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Cinder (The Lunar Chronicles, #1)

Marissa Meyer

Start date: April 1, 2012

Finish date: May 1, 2012

Discussion: Book Of The Month

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What Members Thought

Jan 16, 2012 Jeann (Happy Indulgence) rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: young-adult, 5-star, favourite-books, fairy-tales-retold, favorites

I started reading Cinder with the expectation that it was going to be pretty much a straight retelling of Cinderella but with the whole Cyborg twist to it. I was surprised to find however, that it is basically a story on it's own with the fairytale inspirations sprinkled throughout it. Fair enough, there's an Asian Prince, a ball, an evil stepmother, but there's also the New Beijing setting! An evil Lunar Queen! Prince Kai! And there's also Cinder, who is just so charming, witty, kind, and head- I started reading Cinder with the expectation that it was going to be pretty much a straight retelling of Cinderella but with the whole Cyborg twist to it. I was surprised to find however, that it is basically a story on it's own with the fairytale inspirations sprinkled throughout it. Fair enough, there's an Asian Prince, a ball, an evil stepmother, but there's also the New Beijing setting! An evil Lunar Queen! Prince Kai! And there's also Cinder, who is just so charming, witty, kind, and head-strong.

The characters within this book are so incredibly charming that you can't help but love them. Iko is a stand out for me, she's a cute little robot that believes she's a human. Prince Kai is persistent, honest, caring, and handsome. The evil stepmother and step sister played their parts well, but did not grate so much as the evil Lunar Queen.

Surprisingly, it's not all these things that automatically led to the 5 star rating for me. It was the sudden moment when I realised that the book featured a heavy similarity to my favourite childhood cartoon - Sailor Moon! You've got the evil queen who wants the prince for himself, the Neo Tokyo setting, the headstrong but lovable main character, and even the palace politics. From reading other reviews, it appears that Marissa Meyer is a huge Sailor Moon fan and that is absolutely awesome!

Despite all of that, there are a few downfalls to this book. Firstly, the predictable storyline kind of ruins any sort of major reveal later on. Being inspired by fairy tales sort of chains you in a certain corner, where certain things need to happen in the book. There's also an incredible lack of world building, considering the amazing world that Marissa has created. I did find that there were a few details missing, which I'm glad the free prequel has filled in for me.

These however, won't decrease my love of the book. I'm just left with such a feeling of warmth upon finishing it. It's such a charming little tale, with so much love put into it. I definitely recommend it for anyone who loves a good read.

Check out Happy Indulgence for more reviews! ...more

36 likes · Like · see review

Jan 01, 2012 Anjana rated it it was amazing

“Imagine there was a cure, but finding it would cost you everything. It would completely ruin your life. What would you do?”

Wow.

Un-freaking-believable (in a great way!). The awesomeness of Cinder cannot be explained by my words. You have to read it to love it! At first, I thought it's probably Cinderella with a twist, which it is. Only it's not so much as just Cinderella but also a bit of Snow White and Beauty & The Beast set in an amazing world. Oh, add some sci-fi to the mix too!

Cinder's ...more

4 likes · Like · see review

Jan 03, 2012 Alana ~ The Book Pimp rated it it was amazing

Shelves: owned-books, series-r-us, young-adult, wish-i-owned-books, dystopian, audiobooks, non-hea-endings, 2014-reading-challenge, audibleonebook

Officially, my rating is 4½♥'s... I gave it 5 for the purposes of Goodreads, but it's not quite a 5.

It was really, really, really damn good. I don't know why I drug my feet, but if you can handle YA angst, then is a book that must not be missed! I think I was worried about the Cinderella retelling... was it going to be unique and interested or just re-heating leftovers? Dude... it was crazy interesting and different while still holding true to the original tale ('ish'). I am keen on continuing t ...more

2 likes · Like · see review

Feb 19, 2012 Desiree rated it liked it

Three and a half stars.
I really enjoyed Cinder and I will definitely be reading Scarlet. It was fairly predictable but I'm not sure that that took away from the story at all. The only reason that I didn't give this book a four or even five star rating is because it was a little too sci-fi for my taste. I highly reccomend it to everyone, but especially those who love sci-fi. A completely unique and refreshing new take on an old and loved fairy tale. ...more

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Jan 13, 2012 Lis (The Reader L) rated it it was amazing

Shelves: books-i-love, amazing-covers, heart-breaking

AWESOME!!!
There's no other way to describe how much I loved this book. I never thought I could loved it like that!
It was very difficult to read, (illness and time!) but now that I'm done I truly can't wait for the next one! ...more

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