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thejufox 's review for:
Cinder & Ella
by Kelly Oram
Either 4 or 3.5 stars
At first I wasn't sure I was going to like this book. Before starting it I was certain I'd love it, but once I got a few chapters into it I got a bit unsure. Both Ella's and Cinder's POV were introduced in the first chapters and my first impression of both of them was not great. Ella had just gone through her accident and was in a difficult place, but she was extremely judgemental and prejudiced against LA and all the people living there and was being a brat about all the efforts her new family was putting into accommodating her. I understand that she would have problems with it and I was expecting her to act out and not get along with them because of plot reasons, but it was a bit too close to just being rude and unappreciative of people that are clearly trying.
Then Cinder/Brian's POV was introduced and it showed him being a total disrespectful jerk to everyone around him. At this point I wasn't as excited about this story as I had been before meeting the two main characters.
Once the story picked up and the characters started their (much-needed) character development arcs, it started to grow on me more. The relationship between them was cute, which is the main thing I wanted from this story. Cinder/Brian's excuse for his terrible personality at the start gets explained later in the book, and while it's not an actual excuse for him being rude to people I do really appreciated that there was an excuse at all and that it wasn't just how he always had been.
I liked the way Ella and her family slowly (very slowly) started to grow to understand each other's sides of this whole situation more and I liked that it wasn't handled in an unrealistic wish-fulfilment way. Every single person in the family gets their moment to explain how the situation feels for them and how they struggle with it and what they're trying to do to make it work.
I liked the way the revalidation (both physical and mental) was a very prominent part of the story. It made it feel more realistic for me since you can't just expect her to be out of the hospital and be completely fine right after.
The way the romance unfolded was very cute and while we all know what the ending is the way it happens is always partly a surprise and I did enjoy the way this one went!
At first I wasn't sure I was going to like this book. Before starting it I was certain I'd love it, but once I got a few chapters into it I got a bit unsure. Both Ella's and Cinder's POV were introduced in the first chapters and my first impression of both of them was not great. Ella had just gone through her accident and was in a difficult place, but she was extremely judgemental and prejudiced against LA and all the people living there and was being a brat about all the efforts her new family was putting into accommodating her. I understand that she would have problems with it and I was expecting her to act out and not get along with them because of plot reasons, but it was a bit too close to just being rude and unappreciative of people that are clearly trying.
Then Cinder/Brian's POV was introduced and it showed him being a total disrespectful jerk to everyone around him. At this point I wasn't as excited about this story as I had been before meeting the two main characters.
Once the story picked up and the characters started their (much-needed) character development arcs, it started to grow on me more. The relationship between them was cute, which is the main thing I wanted from this story. Cinder/Brian's excuse for his terrible personality at the start gets explained later in the book, and while it's not an actual excuse for him being rude to people I do really appreciated that there was an excuse at all and that it wasn't just how he always had been.
I liked the way Ella and her family slowly (very slowly) started to grow to understand each other's sides of this whole situation more and I liked that it wasn't handled in an unrealistic wish-fulfilment way. Every single person in the family gets their moment to explain how the situation feels for them and how they struggle with it and what they're trying to do to make it work.
I liked the way the revalidation (both physical and mental) was a very prominent part of the story. It made it feel more realistic for me since you can't just expect her to be out of the hospital and be completely fine right after.
The way the romance unfolded was very cute and while we all know what the ending is the way it happens is always partly a surprise and I did enjoy the way this one went!