Mini Review | Cinder by Marissa Meyer

Cinder by Marissa Meyer
Series: The Lunar Chronicles #1
Published On: January 5, 2012
Published By: Puffin
Genre: YA, Sci-Fi, Dystopian
Pages: 387
Format: Paperback
Source: Bought
Rating: ★★★★

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CINDER, a gifted mechanic in New Beijing, is also a cyborg. She's reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsister's sudden illness. But when her life becomes entwined with the handsome Prince Kai's, she finds herself at the centre of a violent struggle between the desires of an evil queen - and a dangerous temptation. 
Cinder is caught between duty and freedom, loyalty and betrayal. Now she must uncover secrets about her mysterious past in order to protect Earth's future.

I finally did it!
I have had this book on my shelves for years and have included it in more monthly TBR lists than I can count but kept putting it off. I did enjoy and am glad that I finally got around to read it, but it's not a book I'm kicking myself for not having read years ago.

Cinderella as a cyborg.
I loved the concept of this book. I think it was such a unique idea to combine the well-known story of Cinderella with a sci-fi twist. I don't typically read sci-fi so I found the cyborg aspect of the story very interesting and loved learning about Cinder and her cyborg characteristics. I would have liked to learn a bit more about cyborgs and for that to be explored more.

It was an original story.
Although this is a retelling of Cinderella, that wasn't the main story of the book. I really enjoyed that it was a very loose retelling and that it was only part of the story. The main plot followed an original story and didn't rely too much on the traditional story we all know.

The world was interesting.
This book is set in a futuristic, dystopian world that I found so interesting to read about. It wasn't explored as much as I would have liked in this book, there are definitely a lot of things I don't fully understand and would like more information about, but these things may be explored more in the rest of the series.

Average characters.
All of the characters in this book were just okay, nothing particularly special. Other than being part cyborg, there wasn't anything all that interesting about Cinder. She had little personality, as did Prince Kai. I thought the relationship between the two was just fine as well, I didn't really feel anything between them and it seemed kind of insta-lovey.

Very predictable.
My one real issue with this book was how predictable it was. I guessed pretty much every big plot twist early on and nothing that happened came as a surprise to me. I'm willing to give Marissa Meyer the benefit of the doubt, as this was a debut novel, but it was a bit disappointing to not have any surprises while reading.

Overall, I did enjoy this book and am glad I finally read it. I didn't find it as great as everyone made it out to be but it was a fun, well-written story. I'm not sure this series is really for me so I am unsure whether or not I will continue. However, part of me is somewhat intrigued to see how the story continues.