Audiobook Review: Cinder by Marissa Meyer

Cinder (Lunar Chronicles #1)
Read by Rebecca Soler

About the Book:

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.

My Thoughts:

I've been seeing this book around everywhere since it came out! It seemed like everybody had read it and loved it. But as I knew it was the beginning of a series and had heard that it had a cliffhanger, I determined to wait until at least one or two more books were out before starting this one. HA! So much for that idea. :D This story about a cyborg Cinderella totally sucked me in! Cinder's sarcasm and quick thinking draw you into her life and you just want to give her all the hugs she's been missing. Living a life of drudgery thanks to her stepmother and one of her stepsisters, her bright spots are Peony, her other stepsister, and Iko, an android. I loved, loved, loved Iko! She is so cute and funny! Her little comments never failed to make me smile. I really wish there had been more of her in the story, so I'm hoping she shows up again in later books. Ms. Meyer did a great job of describing her world without going into too much detail. I know that sounds funny, but it's true. She doesn't use a lot of words, yet I could perfectly picture the market place and Cinder's apartment and the castle. This world she's created is quite fascinating, as are the Lunar's, especially evil Queen Levana (and is she ever evil!). One major plot twist I pretty well figured out from the getgo, but there were lots of other surprises in store that I didn't see coming. There were a few characters whose motives were hard to read at first, and some I'm still wondering about. Around midway through I was absolutely loving the story. The characters were hilarious and Cinder's adventure was fun. Ms. Meyer had interspersed sections of the story with Kai's point of view, which was fine in the beginning. But then in the back half of the book, his portions pretty much consist of politics. Which is important for the story, I do realize. But those parts kind of bogged the story down a little for me, so I skipped through them as quick as I could. I admit I was more interested in what was going on with Cinder than what was going on with Kai. Plus Kai's interest in Cinder moved a little quick for me, but considering the source material (Cinderella and her prince fall in love during one dance!) I could forgive that. Also the story is just a lot of fun! :)

Ms. Soler is a fabulous narrator! I'm pretty positive that she is a huge part of why I loved this story so much. The voices she uses for each character totally suit them and had me in stitches or shuddering with creepiness. I really don't think I would have gotten quite as sucked into the story were I not listening to Ms. Soler's reading. It would be awesome if she does the rest of the series. So I definitely recommend getting this audiobook for a quirky and fun escape for a few hours! :)

A Favorite Quote:

“Oh, my stars! Think about Prince Kai! You could dance with Prince Kai!”
This made Cinder pause and squint into Iko’s blinding light. “Why would the prince dance with me?”
Iko’s fan hummed as she sought an answer. “Because you won’t have grease on your face this time.”

Toodle-loo kangaroos! Happy reading! :)