My take on: Cinder

According to my Goodreads account, I started Cinder by Marissa Meyer on December 6th and I finished it today. Yes it took me seven months to finish this book. But I did finish several other books in that same timespan. So what gives with this one? I don't know. Perhaps I need to stop reading so many books at once, which will be a hard habit to break.

I'm not sure what I can say that hasn't been said. Cinder, the first book in The Lunar Chronicles, came out more than four years ago.

The premise for this retelling of Cinderella is an interesting one. Cinderella is now Cinder, a cyborg. She's part-human, part-metal scrap heap. Some of her limbs appear very human, but others look like a machine. She lives in the distant future of New Beijing, formerly China, with her wicked stepmother, Adri, and her step-sisters, Pearl and Peony. But only Pearl and Adri are wicked. Peony treats Cinder like a part of the family, but Adri and Pearl see her as nothing but a servant. Cinder has made a name for herself as a top mechanic. But not everyone knows that Cinder is a cyborg. Not even Prince Kai.

The handsome prince seeks Cinder's expertise in fixing his beloved android. Cinder is somewhat smitten with Kai. The feeling turns out to be mutual. But Cinder knows nothing can come of it. What does a prince want with a cyborg. Cinder believes Kai would reject her if he knew the truth. Cinder barely understands how she got like this. She wasn't born made of metal. Someone did this to her. The hows and whys are a mystery to Cinder. How can someone like Kai love and understand her when Cinder barely knows her true self?

New Beijing is a city in turmoil. A deadly virus is spreading throughout the population, taking the life of the Emperor, Kai's father. Kai is next in line to the throne. The entire world is on the brink of war with their rivals on the moon. Earth's enemies on the moon, also called Lunars, are led by the evil Queen Levana. A marriage alliance between Kai and the Queen might be the only way to save humanity. Kai is against any such alliance, not just because he is repulsed by the evil queen. But because he believes there has to be a better solution....and because he has feelings for Cinder.

My main gripe with this book....there is no ending. The "ending" is really a tease, it's meant to make readers continue reading the series. I wasn't totally gaga over this book. I feel like it's a nice start. But I want to know more about Cinder. It's not completely clear how and why she is a cyborg. There's an explanation given, but it felt a little convoluted. I like that Cinder is way more kickass than the original Cinderella. She will fight, literally, for what she believes in. Kai was a bit of a wimp in my opinion. How that relationship will work out remains to be seen.

This series has been on my TBR for a long time. I own all four books. I want to finish the rest of the series by the end of the year. But at the pace I'm reading it might not happen!

Rating: Give it a try