Cinder (The Lunar Chronicles #1) by Marissa Meyer REVIEW

TITLE & AUTHOR: Cinder (The Lunar Chronicles #1) by Marissa Meyer
PUBLISHER: Puffin
EDITION: Kobo
PUBLISHED: 5 January 2012
PAGES: 404 pages
Source: Digital Library Book

AUTHOR WEBSITE

AMAZON.UK

AMAZON.COM

WHAT’S IT’S ABOUT

A forbidden romance

A deadly plague
Earth’s fate hinges on one girl . . .

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.

This is not the fairytale you remember. But it’s one you won’t forget.

OPENING 

The screw through cinder’s ankle had rusted, the engraved cross marks worn to a mangled circle. Her knuckles ached from forcing the screwdriver into the joint as she struggled to loosen the screw one gritting twist after another. By the time it was extracted far enough for her to wrench free with her prosthetic steel hand, the hairline threads had been stripped clean.

WHAT I THOUGHT 

You’re all familiar with the fairytale Cinderella? A girl is treated cruelly by her evil step-mother and step sisters but a handsome Prince falls in love with her at the ball, scours the land for her, finds her and makes her his bride? Cinder has some of these elements. Cyborg Cinder is loathed by her evil guardian. There are two step sisters. One is sort of nasty but the other’s okay. There’s the Price and the palace. Then there’s a whole load of stuff that was never part of Cinderella. Moon people who magic powers able to control people’s minds. A terrible plague wiping out humans. An evil queen. A lost Princess. Cinder is fantastic. I loved it. I loved all of the recognisable elements from the original fairytale. I loved the way the author made the familiar story her own in a wonderful unique way. I loved discover who Cinder really was. My jaw hit the floor. It still aches a bit. Cinder ends on a bit of a cliff-hanger. I can’t wait to read the next book, Scarlet (which I’ve just borrowed and can’t wait to read).

RATING