Book Review: Cinder (The Lunar Chronicles #1) by Marissa Meyer

Cinder by Marissa Meyer
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Publisher:  Feiwel and Friends

Summary:   Sixteen-year-old Cinder is considered a technological mistake by most of society and a burden by her stepmother. Being cyborg does have its benefits, though: Cinder's brain interference has given her an uncanny ability to fix things (robots, hovers, her own malfunctioning parts), making her the best mechanic in New Beijing. This reputation brings Prince Kai himself to her weekly market booth, needing her to repair a broken android before the annual ball. He jokingly calls it "a matter of national security," but Cinder suspects it's more serious than he's letting on.


Although eager to impress the prince, Cinder's intentions are derailed when her younger stepsister, and only human friend, is infected with the fatal plague that's been devastating Earth for a decade. Blaming Cinder for her daughter's illness, Cinder's stepmother volunteers her body for plague research, an "honor" that no one has survived.
But it doesn't take long for the scientists to discover something unusual about their new guinea pig. Something others would kill for.
 

Great beginning , painfully slow middle, awesome ending. I was caught up immediately with the characters & setting after reading the first five chapters. I bought the book immediately after that. I rolled along a good while but honestly between books 2 & 3 I was waiting for the story to engage me again. Maybe this is because I could see the big reveals coming & I just wanted to get to it already so we could get on to the exciting bit after. I'm not sure if that's a problem with the storytelling pace or that I'm not necessarily the intended target audience. I rooted for Cinder, Iko, Kai & Peony throughout.Cinder was a fun heroine & a refreshing change from the sort who seem to pervade YA (many books, in general), who don't seem to have any talents whatsoever but are still supposed to be special. Cinder may not have known her bigger destiny but she knew she was a kickass mechanic & I loved that! I wanted to know much more about the Lunars that we actually find out because I found the idea of them extremely fascinating. I will definitely read the next in the series.



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