Title: Cinder
Author: Marissa Meyer
Series: The Lunar Chronicles #1
Rating Out of 5: 4.5 (Amazing, but not quite perfect)
My Bookshelves: Fairy tales, Steampunk, Strong women
Pace: Fast
Format: Novel
Publisher: Puffin
Year: 2012
5th sentence, 74th page: Yes, her ratio should be impressive.

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 FAIRY TALE YOU REMEMBER. BUT IT’S ONE YOU WON’T FORGET.

Cinderella is a fairly well known fairy tale. After all, it’s the perfect rags to riches tale. The story of someone overpowering their bad situation and finding a good one. The fact that there is a handsome prince, and a pretty dress and a ball…that just makes it all the more appealing and sweet… at least normally, Cinder gives this tale a very different spin. And one that I personally love to pieces.

I am fairly new to the steampunk genre. But, I absolutely adore it. It’s something that marries a range of different themes and styles into this perfect little world. The fact that this was then partnered with the childlike world of riches kind of made this series absolutely perfect for me. Having already read Glitches, I had a little more backstory on Cinder’s unwanted presence in the Linh household. But, even without that, the creation of a future world in which cyborgs walk (and are owned) among us was fun. The joy and happiness of Peony and the quirkiness of Ito just helped to make the story a whole lot more enthralling. And cute. There were a lot of serious, hard and sad moments throughout the story for Cinder, but the attitude of not only her, but her companions made it a lot easier to bear.

I really wasn’t expecting the ending to this story. Although it is a Cinderella tale, it didn’t quite end in the same way. And it left the tale wide open for the next book in the series… which I now have to wait for… there’s always something great about a surprise at the end of a series, and it always makes getting the next book in the mail all the more exciting…

Image source: Jennifer Melza