Review : Cinder by Marissa Meyer

Summary (from Goodreads)

A forbidden romance. A deadly plague. Earth's fate hinges on one girl...

Cinder, a gifted mechanic in New Beijing, is also a cyborg. She's reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsister's sudden illness. 

But when her life becomes entwined with the handsome Prince Kai's, she finds herself at the centre of a violent struggle between the desires of an evil queen - and a dangerous temptation.

Cinder is caught between duty and freedom, loyalty and betrayal. 

Now she must uncover secrets about her mysterious past in order to protect Earth's future.

Personal Thoughts

When I first saw the cover of Cinder, I thought it was gorgeous, but when I read the summary, I was pretty much put off. The idea of cyborgs did not appeal to me for some reason, so I didn't read it until a couple of days ago. I seriously wanted to hit myself for having read this book so late! Next time, I'm just going to listen to the positive reviews when they say a book is good!

The main character, Cinder, who's a cyborg, was a very pleasant character. I loved her narration. She was smart, brave, independent, strong-willed and stood up for herself. Unlike the fairy tale Cinderella, she didn't put up with all her step-mother's crap. I liked that she was an individual who could think for herself and not let her step-mom rule her life.  She was also very sweet, especially to her younger step-sister, Peony. I liked how much she was willing to do to help her out.
Cinder was a character who was fairly easy to connect with. I could easily relate to her behavior. Her insecurities relating to her looks and her confused feelings for Prince Kai were very realistic. I found myself feeling very much in synch with her because her actions and thoughts were understandable.
Cinder was by no means a perfect character. She had her flaws, but all that made her seem more like a teenager.
Prince Kai was yet another character I fell in love with in Cinder. He was sweet, friendly and honestly very caring. After the death of his father, the Emperor, all responsibilities fall on him. No matter how difficult and tedious the responsibility was, Kai tried very hard not to fail and the most important thing is that he attempted to deal with all the obstacles he faced. He was the good guy, who was always smiling, but inside he was troubled and worried for New Beijing.

There wasn't much of a romance in this book. Instead, it was more of a budding relationship. Cinder and Kai develop a friendship in this book. They try to share their problems and try to help each other out. There's no denying that there was some attraction between the two of them. It was very clear from the beginning that they liked each other, but they don't fall in love in this book. That was a great thing. Their relationship developed at a slow pace and the author did not dwell excessively on the romance, which was very good, according to me. I like to see the characters actually fall in love before my eyes and understand why they like each other.

I liked all the secondary characters in this book, except maybe the villain. I liked that Marissa Meyer didn't turn the step sisters completely evil. Peony was by far my favorite step-sister. I really liked her relationship with Cinder. It was true, honest sibling love between the two of them. I also liked Cinder's step-mom, although she could be very harsh and cruel. Marissa Meyer described her personality really well.
The villain, however, failed to impress me. I felt like she was way too predictable and she lacked character development. Hopefully, the next book in the Lunar Chronicles will solve that problem.

I cannot talk about Cinder, without praising the author for her creativity like so many reviewers have done. Cinder has to be one of the most imaginative piece of work that I've read in a very long time. Marissa Meyer does an excellent job at blending the fairy tale, science fiction and dystopian aspects of the novels to create this delightful book.
One of my complaints is that there is a lack of action in this book. I like my books full of actions. However, Cinder is mostly an informative novel. It mostly introduces us to New Beijing, the rules and the characters. I think the author is setting up the scene for the next books in the series, which I hope contains a healthy dose of action scenes!

The book itself is very well written. Marissa Meyer wrote the book in the third person. This ensures that the reader gets to see the different sides of the story through the eyes of the different characters. Her world building is not only commendable, but also highly interesting. I have no doubt that we can expect more good stuff from her in the future.

Overall, Cinder was a unique and original book, with a great set of characters and an awe-inspiring plot that swept me away! I can't wait for the sequel to see where the author will bring me to !

Rating
 

Cover : 4/5
Plot : 4/5
Characters : 4/5
Writing : 4/5