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Source: Purchased Copy: Coles Bookstore.
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.
Ha! I adored this book. I’ll be honest and say I wasnt sure going in, it sounded strange and a little bit mad and actually it was exactly that but at the same time positively brilliant. At turns witty, ironic and emotive, this will have you searching for the fairy tale within the narrative (and trust me the heart of it is there) whilst getting totally immersed in the world Cinder inhabits, with all its charm and mayhem.
Cinder is a top mechanic and also cyborg, a fact she would rather hide when she meets Prince Kai, unexpectedly in her workshop one day. From then on in it is a rollercoaster ride of great reading fun as Cinder finds herself even more at odds with her Stepmother, trying desperately to save her Stepsisters life and becoming aware that not everything is as it seems – even herself. Extremely clever storytelling makes for an addictive and terrific read, the premise is beautifully imagined and executed, the whole thing was top notch.
The world building is pitch perfect, enabling you to visualise the city and the places within, I adored all the characters even the evil ones (the wicked Queen is wicked indeed) I fell completely in love with Kiko, tried to decide if Prince Kai was indeed charming and really got quite emotional when Cinder was treated badly – I was in this one all the way. The ending drove me to immediately pick up “Scarlet” (thanks to that lovely friend of mine who advised that I buy all 3 available books in this series at once) and so far that one is living up to the promise of the first so I dare say I’ll be on about it anytime now.
This is one of those novels which at first glance you might assume to be light reading, nothing special, fun perhaps but thats it. In reality there are some dark themes running throughout, a little bit of social commentary on how we treat others within our society perceived to be “different” and whilst it absolutely IS a great deal of fun, there is also passion and protest there, an intelligent story within a story that can give you pause for thought. For me this gave it an added depth as an adult reading fiction aimed at teenagers (and teenagers will and do adore it) and solidified my opinion that some of the YA available at the moment is far superior to some of the adult fiction when it comes to packing pure emotional punch.
Overall then terrifically terrific. I’m positive that this is going to be heading to the top of my favourite series list. Absolutely highly recommended for adults and young adults alike.
Find out more here: http://www.marissameyer.com/
Follow the author on Twitter here: https://twitter.com/marissa_meyer
Purchase Information: http://www.waterstones.com/waterstonesweb/products/marissa+meyer/cinder/8650363/
Also Available:
Coming 2015: Winter.
Happy Reading Folks!
