RaeleighReads rating: 3 out of 5 coffee cups
“He was the fantasy of every girl in the country. He was so far out of realm, her world, that she should have stopped thinking about him the second the door had closed. Should stop thinking about him immediately. Should never think about him again, except maybe as a client–and her prince. And yet, the memory of his fingers against her skin refused to fade.”
I finished this a few days ago and told myself I would write a full review when I felt inspired.
That still hasn’t happened.
There is really one word that can sum up Cinder — unmemorable.
Sure, we’ve got a fairy tale re-imagined in a future setting with cyborgs and aliens (Lunars) that can manipulate electromagnetic fields, but all of that feels like the author trying too hard to cover up the fact that she’s ripping off a story we’re all too familiar with.
Maybe I’m a traditionalist? But I don’t think that’s it. I love Gregory Maguire’s spins on already established stories: from The Wizard of Oz (you’d better have your shiz together if you’re going to use Frank L. Baum’s concept, yo) Maguire gave us The Wicked Years, from Snow White — Mirror Mirror, and from Cinderella — Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister. All amazing.
While Meyer did develop her own plot points/stakes apart from find-a-dress-go-to-the-ball, that just made me wonder, why use the foundation of Cinderella at all??? It’s rather unnecessary given the future setting of this story.
Anyway, I plan to read the next book in the series because I do want to know what happens to Cinder and Kai. You got me there, Meyer. I’m invested in the relationship that cannot be. But of course, I’ve been invested in that relationship since 1991 when Disney first taught me that dirty house-maids all have fairy godmothers and deserve to be rescued by, and then married to, a prince. Obviously. Oh, and I’m the dirty house-maid in case that wasn’t clear. Now somebody go find me my prince! Or not, I’m really fine here. Promise.
Some other opinions you may be interested in:
“When I first started this book I was worried. I wasn’t immediately hooked…because of the whole metal foot and what not. But I was in love 20 pages in.“– RachelAnn *Obsessed w/ Rabbits & Zombies* on Goodreads
“I hated it. No binging this series, sorry, dear friends. You may think it’s harsh that I give this book one star when there was nothing offensive about it, but considering the hype, I expected far, far more than that we were given.“– Khanh (The Grinch) on Goodreads
RaeleighReads 