I recently finished Marissa Meyer’s Cinder from the Lunar Chronicles and I have the blogging community to thank for, for motivating (unintentionally, maybe) me to pick it up. There was a time when almost every other blog I visited would have a post about Cinder and I would wonder whether I would be able to read it.
Don’t get me wrong, for a really long time I’ve had an appreciation for Young Adult novels, especially from the dystopian/utopian genre. Then books like Maze Runner and Divergent happened. Then I lost interest. And when I went on to pick up Cinder, I was quite sceptical. And for good reason.
Well, I have to admit, the book premise is quite interesting. The futuristic setting and the plot is quite good. In fact, the way Cinderella story has been adapted to not just today’s setting, instead a probable time in future is sort of brilliant. This book puts Cinderalla years ahead from now and here she is Cinder. It’s a future where cyborgs and robots are part of everyday life. And Marissa Meyer has done this in a way that’s convincing. They have been integrated into the story very very convincingly. What I love the most is Cinders personality. Shes got oodles of guts and gumption. Props to her for it.
But the romance kind of put me off. It’s not that I don’t appreciate a good romantic novel. However, when it borders on sappy, I lose my sense of appreciation. And it felt like that happened here. There are places where I felt like a strong character like Cinder was unnecessarily melting to the charms of Prince Kaito.
The way the story plays out is quite intriguing. And part of what I liked about the book is the fact that it’s part of a larger story that makes for the entire Lunar Chronicles which features other favourites from the fairy tales we have grown up with – Snow White, Rapunzel and Red Riding Hood. One of the reasons I’m going to continue with this series is the way the book ended. It was quite interesting. So, I know I will soon return to the series for book 2.
Would I recommend the book? Yes, however, I would state that this book is a good choice for those who can stomach some romance that’s predictable and a tad bit sappy.
onturningpages 
Thanks for the review! I’ve been kind of wary of this book as well, but maybe I’ll pick it up now 🙂
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I’ve been eyeing this book because I like fairy tales retellings but I’m not a fan of steampunk. If it’s seamlessly integrated though, I might check it out.
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Agree! The Cinderella story parallels are seamlessly woven into the story.. I have to give that to the author. There was no point where I felt like an element of the fairy tale was being force fitted.. however, there’s a dollop of teen romance that kind of didn’t go down too smoothly for me. However, this made for an interesting read. 😊😊
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Glad to see you enjoyed it! I definitely found Cinder and Kai to be the most clichéd and least relatable pairing in the series, so hopefully the other books will appeal even more as there isn’t such a focus on them!
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