Cinder by Marrissa Meyer - Book Review

Status: Have already purchased books two and three.
Rating: 7/5 stars.

I haven't had a book completely blow me away like this since The Fifth Wave or The Hunger Games. I went into this thinking it was a retelling of Cinderella and boy was I wrong. I was hooked from the first page. We are immediately introduced to a mechanic who has just detached her own foot. This is not your classic Cinderella. This is Cinder.

Cinder is a mechanic girl adopted by a horrible stepmother and living in New Beijing. She is first approached by Prince Kai to fix his personal android which contains important information not available on the imperial internet. Just a normal boy meets girl scenario. Except that Cinder is cyborg, 36% machine and a servant to society at large. She is volunteered by her stepmother to become a vaccine tester for medical research undertaken to cure the plague spreading to the Commonwealth. What follows is an epic adventure through a new world, government system and some bad ass  non-Disney princesses.

The novel was heavily reliant on dialogue to keep a fast pace. Not many witty one-liners but certainly lots of chemistry with Prince Kai and Iko. And the pace was what made this book for me. I was never bored and was always ready for the next mystery to present itself.

In short I ate this book up. I reveled in its creative homage to the classic fairytale and the fantastic twists and turns I never saw coming. The world-building was truly amazing and akin to the dystopian worlds I hope I can build for my stories in future. This is one series to keep on your YA fiction horizons.

Favourite quote: 
It was not her fault he had liked her. 
I was not her fault she was cyborg.
She would not apologize.

Review of The Distance Between Us

Hey guys! Welcome to another little book review of The Distance Between Us by Kasie West (click here to see Goodreads). Sorry I haven't blogged in a while because apparently law school means a lot more textbook than novel reading. Sigh.

I read this in about 3 sittings because it is one of those books that just makes you feel happy and alright with how life is playing out for you. It is the story of Caymen Meyers who works in a doll-shop in a town of rich people while not actually being rich. Her mum's experience with Caymen's father has taught her one thing: rich boys are trouble. Lucky for us, trouble strolls in, all arrogant and handsome by the name of Xander Spence. This is a slightly Cinderella story with a very cute prince, a lot of hilarious characters and a whole bunch of awwwwwww.

The story-line is quite straightforward and is fast-paced. This is one of the main reasons I got hooked so easily, that and the aforementioned awwwwwwws. It is perfect for a light read with a bit of humour, a bit of unbelievable things that we all wish could happen to us and a crisp ending. It felt finished, I had fun and I could forget about how hard life actually was for a while.

Like Sarah Dessen, the author chose to introduce some depth into the story through the college dilemmas of someone who can't afford it and a single-parent family struggling to make ends meet. It was by no means a Dessen masterpiece but this book was a solid effort. I had a little bit of issue with the ending but, you've got to be expecting a little bit of corniness.

All in all, this was a light-hearted read which is great for unwinding after a long and hard day. I gave this book a 4 star rating because it made me awwwwwww. Let me know if you've read it and how you're going on the Goodreads Challenge (I am failing miserably >.< ) Ciao

Favourite quote:
"Caymen."
Please don't turn it into a nickname.
"Good to meet you. Caymen."
Five points.