May 18, 2012

Cinder by Marissa Meyer



Publisher’s summary: 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.
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My Take: What can I say? Cinder was amazing, stunning, magical, fabulous, beautiful and fun! Cinder is supposed to be a futuristic retelling of Cinderella, and although Cinderella will always be a classic, I actually like this version a whole heck of a lot better! The writing flowed perfectly, the characters were amazingly well-developed, and the worlds described in Cinder were beautifully and ingeniously created.

I wanted to read Cinder in what feels like forever! But because of my consistently growing to-read and to-review list, Cinder kept getting pushed to the bottom of my reading pile. So I was more than thrilled when I was asked to review the audio version of Cinder (read by Rebecca Soler)! And let me tell you, Rebecca Soler is a fabulous reader! She completely immersed me into the story, and the voice she created for each character was perfect!

As I said before, the characters were spectacularly well developed. I grew a strong attachment to Cinder, and I loved her snarky personality. Iko (Cinder’s family android) was probably one of my favorite characters. She’s sweet and quirky, and I loved each and every scene she was in! And just like the original fairytale, Cinder also has two stepsisters; one is absolutely adorable, while the other is a snotty spoiled brat I wouldn't mind slapping around occasionally! And Cinder's cruel stepmother Adri is one-nasty-woman! Several times I was rooting for Cinder to claw Adri's eyes out! And of course, I can’t forget to mention the outright wicked Queen Levana! I'm crossing my fingers and I’m hoping for a horrifically, miserable destruction of that woman in future books of this series!

The way the story ended left me extremely eager to continue reading the other books in this series! I really want to know where Cinder’s story will go, and I’m more than a little excited to read Marissa Meyer’s retelling of “Little Red Riding Hood” (in Scarlet), “Rapunzel” (in Cress) and “Snow White” (in Winter)!


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12 comments:

The Insouciant Sophisticate said...

I did not realize the third book would be a retelling of Rapunzel! After loving Disney's Tangled, I have more of a soft spot for that fairy tale although Cinderella will probably always be my favorite. I think that is part of the reason I enjoyed this retelling so much (although obviously Meyer's great story and writing contributed ;)

Farah said...

When I first pick up Cinder, I didn't I would get so immersed in the book. I was actually reluctant of picking the book up. Great review! :D

Fara @ Tumbling In Books

Kristina said...

I read the book, but now I wouldn't mind listening to it too!

Great review, I can't wait for Scarlet as well!

Unknown said...

I've read so many varying reviews of Cinder. I'm not sure what to think. I do want to read it at some point. Your review helped bump it up a bit. Glad you enjoyed it so much!

Book Flame said...

Okay i'm excited I knew the next one was Red Riding Hood but had no clue the third was Rapunzel. Anyways I loved Cinder one of my most favorite reads this year so far can't wait for Scarlet. Loved the review!

Unabridged Bookshelf said...

This book sounds really good, and I want to see how each retelling goes too! I am going to have to pick up Cinder very soon! Great Review!

Elodie said...

I so have to pick up a copy of this book, it sounds amazing :) !! I didn't know the series will focus on other fairy tales, that's great !!
Fabulous review Mindy :) !

manda-rae said...

I bought this book a week after it came out and still haven't read it. I really need to pick it up. I'm glad you liked it. Audio books don't work well for me because I have horrible listening skills and get distracted too easily. I can't wait for the moment where I have time to read this one...

veela-valoom said...

I'm so glad you finally read this! One of my favorites this year!

Amy said...

I have been meaning to get to this book forever too. I bought it right when it came out, but still haven't had a chance to get to it. Awesome review. You have made me want to make time for this one ASAP. I love audio books because I can listen to them in the car. I love audio books because they are convenient. Maybe I should get the audio of this so I can get to it sooner.

Evie said...

Duuuuude, i am so thrilled you loved Cinder as much I did! It was so wicked awesome, right?! I can't wait for the second book! I loved everything: the new spin, the settings, the depth, the characters.. While you can't really call it an unpredictable read, it was still pretty fabulous and I loved it to pieces! Great review, sweetie!

Jessi (Geo) said...

Oh hai!! *waves*
I don't know how I never found you before, but I will be stalking this blog in the near future ;)

As for this review, I've been wanting to read Cinder forever too and, like you, have been pushing it to the bottom. I don't know why, since the reviews I've read rave about it. This review made me want to read it even more!!

Jessi @ Auntie Spinelli Reads

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