)

Why it's so surprising that I liked it is that it is part of two genres that I am not real big fans of and that is Sci-fi and dystopian. Despite this though it gives Cinderella a really unique retelling. If you haven't picked it up yet, I would recommend you give it a try. ...more

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Feb 01, 2013 Kim DeCina rated it really liked it

I absolutely loved this book. It had a combination of unique worldbuilding, interesting and diverse characters, and a great plot (I'm a sucker for fairytale retellings, but this does it even better than most.) I was having trouble sleeping the night before I completed it so I wound up tearing through the last 8 chapters until the wee hours of the morning, because the finale was so good at keeping me riveted that I had no idea what was coming next. My one complaint, keeping it at 4 stars instead ...more

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Dec 21, 2011 Brenda rated it really liked it

This book was so predictable that I think it was meant to be that way. I don't think the reader was necessarily supposed to be surprised, so I didn't hold that against it.

I really love fairy tales, so this Cinderella re-telling was right up my alley. It was definitely a different take on it, and I liked the futuristic setting. It's nice to find good YA science fiction, because there's not a whole lot of it out there.

Although this isn't the best I've read, it's very good, and I would recommend ...more

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Jun 11, 2014 Rebekah rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: genre-fantasy, genre-young-adult, genre-fantasy-fairy-tales, genre-science-fiction, genre-young-adult-teen, genre-romance, genre-science-fiction-dystopia, series, genre-fiction, nbrc-bom-br

Clever and entertaining, if easy to predict & figure out

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Jan 20, 2012 Logan rated it it was amazing

Shelves: borrowed-library, own-bought-ebook, sci-fi, young-adult, 2013-books-read

If you couldn’t tell from the summary, Cinder is a loose retelling of the Cinderella story. Cinder is a cyborg who was adopted as a child by her father, who soon after died and left her in the care of her nasty stepmother. As a mechanic, she is responsible for the mechanical upkeep of her stepmother’s household machines. In her spare time, she dreams of escaping to a life of freedom on her own.

What could have been a somewhat interesting tale about a cyborg who wants to be treated as an equal qui ...more

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Nov 01, 2012 Jessica rated it really liked it

Shelves: favorites, young-adult, fantasy

I don't know why it took me so long to get around to reading my copy of Cinder. I guess I've been burned by too many bad fairy tell retellings (Wicked I'm looking at you!) I love robots and cyborgs, and the cover is of course gorgeous (though my copy is on the e-reader, so I really only saw it at the beginning!)

Cinder is a futuristic cyborg retelling of Cinderella. Cinder is a mechanic, who spends her days in a market stall repairing androids and electronics. All her money goes to her stepmother ...more

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