Cinder by Marissa Meyer - non-spoiler review.

Hi booklovers

*Hides in shame* I reread this book in 2015 in preperation of the release of Winter - which I still haven't read, btw :-s - but I never got around to posting my review. (Luckily, I wrote most of my thoughts down after finishing the book.)

Title: Cinder
Author: Marissa Meyer
Genre: YA, dystopia
Format: paperback

*Story:
This is a Cinderella retelling. Cinder is a cyborg mechanic in New Bejing. She has a stall at the marketplace and there she meets Prince Kai. They get to know each other, but unfortunately Kai can't make decisions about his own future because the Lunar queen, Queen Levana wants to marry him. There's also a plague, called Letumosis. Scientists are working around the clock to find a antidote and cyborgs are being drafted to help find it. After Cinder's stepsister Peony becomes a victim of the plague her wicked stepmother sends Cinder off to be tested for an antidote. From this point on, the story really takes off.

*Characters:
-Cinder: She finds herself in a typical cinderella-like situation, which made me really feel for her. She has two stepsisters, one who's nice, one who's a total bitch and a stepmother who can't stand her. Cinder is an interesting character because as a reader you find out about her past at the same time she does. On the other hand, she is also a typical teenager, trying to find her place in the world - which is made even more difficult because she is part cyborg.

-Iko: Cinder's robot. Well, actually she belongs to Adri (Cinder's stepmom), but she constantly accompanies Cinder. I love Iko, she is such a fun and emphatic character. She acts more like a teenager than a robot and she is a total drama queen, but that's part of the fun.

-Prince Kai: the handsome future emperor of New Bejing. He has a lot to deal with: the plague, the death of his father, the eminent threat of Queen Levana and her explicit wish to marry him. You really feel his struggle when all he wants is to be a normal young man, able to choose his own destiny.

-Adri: Cinder's wicked stepmom. Urgh, the number of times I've wanted to strangle that wretched woman... Like the typical fairytale Cinderella stepmom, she never wanted to take care of Cinder, especially after her husband died, so she never lets an opportunity pass to make this known to Cinder.

-Queen Levana: the ultimate villain, oh how I hate this woman! She's manipulative and deceiving, usually gets what she wants and she is so unbelievably cruel!! This character was so well executed, she is such a complex character and that's what makes her a 'good' villain.

-Dr Erland: He's the doctor leading the research for the letumosis antidote. He's such an intriguing character and there is definitely more to him than meets the eye!

*Plot / world building:
I really liked the world building, you get a clear view of how the 'new' world is constructed. You have the different countries, ruled by different people and then you have Luna, the inhabited moon.. We don't really get to know that much about Luna, only that the Lunars believe they are better than the Earthlings. There are Lunars who possess the gift of manipulating people and there are those without this gift, called Shells. Several Lunars live hidden on Earth, even though Queen Levana has put a sentence on those helping Lunars hiding on earth.

*Overall rating:
Reading this for the second time made the story even better. I remember it took me some time to get into the story the first time around, but not this time. I was immediately drawn into the action. You get a great insight into the character's emotions and the growth they go through. The book contains some major plot twists which I didn't always see coming. This was the first fairytale retelling I read and it set the standards high.

Also, the esthetics of these books are stunning: the cover and font are beautiful. The title page for each new 'book' is done beautifully.

Have you read Cinder or the other books in the Lunar Chronicles? Let me know in the comments.

Bye for now

Annelies