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charlottebreads's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
4.0
CW/TW: Ableism, death, emotional abuse, body horror (minor)
Age Rating: 10+
Representation: Disabled main character, East Asian love interest, East Asian inspired setting
- I loved Iko so muchhhh.
- Cinder and Kai's relationship was pretty cute.
- I liked the idea of making Cinder a cyborg.
Age Rating: 10+
Representation: Disabled main character, East Asian love interest, East Asian inspired setting
- I loved Iko so muchhhh.
- Cinder and Kai's relationship was pretty cute.
- I liked the idea of making Cinder a cyborg.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent
Moderate: Ableism and Emotional abuse
Minor: Body horror
carynnbanner's review against another edition
adventurous
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Body shaming, Car accident, Chronic illness, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Forced institutionalization, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, and War
aidamaria_reads's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
How I wish I would have read this sooner! I should have picked it up when I was still a teenager. As a sixteen-year-old girl with a brand new pair of prosthetic titanium hip joints, I would have loved to read about and relate to a cyborg girl with a prosthetic hand and foot. 🦾
Either way this is one of the best fairytale retellings I’ve ever come across. Even though one plottwist was a little obvious to me, the story remained gripping, the world building is *chef’s kiss* and I’m so excited to start the second book in the series soon! It’s been a while since I’ve enjoyed a story this much so I’m giving it a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 (4.5 out of 5 stars) rating. Definitely one of my favourite reads of 2021. 🏆
Content Warnings
Minor: Ableism, Abandonment, Bullying, Body shaming, Car accident, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Grief, Medical trauma, Terminal illness, Violence, and War
romiress's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Updated: I reread this, and I think it still holds up great. The plot twist is obvious and clearly broadcasted from page one, but the worldbuilding is fantastic. I was less enthusiastic about Cinder's priorities this time around, but I still think it's a great book, and I'm looking forward to reading the sequels.
Original: I had a hard time deciding a genre. Sure, it's YA, but is it Scifi? Fantasy? Dystopian? A bit of everything. I wasn't expecting much of anything from this, but in the end I loved it. While the plot 'twist' is predictable from the first twenty-five pages, it's well written and kept me reading. I read it in only a few hours, and every time I went to set it down, I ended up picking it up again.
Original: I had a hard time deciding a genre. Sure, it's YA, but is it Scifi? Fantasy? Dystopian? A bit of everything. I wasn't expecting much of anything from this, but in the end I loved it. While the plot 'twist' is predictable from the first twenty-five pages, it's well written and kept me reading. I read it in only a few hours, and every time I went to set it down, I ended up picking it up again.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Ableism, Terminal illness, Emotional abuse, and Child abuse
Moderate: Death of parent
lagiven's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
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
4.0
I've read the Lunar Chronicles a few times now, and they're good books as the worldbuilding is interesting but easy to understand, and the characters are entertaining. Cinder isn't the best out of the four books as it only has Cinder's storyline and only a few main characters are introduced, but it's still a good setup for the rest of the series.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Racism, and Xenophobia
bookishprincess's review against another edition
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-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
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Emotional abuse, and Ableism
baponthecob's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
I dont hate it????
It was a little slow bc of exposition and setup and all of that, but it wasnt bad.
The way Cinder was 16 and Kai was 18 bugged me a lot so I'm just pretending that's not a thing.
To me, they vibe more as friends. I would like to see them get closer platonically and actually bond over something and get to know each other. Bc rn their entire thing is banter and flirting.
I like Kai and Cinder as individuals. They're both sarcastic little shits lol. Sometimes it was a BIT MUCH, but it added funny bits.
All the scenes with Adri made me feel really conflicted? They tugged on my heartstrings, man. There were a lot of scenes that were just painful. /pos
Also, as a reread, I can see a lot of foreshadowing and setup for future books.
Overall, I'm pleasantly surprised at how this holds up. I understand why 12-year-old me liked this so much.
It was a little slow bc of exposition and setup and all of that, but it wasnt bad.
The way Cinder was 16 and Kai was 18 bugged me a lot so I'm just pretending that's not a thing.
To me, they vibe more as friends. I would like to see them get closer platonically and actually bond over something and get to know each other. Bc rn their entire thing is banter and flirting.
I like Kai and Cinder as individuals. They're both sarcastic little shits lol. Sometimes it was a BIT MUCH, but it added funny bits.
All the scenes with Adri made me feel really conflicted? They tugged on my heartstrings, man. There were a lot of scenes that were just painful. /pos
Also, as a reread, I can see a lot of foreshadowing and setup for future books.
Overall, I'm pleasantly surprised at how this holds up. I understand why 12-year-old me liked this so much.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Terminal illness
Moderate: War, Emotional abuse, Medical trauma, Child death, Grief, and Medical content
Minor: Gun violence, Violence, Self harm, Xenophobia, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Adult/minor relationship, and Blood
The adult/minor relationship is 18 & 16namzuru's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Terminal illness, Child death, and Death
Moderate: Ableism, Emotional abuse, and Violence
Minor: Blood and Gun violence
kthedestroyer's review against another edition
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Even upon reread, my 4 stars still stand (I like it more but sorry I don't believe in decimals and it's not good enough for 5 stars)
It's not that I don't like it because I really do (I mean, 4 stars is still a lot) but there is just something about it that I don't get as emersed as I should have.
It honestly might be the pacing. I feel like it's too fast and too slow at the same time. Everything happens so fast so you can't get to know the characters well enough but then again it seems like some scenes take forever.
Maybe it's something about the fact that Cinder's 16. Look, I have nothing against 16-year-olds but there's just no way that I wouldn't break under pressure 2 years ago if I was in her place. When I look at those kids now, I feel like it would be even worse.
I also think that Peony's death came too soon. I mean, she was in the book for like 50 pages and Meyer was just like: "Okay, time to die biatch." I feel like this is why I didn't really care about her death. Sure, Cinder's reaction was devastating but then again, we kinda forget about it right after that scene is finished.
I also miss my girl Iko for the majority of the book. Adri, I hate you for what you did. It's your fault that our fairy godmother is absent. You shall suffer (this is what we call foreshadowing).
It's getting a bit too negative in here, don't you think?
I thought so.
Okay, I know. The romance between Kai and Cinder is very convenient but I crave it. This whole book could have been just a back and forth conversation between them and I would love it. It's a sugar bomb and anyone who knows me would probably question if it was really me who wrote this review when I told them that this is the main reason why I like the book.
Sorry, I lied. It's not the romance... it's the SASS and Iko's hilarious comments.
Firstly, we have Cinder's sass which is not visible that often but when we get her snarky comments, my day instantly gets better.
Secondly, Iko is hilarious. I love her and her obsession with shoes and dresses and Prince Kai. I would love to see more of her in this book (I, again, blame Adri).
And of course, the star of the book... Prince Kai. That man is playing with his life. Levana is a ruthless queen who shows no mercy and this idiot of a man still shoots some very ironic or sarcastic comments even though she would probably want to cut his head off.
Pure gold.
Also... the ending is heartbreaking. I kinda want to kill Kai for the words he said to Cinder. The sass saved him this time but still. This is why I still prefer Thorne over Kai.
Marissa Meyer is most definitely one of my top 3 favorite authors but it shows that this is her first (I think) published book. Fortunately, it only gets better from here.
It's not that I don't like it because I really do (I mean, 4 stars is still a lot) but there is just something about it that I don't get as emersed as I should have.
It honestly might be the pacing. I feel like it's too fast and too slow at the same time. Everything happens so fast so you can't get to know the characters well enough but then again it seems like some scenes take forever.
Maybe it's something about the fact that Cinder's 16. Look, I have nothing against 16-year-olds but there's just no way that I wouldn't break under pressure 2 years ago if I was in her place. When I look at those kids now, I feel like it would be even worse.
I also think that Peony's death came too soon. I mean, she was in the book for like 50 pages and Meyer was just like: "Okay, time to die biatch." I feel like this is why I didn't really care about her death. Sure, Cinder's reaction was devastating but then again, we kinda forget about it right after that scene is finished.
I also miss my girl Iko for the majority of the book. Adri, I hate you for what you did. It's your fault that our fairy godmother is absent. You shall suffer (this is what we call foreshadowing).
It's getting a bit too negative in here, don't you think?
I thought so.
Okay, I know. The romance between Kai and Cinder is very convenient but I crave it. This whole book could have been just a back and forth conversation between them and I would love it. It's a sugar bomb and anyone who knows me would probably question if it was really me who wrote this review when I told them that this is the main reason why I like the book.
Sorry, I lied. It's not the romance... it's the SASS and Iko's hilarious comments.
Firstly, we have Cinder's sass which is not visible that often but when we get her snarky comments, my day instantly gets better.
Secondly, Iko is hilarious. I love her and her obsession with shoes and dresses and Prince Kai. I would love to see more of her in this book (I, again, blame Adri).
And of course, the star of the book... Prince Kai. That man is playing with his life. Levana is a ruthless queen who shows no mercy and this idiot of a man still shoots some very ironic or sarcastic comments even though she would probably want to cut his head off.
Pure gold.
Also... the ending is heartbreaking. I kinda want to kill Kai for the words he said to Cinder. The sass saved him this time but still. This is why I still prefer Thorne over Kai.
Marissa Meyer is most definitely one of my top 3 favorite authors but it shows that this is her first (I think) published book. Fortunately, it only gets better from here.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Slavery, and Toxic relationship
minimarie's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.25
I read this back in 2012/2013, I personally think this is a great book for middle school students and/or those beginning to read fantasy/sci-fiction
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Physical abuse, and Violence