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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Source: I purchased a paperback.
Review:
I absolutely loved Cinder! People have been telling me to read it for ages, but I’ve just let it sit on my shelf for a long while. I’m really glad I finally picked it up because it was awesome. Fairy tale retellings really aren’t my favorite things for whatever reason. Mostly, I find them predictable since, once you discover the parallels, you can guess whatever will happen and who is supposed to be who. I was pleased that Cinder was so unique. While some things were a little predictable, I was thrilled and surprised by the overall plot and events.
Cinder was an awesome character. She was sarcastic, talented, and refreshingly normal. Sure, she had hang ups about her status as a cyborg, but she wasn’t mopey or whiney or full of self doubt in ways that make me cringe. She was a character I liked from page 1 and I was rooting for her the entire time. I also loved Iko, the hilarious android!
I really really loved the futuristic setting of Cinder. I love science fiction and futuristic worlds with awesome concepts that are brought to life. I loved seeing cyborgs, hovercrafts, screens everywhere, ID chips, and androids as part of normal everyday life for the citizens of the Commonwealth. I also enjoyed the unique and creative infusion of magic in the idea of Lunar people who colonized the moon. They reminded me a lot of the Fae legends because of their possession of magic and ability to glamour people. Mixing magic and science fiction was bound to be awesome and it was very well executed in Cinder.
I highly recommend Cinder and I’m very glad I bought the second book already! This is a must read! This is one of those rare and amazing occasions where a novel truly lives up to the hype. I am very thankful to all of my bookish friends who’ve recommended this book to me!