Review: Cinder by Marissa Meyer

Title: Cinder
Author: Marissa Meyer
Series: Lunar Chronicles #1
Publication: January 5th 2012 by Puffin 
Genre: Young Adult ~ Dystopian ~ Retelling
Format: Paperback, 387 pages
Cover Rating: 5/5
Overal Rating: 5/5

Humans and androids crowd the raucous streets of New Beijing. A deadly plague ravages the population. From space, the 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.

~My thoughts: 
So I got to reading this book because I put it on a poll on Goodreads and that's what got the most votes. While the others only got 4, 2 or even 0 votes, Cinder got over 15 so it was obvious what people wanted me to read. What I want to say to those people is: THANK YOU SO MUCH! If you hadn't voted on it it would've probably taken me even LONGER to read this amazing book. 
I've had Cinder on my shelf for almost a year I think. Actually found it at a local bookstore but I guess it slipped my mind that I had it and I never picked it up until recently. I could just smack myself on the head for that!

Our heroine is a 16 year-old cyborg (Gotta love that!) who is a mechanic in New Beijing (Love that too!), who's parents died in a car crash years ago (That's the accident where Cinder got turned into a cyborg also). Even since she's lived with her stepmother who hates her and stepsisters, not remembering a thing about her life before the crash. One day prince Kai shows up at Cinder's stall where she works, to get his android fixed. From there on out everything get so much harder and crazier! Somehow Cinder is immune to the plague that has been causing deads for over a dozen years. Why is she immune, while she is so different already? And can she resist the prince's charms when he asks her to go to the ball with him?

I was hooked from the moment things started speeding up and Cinder got send to get tested for possible plague antidotes. From that moment I could hardly put this book down.
Cinder is just an amazing heroine. One of my favorites so far. She's courageous, funny, strong and she cares so much about her family (well, maybe not her stepmother Adri and stepsister Pearl but who can blame her?) She does love her little stepsister Peony a lot and their android Iko. How can she not? Peony and Iko are adorable! Especially Iko is really cute. I want an android like her!

This book had so many awesome elements. Like cyborgs, androids, New Beijing, Lunars (people who actually live on the moon!) and so on and on. It was all really cool. Almost makes me wish I could live in this book. 
I loved prince Kai! He is freaking swoon-worthy! But not only that he also cares a lot about his people and wants to do what's right for them to avoid a war with the Lunars who's queen is just the epitome of pure, pure evil! 
I was really heart broken because of the scene at the ball where everything about Cinder comes out. This one sentence just breaks my heart. "You’re even more painful to look at than she is." I really want these two characters to be together and live happily ever after. I hope it'll still happen!

Really, the only negative things I can say about Cinder is that in the beginning I didn't love it immediately, I took me at least 50 pages to get really into it. I was rather confused because I didn't get what exactly was going on but once I got past that I was swept away in this story like I haven't been for a long time.
Also the "twist" in this story was really obvious but I didn't really mind it (even when I kind of jumped up and went, "YES!"). I guessed it from the beginning and at the end it came out. Never mind that because it was a fantastic book nontheless.

There was a little bit of romance in. No kisses or anything yet but there definitely was the promise of more romance in the future. I loved Kai's little flirting with Cinder and how he kept asking her to the ball. I had many *facepalm* moments everytime she kept saying no (even though I totally understand why but it's Kai! Oh so cute. Oh so sweet!).

Overall Cinder is a beautiful, exceptional fairytale retelling that keeps you hooked and sucks you into the world of technology, cyborgs, evil moon queens but also of fairytale love, frienship and courage.
Now I am just waiting to get my hands on Scarlet very soon!

It was amazing!

~Favorite Quotes;

Vanity is a factor, but it is more a question of control. It is easier to trick others into perceiving you as beautiful if you can convince yourself you are beautiful. But mirrors have an uncanny way of telling the truth.

Cinder twisted up her lips. "Do you think it could have a virus?"

"Maybe her programming was overwhelmed by Prince Kai's uncanny hotness."

~About the author;

Marissa Meyer lives in Tacoma, Washington, with her husband and three cats. She’s a fan of most things geeky (Sailor Moon, Firefly, color-coordinating her bookshelf . . .), and has been in love with fairy tales since she was given a small book of them when she was a child. She may or may not be a cyborg. Cinder is her first novel.

Visit Marissa at:

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Purchase Cinder at: 

The Book Depository | Amazon | Fishpond | Kobo