Reviews

Objectively, I should give this book 3 stars, but you know what. I enjoyed myself and I make the rules.

Honestly, I wasn't really planning to read this book. I remember seeing it again at again during my bookstore tours and never actually buying it, always choosing another story; I suppose it was because I considered myself more of a fantasy girlie and this book seemed to have too little dragons and magic for my liking. And then there were years spent reading "adult" books, during which I didn't really step foot in that area where bookstores store their books for younger folks. Truly, I haven't thought about this title in forever, before stumbling on its audiobook like a week ago!

I can't say what brought me to give it a try, considering that I'm definitely not anymore at an age that would be considered its target audience, and I can't even cite nostalgia as a reason for me to finally start this series, but hey, I wanted something nice and chill for once, and this book absolutely served its purpose!

What can I say? Cinder is fun! It's a genius retelling of Cinderella that does exactly what retellings are supposed to do: keeping enough of the original story to make you go "hell yes, I got that reference :D" while turning the story into something new and personal. I loved the futuristic worldbuilding and the setups, and I really loved Cinder! She's headstrong, sarcastic, witty, and caring, and despite constantly dealing with new and upsetting situations, she takes her fate into her own hands and tries her best to move forward. She simply works!

I was a bit concerned about the romance moving too fast, considering that Cinder meets her prince-charming on like page 2, but actually, no, they are cute! Kai is a very young man who finds himself dealing with a series of responsibilities and duties that honestly he should not be dealing with, such as feeling like he might be forced to marry and compromise with a cruel and manipulative queen who could be his mother. I absolutely get why he would get a crush on Cinder, and why she would feel the same about it! Their relationship developed naturally - a sort of wary friendship at first, and then something between a crush and a first love. I appreciated the fact that it doesn't take priority over other, more pressing and concerning things, such as politics, a global pandemic, and the perspective of war.

The side characters are also quite charming and usually have depth, which should be the bare minimum but unfortunately is not.

Now, I wouldn't say that this book is a masterpiece, and the fact that its target audience is young minds is quite obvious. It also reads like something that was written in the 2010s, as it was. And if we are talking criticism, I must say it's a bit predictable, especially regarding the final twist. It's still a pleasant read in my opinion, and I can totally see why many feel very fondly about it!

Will probably continue the series!