Ashley Mar Reads

It's been a while since I posted, eleven days actually, and that's because I haven't been reading anything.  But I got a day off in the middle of the week so I decided to do nothing but read for that entire day!

This novel is a dystopian and futuristic twist on the classic tale of Cinderella where the main character, Cinder, is a cyborg.

I'm still not completely sure about my star rating for this book, I did absolutely love it, I just felt like the book ended too abruptly.  I know there's a next book and, presumably, it will pick up where this one left off, but I'm having trouble with dealing with this.  I'm not going to be in the city or near any bookstore anytime soon, so I'll have to wait until Christmas... Which is way to long to wait for a sequel for such an amazing book.  A day is too long to wait!

I know what a lot of people enjoyed about this book is the science fiction aspect of it, and the twist that Cinder is a cyborg.  I can't say that I really enjoyed her being a cyborg, I mean it was kind of cool and all, but in general I really enjoy fairy tales and fairy tale retellings. 

I was really hoping for there to be a lot of romance in this novel, I know that isn't the point of the story, but I was waiting for that real prince charming moment, if you understand what I'm saying.  That extremely cutesy moment, which there were some semi cute moments, and Kai was definitely charming, but that wasn't quite enough for me.  I'm hoping there will be more of that in the second book.

The relationship between Cinder and Iko was really adorable in my opinion.  In my head I pictures Iko almost like a robot from Wall-E, I don`t know which one for sure, but there are some pretty cute ones in that movie.  I thought the way they connected was cute, they seemed almost like sisters.  They seemed to understand each other, maybe it was because they both had robot parts, maybe it was that they were servants to Adi, the stepmother.  Whatever it was, the way they connected with each other made the relationship seems real.

Without spoiling anything, can I say that I saw the ending, the big reveal coming?  It wasn't this big reveal to me, but I was angry with some characters for their reactions when they discovered these reveals...

But I did really enjoy this book, it was worth saying up until two a.m to finish! Highly, highly recommend it!

Books Similar to Cinder

Cruel Beauty by Rosamund Hodge- A retelling of Beauty and the Beast with a mix of mythology.

Gilded Ashes by Rosamund Hodge- A retelling of Cinderella mixed with mythology.  Set in the same world as Cruel Beauty.  (This is a novella of Cruel Beauty, but you in no way have to read Cruel Beauty.  It follows none of the same characters, and only relates to the other story with the mentioning of the Gentle Lord, the beast.)

Dorothy Must Die by Danielle Paige- This isn't a fairy tale retelling, but a retelling of the classic tale of The Wizard of Oz where Dorothy returned to Oz and took power, ruining Oz.  The main character must find a way to stop Dorothy.  Dorothy must die.

Beastly by Alex Flinn- Set in the modern world, a retelling of Beauty and the Beast.  This novel follows the point of view of the beast.