Book Review: Cinder by Melissa Meyer

I was lucky enough to buy this book at my brother's school book fair for $7. I wouldn't have bought it if it hadn't been cheap, since I was hesitant about reading it. 

Book Summary: 

Even in the future, the story begins with Once Upon a Time.... 

Humans and androids crowd the raueous streets of New Beijing. A deadly plague ravages the population. From space, a ruthless lunar people watch, waiting to make their move. No one knows that Earth's fate hinges on one girl...

Sixteen-year-old Cinder, a gifted mechanic, is a cyborg. She's a second-class citizen with a mysterious past and is reviled by her step-mother. But when her life becomes intertwined with the handsome Prince Kai's, she suddenly finds herself at the center of an intergalatic struggle, and a forbidden attraction. 

Caught between duty and freedom, loyalty and betrayal, she must unravel secrets about her past in order to protect her world's future. Because there is something unusual about Cinder, something that others would kill her for... 

My Rating: 3.5 stars 

My Review: 

To start with, it took me a few days to get past the first inital chapters. I was uncertain about the whole setting, the futuristic Cinderella story, and just the story in general. I'd heard mixed reviews so it set me off, but I was eager to read it.

I liked it. It was different, intriguing. I liked learning about Cinder's "mysterious" past, and her relationships with the other characters. I guessed early on that Cinder was Princess Selene, so that wasn't too surprising for me. I enjoyed her interactions with Kai, and I really liked Peony (only Pearl was the evil step-sister in this story; Peony seemed to generally care about Cinder). I also liked Iko. She made me laugh. I was sad that she had to die.

I did not like the Lunar Queen, Levana or whatever her name was. She was a cold bitch and I hated how she manipulated everyone all the time. I wanted to throttle her. 

I liked Dr. Erland. He was an interesting guy (though I didn't think he was lunar, so that was surprising at least; I hate being able to guess things). I hope he finds the cure for the plague. I really do.

I had mixed feelings about Kai. I liked him well enough, thought his interactions with Cinder were cute, but I wasn't sure about him. There was something about him that just didn't pull me in and make me want to hug him, like usual with the love interests I actually enjoy. I get this "feeling" that Cinder will end up with him though, once her identity as Princess Selene is revealed and Levana's dead (There will be an epic battle of powers between the Princess & the Evil Queen, right? I really want to see that). I just really hope that she doesn't, because it would be too predictible. But I don't want a love triangle either. I'm really sick of love triangles in dystopias, to be honest. 

Anyways, I liked "Cinder". It was a good book, and I'm looking forward to reading the sequel "Scarlet". I don't know why it took me so long to read it, honestly. Maybe it was just those inital first chapters. Alas, I'm glad I gave it a go.