Book Review - Cinder

It's Wednesday, and it's time for another book review! I got to meet Marissa Meyer at Utopia in June, and she signed my copy of Cinder. It was awesome. She's very sweet, and if you ever get the chance to meet her, do it. See my interview with her here. Today's review will go in the Time for Books 2015 Review Team pool. So far, the reviewers participating have read and reviewed 310 books! Wow. Check them out here.

Without dallying any more, I give you the book up for review today.

Title: Cinder (Lunar Chronicles #1)
Author: Marissa Meyer
Genre: Young Adult Fantasy/Sci-Fi
Length (print):
Buy Links: Amazon Kindle $2.99  ~  Paperback $5.88

Blurb:
Humans and androids crowd the raucous 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.

Cinder, a gifted mechanic, is a cyborg. She’s a second-class citizen with a mysterious past, reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsister’s illness. But when her life becomes intertwined with the handsome Prince Kai’s, she suddenly finds herself at the center of an intergalactic struggle, and a forbidden attraction. Caught between duty and freedom, loyalty and betrayal, she must uncover secrets about her past in order to protect her world’s future.

***Will not appear in review elsewhere. I love this cover. It screams cyborg and all things sci-fi. Color and imagery are spot on, and need I even talk about that gorgeous font? Hello, harmony! And all women love shoes; am I right? It just fits the genre and storyline perfectly. Well done, book cover designer! Also, if you haven't read Cinder, the interior is set in a sans-serif font (not something you see often) that ties the whole idea together even further. Simply beautiful.***

Let's get on to the review!

I had the great pleasure of interviewing Marissa Meyer on my blog a little while back, and my discussion with her prompted me to pick up a copy of Cinder. I snagged the paperback at a local bookstore, dove in, and was hooked from page one. When I got to meet Marissa at Utopia Con in Nashville in June, it was all I could do not to gush at her over the awesome world she wove. But, enough of that, let's get on to the review, shall we?

From a Reader's Perspective:
Okay, I have to admit, I'm usually a gal who can spoil a book by thinking about it too much while I'm reading. Endings never twist and turn on me, and I have a keen eye for hints dropped in the prose that tell about what's coming. This book wasn't one I could predict. I found myself making guesses, reading on, and being like: Dang, I thought I had it! I love books that captivate me this way. Keeps me turning the pages. Pacing in the book was bang on, and I breezed through it in about a week, never wanting to put it down.

I love the world Ms. Meyer built. I could picture New Beijing in my mind quite well, even though the author didn't bog me down with a ton of description. My imagination was beautifully engaged.

Cinder is a wonderfully complex character with flaws I could identify with. She never felt like she fit in, and she had few friends she really spoke to. Not believing herself worthy or deserving of anything, she reminded me of what I loved about Cinderella most: humbleness. I felt hate for her step-mother and the Lunar queen, and I wanted Cinder to win all the things by the end of the novel.

I so need book two now.

From an Editor's Perspective:
Tiny errors you'd find in any book. Nothing major.

Rating:
1 star for a beautifully complex main character
1 star for pacing
1 star for not bogging me down with fluff
1 star for keeping me guessing (still, even after the end)
1 star for editing
Overall: 5 out of 5 stars. Recommended for those who love a world built around a flawed, charming character. 

Have you read it? What did you think?

Well, that's all for today, folks! Until next time, WRITE ON!