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brinmarie's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Amazing take on Cinderella! Unique, modern, beautiful, and kinda makes me scared because it’s kinda like seeing our future with AI and androids.
karensbooks's review against another edition
4.0
For more reviews: http://goo.gl/FodStW
Cinder is based on the story Cinderella, which was why I bought this book to begin with. I'm a fan of books based on old stories, such as "Alice in Zombieland" or "The Grimm Chronicles".
The book has a great beginning; we get to know our main character and her background story. Our main character Cinder, she is a mechanic and doesn't mind getting her hands a bit dirty. She is also a cyborg, hated by everyone around her. Cyborgs don’t have high social statues, they are slaves, and people treat them like they are garbage. Cinder doesn't seem to bother about what people think about her as long as she can do what she likes, and spend time with her two friends and doesn't get bothered by her stepmother. Her friends are the android Iko and her stepsister Peony, which later become sick.
Cinder's stepmother and other stepsister are the ones who are cruel to her. Her stepmother makes her do everything, and after her stepfather's death, she had been the one to work and make money. Money her stepmother spends on clothes to herself and her two daughters. Cinder's dead stepfather, was the one who found her and took care of her. If it hadn't been for him, Cinder would probably have been dead. Meyer makes sure we don't have any sympathy with Cinder's stepmother and stepsister. She describes them as cruel and horrible people, through how they act and behave.
Meyer explains everything understandable. She makes it easy for us to imagine her universe. The time and setting are placed in the 126th year of the Third Era. Meyer does let us know about the other Eras as well. The settings are places on both earth and the moon, Luna. Luna is controlled my queen Levana, a power-hungry lady. She is willing to sacrifice everything to get more power. Levana is the big bad wolf, she is even worse than Cinder's stepmother. Levana is obsessed with beauty and wants to be the prettiest person in the whole galaxy. The Lunar people have a special mind controlling power, they can take control over everyone's heads. Though, some of them are weaker and don't have the strength to control others, also there is people born without this power and immune to other's powers, also called shells. Levana have ordered shells to be killed right away, as they are a threat to her thrown and power.
The book Cinder is filled with action and mysteries. We get to meet prince Kai, who Cinder falls in love with. We know he might have to marry the evil queen to make peace with her, but we also know that he is looking for the lost princess of Lunar, the only one who can take down queen Levana. We don't know if she is dead or alive, but some evidence leads us to our theory that she might still be alive, hiding on planet earth.
This is a book you can enjoy on a vacation or if you want to sit down and read something easy and enjoyable. The romance is a bit cliché, at least that's my opinion, I think it's a bit awkward and forced. I know that Cinderella marries the Prince and they fall in love with each other the first night, but it seems a bit out of place in this book. Unfortunately, this doesn't get better with the next books, in fact, it gets worse with more clichés. They are focusing more on their love life than on actually saving the world.
But, it's not a bad book. I have read all of them and I'm sad that the series has ended. I do recommend it to people who enjoy young-adult science-fiction books, with a lot of romance in them.
The characters you get to meet are well devolved and they are unique and lovable. My favorite character is Cress, since she is way too cute and clumsy. Unfortunately you don't get to meet her before the third book.
Cinder is based on the story Cinderella, which was why I bought this book to begin with. I'm a fan of books based on old stories, such as "Alice in Zombieland" or "The Grimm Chronicles".
The book has a great beginning; we get to know our main character and her background story. Our main character Cinder, she is a mechanic and doesn't mind getting her hands a bit dirty. She is also a cyborg, hated by everyone around her. Cyborgs don’t have high social statues, they are slaves, and people treat them like they are garbage. Cinder doesn't seem to bother about what people think about her as long as she can do what she likes, and spend time with her two friends and doesn't get bothered by her stepmother. Her friends are the android Iko and her stepsister Peony, which later become sick.
Cinder's stepmother and other stepsister are the ones who are cruel to her. Her stepmother makes her do everything, and after her stepfather's death, she had been the one to work and make money. Money her stepmother spends on clothes to herself and her two daughters. Cinder's dead stepfather, was the one who found her and took care of her. If it hadn't been for him, Cinder would probably have been dead. Meyer makes sure we don't have any sympathy with Cinder's stepmother and stepsister. She describes them as cruel and horrible people, through how they act and behave.
Meyer explains everything understandable. She makes it easy for us to imagine her universe. The time and setting are placed in the 126th year of the Third Era. Meyer does let us know about the other Eras as well. The settings are places on both earth and the moon, Luna. Luna is controlled my queen Levana, a power-hungry lady. She is willing to sacrifice everything to get more power. Levana is the big bad wolf, she is even worse than Cinder's stepmother. Levana is obsessed with beauty and wants to be the prettiest person in the whole galaxy. The Lunar people have a special mind controlling power, they can take control over everyone's heads. Though, some of them are weaker and don't have the strength to control others, also there is people born without this power and immune to other's powers, also called shells. Levana have ordered shells to be killed right away, as they are a threat to her thrown and power.
The book Cinder is filled with action and mysteries. We get to meet prince Kai, who Cinder falls in love with. We know he might have to marry the evil queen to make peace with her, but we also know that he is looking for the lost princess of Lunar, the only one who can take down queen Levana. We don't know if she is dead or alive, but some evidence leads us to our theory that she might still be alive, hiding on planet earth.
This is a book you can enjoy on a vacation or if you want to sit down and read something easy and enjoyable. The romance is a bit cliché, at least that's my opinion, I think it's a bit awkward and forced. I know that Cinderella marries the Prince and they fall in love with each other the first night, but it seems a bit out of place in this book. Unfortunately, this doesn't get better with the next books, in fact, it gets worse with more clichés. They are focusing more on their love life than on actually saving the world.
But, it's not a bad book. I have read all of them and I'm sad that the series has ended. I do recommend it to people who enjoy young-adult science-fiction books, with a lot of romance in them.
The characters you get to meet are well devolved and they are unique and lovable. My favorite character is Cress, since she is way too cute and clumsy. Unfortunately you don't get to meet her before the third book.
daumari's review against another edition
4.0
I'm coming to these a decade late but a friend (Erika I think?) recommended them at Biere Library book club at some point so I've been on the lookout for them at the library.
I was pleasantly surprised to see Asian trappings (New Beijing, character names like Linh and Kaito) and looking at the wiki page because I'm terrible about risky spoiler clicks, it was an intentional choice to nod towards one of the oldest Cinderella versions, [b:Yeh-Shen: A Cinderella Story from China|1366662|Yeh-Shen A Cinderella Story from China|Ai-Ling Louie|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1348333271l/1366662._SX50_.jpg|1356489] (linking to the one I remember from childhood/reading rainbow).
The other obvious influence that made sense in hindsight with the acknowledgements is Sailor Moon with an evil space queen and a lost Princess Selene and... yeah. Am intrigued to see where this goes because OF COURSE it ends on a cliffhanger.
I was pleasantly surprised to see Asian trappings (New Beijing, character names like Linh and Kaito) and looking at the wiki page because I'm terrible about risky spoiler clicks, it was an intentional choice to nod towards one of the oldest Cinderella versions, [b:Yeh-Shen: A Cinderella Story from China|1366662|Yeh-Shen A Cinderella Story from China|Ai-Ling Louie|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1348333271l/1366662._SX50_.jpg|1356489] (linking to the one I remember from childhood/reading rainbow).
The other obvious influence that made sense in hindsight with the acknowledgements is Sailor Moon with an evil space queen and a lost Princess Selene and... yeah. Am intrigued to see where this goes because OF COURSE it ends on a cliffhanger.
a_fantasy_lover's review against another edition
4.0
Well the world is different and I liked the story. It hooked me from page one but I admit that I didn't feel as attached to this one as other books I've read. Also, the romance was sudden and kinda rushed. Aside from this, I was satisfied.
sarsarsarsarsar's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 but rounding down for meh writing, world building, and character development.
The major plot twist was easily guessable and took some of the magic away.
I really had to build up a world myself or I was going to be disengaged. You’re thrown into a futuristic world with little to no context. About a third into the book I started to connect some dots.
I just see SO much potential for this cool plot! I wish the characters were rounded out better, it would help get the reader invested and make for a much more emotional ride. I felt like the way the story was told was close to building emotion and relationships and even personalities, but it wasn’t quite there.
Anyway - as a huge fan of creative spin offs, this was cool. For as much as I didn’t care for the writing or the insta love, I found this interesting enough to keep my attention the entire time! The book did get a lot better as you continued. I will attribute that to excellent pacing! Im excited to keep reading (I heard the series gets increasingly better as well)
The major plot twist was easily guessable and took some of the magic away.
I really had to build up a world myself or I was going to be disengaged. You’re thrown into a futuristic world with little to no context. About a third into the book I started to connect some dots.
I just see SO much potential for this cool plot! I wish the characters were rounded out better, it would help get the reader invested and make for a much more emotional ride. I felt like the way the story was told was close to building emotion and relationships and even personalities, but it wasn’t quite there.
Anyway - as a huge fan of creative spin offs, this was cool. For as much as I didn’t care for the writing or the insta love, I found this interesting enough to keep my attention the entire time! The book did get a lot better as you continued. I will attribute that to excellent pacing! Im excited to keep reading (I heard the series gets increasingly better as well)
ranee_samaniego's review against another edition
4.0
4 / 5 Stars
Rating = PG
I was hesitant to read this book - I thought it would be a predictable romance with a sci-fi twist. Boy, was I wrong - and I am so glad I read this book!
While some aspects of the plot were predictable, the ending completely surprised me and made me eager to dive into the next book in the series.
Meyer did a wonderful job crafted a sci-fi world that was fascinating and different but still easily understandable. She also skillfully took the essence of the classic Cinderella story but added enough unique twists that I was engrossed the entire time. Finally, she created true, heartfelt moments throughout that often left me near tears.
I also really appreciated that this book was a clean sci-fi novel.
I can't wait to read the rest of the series!
Rating = PG
I was hesitant to read this book - I thought it would be a predictable romance with a sci-fi twist. Boy, was I wrong - and I am so glad I read this book!
While some aspects of the plot were predictable, the ending completely surprised me and made me eager to dive into the next book in the series.
Meyer did a wonderful job crafted a sci-fi world that was fascinating and different but still easily understandable. She also skillfully took the essence of the classic Cinderella story but added enough unique twists that I was engrossed the entire time. Finally, she created true, heartfelt moments throughout that often left me near tears.
I also really appreciated that this book was a clean sci-fi novel.
I can't wait to read the rest of the series!
normnialib's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
informative
inspiring
reflective
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
normnialib's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
informative
reflective
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5