Reviews tagging 'Violence'

Cinder by Marissa Meyer

40 reviews

thumbeleia's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0


Expand filter menu Content Warnings

msradiosilence's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous emotional funny lighthearted mysterious tense 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

TLDR; 4.5 rating, they’re teenagers??, and I don’t remember a whole lot about this series.
Content warnings at the bottom. :)

I first read the Lunar Chronicles when I was in high school. And that was a LONG time ago. My boyfriend got me the pretty cover box set, so I figured now was as good a time as any to read it!

My first major issue is that the main characters are all 16-17 years old. That’s insanity. Since the whole series takes place in like 9 months, Cinder is a <i> child </i>. She’s a baby. 16 is NOTHING. Too young to be causing all this trouble, that’s for sure. She does so much in this book and the next three, like?? Did she have to be 16?

My second major issue is that, even though this book is set in Beijing, there’s very little of Eastern Asian culture in the book. Mayhaps that’s because the author is a white woman with no ties to China, and we all know how I feel about white authors writing outside of their experiences, but I digress.

I’ve always felt so sorry for Kai. Bless him, he’s always getting the short end of the stick with all of this, and it’s a wonder he doesn’t have a full head of grey hair. Poor guy is always stressed.

Dr. Erland is one of the best unhinged characters I’ve read in a while. Morally grey, funny, he’s just a fun character to read. I don’t agree at all with anything he’s ever done, but I do love a moral grey bitch.

Rating: 4.5
Would I recommend? Yes, especially if you enjoy moon people, quippy robots, and sci-fi fairytale retellings.

Content warnings: Car accident, Child abuse, Medical content, Pandemic/Epidemic, War, Bullying, Death of parent, Gun violence, Ableism, Classism, Medical trauma, Blood, Violence, Fire/Fire injury, Child death, Emotional abuse, and Death

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

kylieqrada's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous lighthearted mysterious 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

4.0

Just as fun this time around as I remember it being! I was pretty impressed that this held up after almost 10 years. 

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

abbypeekreads's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous 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

5.0

I can already tell that The Lunar Chronicles is going to become my next YA fantasy obsession. I had a few reservations going into this one--it's an older title, so I wondered if it would still hold up today, and I wasn't sure if the sci-fi elements would be for me. But this series gets so much love, so I wanted to check it out for myself. And I'm so glad I did, because I absolutely loved this book! 

The writing was excellent, the twist on a classic fairytale was so clever, and the characters were super unique and engaging. The high stakes of the premise were very engaging as well--I love political intrigue in a novel, so the tense circumstances surrounding the Lunars and Earth kept me hooked into the story. That mixed with the mystery surrounding Cinder's past meant that I really couldn't put the book down. I can't wait to continue the series and see what twists on more classic fairytales Meyers has in store!

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

hannahmcclee's review

Go to review page

adventurous emotional mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25


Expand filter menu Content Warnings

catsphodel's review

Go to review page

fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.25

This is definitely a poorly aged story. Bringing up a child's fertility after a "trans" joke is weird and quite frankly, distasteful. I appreciate how fans have completely ignored Cinder as European and have instead claimed her as Asian. As for the Asian "influences" of this book I wouldn't consider this hodge podge and mixing of several different cultures anything to get excited about. Oddly both fast paced and a little info dumpy at times.

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

ravensandlace's review

Go to review page

adventurous mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

3.0

Title: Cinder
Author: Marissa Meyer
Genre: Dystopian Young Adult
Format: hardback library book
Series: The Lunar Chronicles
Star Rating: 3 stars

tw: sickness, death from illness, mentions of suicide, infanticide, mind control, extreme pain

Yes, I am very late to the party with this book series. About 11 years late. But hey, better late than never! I’m only just now getting into popular young adult books. I like to wait for the hype to die down a bit before I read a popular book so that way, I don’t get a mob after me if I end up not liking the book. Cinder has been on my radar for some time now. I think it was the way the cover was. It drew me in. I had seen that my local library had it so I decided to give it a go. I was pleasantly surprised. 

I enjoyed the aspect of this being a Cinderella retelling. I don’t like Disney and I haven’t read the original story of Cinderella but I do know about Cinderella and the story well enough to know what is going on. I enjoyed the way Meyer reinvented it but also kept the story there with a spin to it. I can also appreciate an author that keeps the spirit of the story but still make it their own. 

There were two POVs: Cinder and Prince Kai. I liked Cinder’s chapters more than I liked Prince Kai’s. I loved the bond she had with her adopted sister and how she was willing to do anything for her. Considering the abuse she experienced with her stepmom and other sister, she was surprisingly empathetic and truly cared a lot. Prince Kai’s chapters were okay. There were a lot of politics involved since he had an empire to run. I didn’t mind his chapters but I couldn’t wait to get back to Cinder’s chapters.

Overall, this was a good book. I called the plot twist early on but that wasn’t a bad thing. It didn’t hinder my enjoyment. I’m not super in love with the book, but I like it enough that I will continue the series as I have enjoyed the ride and the characters so far. I think I would have liked it a lot more if I had read it when I was younger. I’ve read so many dystopian novels since I’ve gotten serious about reading, that they all kind of blend together.

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

tonylovd's review

Go to review page

adventurous medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

The lunar chronicles are such a comfort series to me. I absolutely adore this series.

These books are a twist on fairytales, and of all the fairytale retellings, these ones take first place. 

All the characters have so much depth and they're all so unique from one another. 

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

ginameix's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0


Expand filter menu Content Warnings

booklover97's review

Go to review page

adventurous emotional hopeful sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0


Expand filter menu Content Warnings