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I genuinely wish I liked this more than I did, but alas, my frontal lobe has fully developed. I should've read this ten years ago when I would have been as naive, awkward, and self-concious as Cinder. Genuinely, I would get so annoyed because many of the characters were unbearable, abusive, and disgusting. What do you mean these grown adults were so rooted in classism, racism and ableism (in a fantasy world, no less! magic exists, and they couldn't abracadabra get rid of these annoying systemic issues??) Also, the sense of urgency was such a joke in this book. I really hated how some of the characters would move so slowly, wasting valuable seconds in very high-stakes, emergency situations. Like, what do you mean you have the antidote, yet you're talking instead of administering it?? What do you mean you have imperative, life-altering news, and you're having a whole conversation (misunderstanding) for 10 whole minutes before you finally say what should've been said within your first inhale?? What do you mean I knew every plot twist by chapter 3, and I had to wait for 36 more chapters to find it written on the page?
Anyways, this book was not all that bad, but also not the best. I would've given it a higher rating if the relationship between the main couple wasn't so stunted at the end. Why did the main male lead still even like the main character after the last 2 chapters? Free yourself bro, you don't deserve her bs. Stories like this remind me that yes, I truly am reading fiction.
I'm probably going to read the next books in the series, but not immediately. I needed an actual, light palette cleanser book to battle the scary and heavy reads I've been completing. May Cinder find freedom and do better because she has a long way to go.
Graphic: Ableism, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Self harm, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Violence, Vomit, Fire/Fire injury, War
Moderate: Death
Minor: Murder
I don't include the audio performer in my overall star review, but I'd give Rebecca Soler 4/5. There isn't much to say outside of her performance falling a bit flat. It wasn't actively bad, but there wasn't enough excitement and variance in her narration to intrigue me; my inner reading dialogue is much more enthusiastic than her performance itself is.
Graphic: Ableism, Terminal illness, Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Classism
Minor: Confinement, Gun violence, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Sexism, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Vomit, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, Deportation
Minor: Child death, Death, Gun violence, Self harm, Terminal illness, Blood, Car accident, Murder, Fire/Fire injury
Graphic: Ableism, Medical trauma, Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Violence, Xenophobia, Abandonment, War
Minor: Self harm, Blood, Murder, Injury/Injury detail
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Bullying, Gun violence, Blood
Minor: Vomit, Abandonment
Graphic: Ableism
Moderate: Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Classism, Pandemic/Epidemic
Graphic: Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Ableism, Child death, Slavery, Blood, Medical content, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder
Minor: Gun violence, Violence, War
Graphic: Body horror, Bullying, Death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Terminal illness, Xenophobia, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Deportation, Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Confinement, Genocide, Slavery, Medical content, Medical trauma, Car accident, Murder
Minor: War
Moderate: Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child death, Confinement, Terminal illness, Violence, Blood, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, War