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I was a touch wary of this. A retelling of Cinderella where Cinderella was a cyborg and a mechanic, set in a Beijing of the future with a weird (potentially dystopian?) government, moon colonies, and also a mysterious (potentially apocalyptic?) disease? It sounded like too many things put together. How on earth could something like this actually turn out to be worth reading?Apparently, like this.I love fairy tale retellings. One of the things I love about them is the feeling I get when I know what is going to happen, but I have no clue how. I love the process of ticking off those boxes of the basic Cinderella story. In any given retelling, you generally have a deserving but not high class girl, an evil stepmother, some questionable stepsisters, a ball, a prince (ideally one worth winning), a lost slipper, a fairy godmother, and a coach that is not what it seems. All of these elements don't need to be there, certainly, and it is often very difficult to sneak all of them in while retaining a veneer of originality, but there needs to be enough that it is recognizable, even if just barely, as the same story. It is a difficult job, honestly, to balance things just right, and as a sincere fan of the genre, I often am generous in my definition of "original," as well as in my definition of "interesting."This book did not need any extra generosity. And no, I am not telling you which boxes it ticked, because that would take away half the fun.Cinder herself was easy to root for and empathize with. She had the agency that a lot of Cinderellas lack, and I love to see that. She had interests and talents and a desire to escape that I don't often see in this story, and she even had a female friend to support her, albeit of an odd variety. She was spunky. I felt like a more modern telling of this story, and not just because it was set in a future time period.I would like to state that I saw the reveal ofCinder as the lost Lunar princess super early. That doesn't strictly bother me, but since that was such a divergence from the classic tale (and thus not guessable going in), it would have been nice to have been longer in suspense there. I appreciated the building of a relationship between Cinder and Prince Kai, since I have never really enjoyed the "love at first sight" concept so prevalent in fairy tales. (That is probably at least partly why I love retellings so much, actually.) Kai was an intriguing character in his own right, and, while certainly not perfect, was fun to get to know. I appreciate that he was clever and driven to do right by his people, whatever he needed to sacrifice for that to happen.There was a thread of something I felt like I should recognize throughout, yet I could not pinpoint. When, in the acknowledgments, Marissa Meyer gives a shout-out to "Sailor Moon fandom geeks," I finally realized what it was. And I loved that.The entirety of the Lunar people and their politics was fascinating. It felt both very sci-fi and very classic fairy tale. I can't wait to hear more about them. I will be picking up the rest of the books in the series and I can't wait to see where it goes from here.
Such a good story. A very different retelling of the famous fairy tale and keeps you on your toes from the beginning. Quite an un-put-downable book in my opinion as well.
4 stars“Do your kind even know what love is? Can you feel anything at all, or is it just... programmed?"I've seen this book around for many many years, but I never got around to actually reading it. I loved this book a lot. It's a mixture between sci-fi and fairytale and it was just awesome. I loved the characters, especially Cinder, Iko and Kai. Dr Erland gets a huge hug from me, seriously he is the best. Although Adri, Pearl and Queen Levana gets two fingers from me...
Me enamoré por completo de la saga. Pensé que al ser un retelling de la cenicienta, la historia sería mas similar o común, pero es muchísimo mas interesante. esta mezcla de ciborgs, robots, algo de ciberpunk, un toque de futurismo y romanticismo me atraparon. Los protagonistas estaban muy bien estructurados entre sí, la pluma de la autora era fluida y el libro se me hizo muy rápido de leer. Me gustó que Cinder fuera un personaje tan fuerte y valiente a pesar de las adversidades por las cuales pasó.
Woah...I was not expecting to like this book as much as I did! It took such a huge turn in the end that gave me goosebumps, I can not wait to get my hands on the second book!!
Merissa Meyer never disappoints!! First in a series that I WILL be reading over vacation. Beautiful as ever with an awesome sci-fi theme.
Rating: 2/5I went into Cinder with high hopes, intrigued by the idea of a futuristic retelling of Cinderella featuring a cyborg protagonist. Unfortunately, while the concept had potential, the execution left a lot to be desired.May contain spoilersWorld BuildingThe world-building was probably the strongest aspect of the novel, with a dystopian future that blends technology and politics in an interesting way. But even that felt underdeveloped at times, with info-dumps scattered throughout and very little organic exploration of the setting. I wanted to see more of New Beijing, understand its culture and daily life, but instead, the world was painted in broad, generic strokes.CinderCinder herself was… fine. I appreciated her resilience and her struggles with her cyborg identity, but her personality felt flat. Her dialogue was often stilted, and her emotional responses didn’t always feel authentic. For someone who’s supposed to be constantly oppressed and treated as a second-class citizen, her internal monologue felt oddly detached. I never really felt connected to her, which made it hard to invest in her journey.Romance / Prince KaiThe romance with Prince Kai was another weak point. It followed every predictable YA trope, and the chemistry between them was practically nonexistent. Their interactions were superficial, and Kai’s character lacked depth, making him feel more like a plot device than a compelling love interest.ThoughtsOne of my biggest frustrations was the lack of consistency and a gripping plot, especially in the middle of the book. The pacing dragged significantly after the initial setup, with long stretches where very little happened to move the plot forward. Scenes that should have been tense or emotional felt drawn out and lacked urgency, making it easy for my attention to drift. Instead of building momentum, the narrative felt bogged down with repetitive internal conflict and predictable developments that dulled any excitement.To make matters worse, the only real connection to Cinderella was surface-level at best. Aside from Cinder’s name and her oppressive family situation, there was very little that tied this story to the original fairy tale. The evil stepmother and stepsisters were predictably cruel, but they felt like cardboard cutouts inserted just to check a box. The iconic elements of the tale—the transformation, the ball, and the romance—were either glossed over or reimagined in ways that felt uninspired rather than innovative. Without these key moments grounding the story in its fairy tale roots, Cinder felt more like a generic dystopian YA novel than a meaningful retelling.PlotAs for the plot, it was painfully predictable. The “twist” was telegraphed so blatantly that by the time it was revealed, I was more annoyed than surprised. It felt like the story was dragging its feet toward an inevitable conclusion rather than building suspense or intrigue.ConclusionI kept waiting for something to hook me, something that would make me care about what happened next—but it never came. I understand why this series has such a devoted following, but for me, Cinder was a frustratingly shallow read that didn’t live up to its promise. I doubt I’ll be continuing the series. With no hate to Marissa Meyer, however I cannot finish this book with my full attention span.
Ao começar a ler este livro, me deparei com uma combinação intrigante entre o conto clássico de Cinderela e elementos futurísticos. A trama acabou por superar minhas expectativas, mas de uma maneira que considero desfavorável. Já em 25% do livro, antecipei o plot twist, o que, em vez de adicionar mistério, diminuiu a surpresa e o impacto emocional que eu esperava encontrar. Essa habilidade de antecipar eventos não diminuiu meu interesse, mas levantou perguntas sobre como os personagens lidariam com as reviravoltas que estavam por vir.A dinâmica romântica, apesar de se basear em um amor à primeira vista, deixou-me desejando mais profundidade na conexão entre os protagonistas. A ausência de química entre o casal foi um aspecto intrigante, entendo que é baseado em um conto de fadas, mas esperava um pouco mais.A combinação entre o universo das princesas e a tecnologia moderna revelou-se uma escolha fascinante. Essa fusão inesperada entre elementos tradicionais e futuristas criou um ambiente cativante.Fazia tempo que não experimentava essa ansiedade pelo próximo livro de uma série. A narrativa despertou em mim uma vontade genuína de descobrir como os eventos se desdobrariam, e estou ansiosa para explorar o resto dessa série que promete ser uma aventura única e envolvente.
I absolutely loved this book! Couldn't put it down. I was intruiged from the beginning and it only got better and better. I loveeed Cinder in this books, i think she has potential to become one of my fav characters. Her sarcasm was so funny to read about:)))And the relationships in this book!!! Iko and Cinder are literally the best duo. I loved their friendship so much. And Cinder's relationship with Kai, they're definitely going to be one of my fav couples!I liked the world building. I think it's really unique. Even tho the plottwists were pretty predictable, i still enjoyed this book very much
Sci-fi meets DISNEY?!?! I loved this so much!There were a few awkward exchanges. But I assume that was the author leaning into the anime side of the novel.Left me wanting more of Cinders story for sure!!
Due stelline, e forse è pure troppo. Ero partita bene con questo libro, all'inizio mi stava anche piaciucchiando ma, arrivata al 30% lo stavo già trovando noioso e abbastanza prevedibile. E non parlo degli avvenimenti che riprendono la storia di Cenerentola, ovviamente, ma della parte aggiuntiva e "originale" del libro. L'aspetto che mi interessava di più, ovvero le "Cronache Lunari" alla fine mi è sembrata poco sviluppata, almeno in questo primo volume. Nonostante lo stile di scrittura sia abbastanza fluido e semplice, verso la fine cominciava a essermi sempre più pesante e non vedevo l'ora di arrivare all'ultima pagina. I personaggi non mi hanno trasmesso nulla, non sono entrata in sintonia con nessuno di essi e la storia in generale non mi ha lasciato un granché. Ovviamente non penso di continuare con i seguiti, o almeno non in un futuro prossimo, restando in tema con la saga.
