The Lunar Chronicles

So even though I said I would, I did not post my review yesterday as promised. :( I actually started and finished a book yesterday as well as work, so I did not have time to blog or review on Bookkus. The book I read yesterday, I will be doing a review on sometime this weekend. It was fabulous! But enough of that. Time for a review! Like I said, today I will be reviewing the first two books in the Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer. In a dystopian future where a deadly disease plagues the planet and the Queen of the Moon threats war at every turn, Earth is rather formidable. For Cinder, a teenage cyborg, life definitely has it's challenges. Even though she is New Bejing's best mechanic, every cent she earns is taken away and she is blamed for any wrong doing by her cruel stepmother, especially when one of her stepsisters falls victim to the plague. Cinder's her life is turned upside down even more when she meets the beautiful Prince Kai, but is soon forced to join the cyborg draft, a selection set up for cyborgs to be tested on to help find the cure for the deadly plague. Through all of this Cinder finds her true identity and it is revealed to her that the fate of humanity rests on her shoulders and that she may have to face the evil and powerful Lunar Queen. Cinder is the first novel in the Lunar Chronicles. I absolutely loved, loved, loved this book. It captured my attention from the very first sentence and still hasn't let go. It has a very nice place and flow to in and the main character, Cinder, is extremely endearing. The reader can't help but fall in love with her and other characters like the 'charming' Prince Kai, the dedicated droid, Iko, or Cinder's bubbly stepsister, Peony. The plot was wonderful. Set in a dystopia, it has plenty of sci-fi and action and makes for an interesting adventure. Obviously, the story is based off of the classic fairytale, Cinderella. This gives it romance and some girliness. The only thing that I didn't like is that many of the predictions I made turned out to be true. It was slightly too predictable for me. Notice I said 'many,' not 'all,' of the predictions. It did end differently than I was expecting which was nice. I liked that Meyer really took her time, not only to set up and get very familiar with the setting and the characters, but she also took her time with ending, which I loved. Often times I feel like the author rushes the ending of the book and it feels like they are saying "Let's get this over with!" But not Meyer. This is a book I would recommend to anyone who likes fairytales, action, dystopian novels, or sci-fi. It is the perfect combination of all of the above.
CINDER


When Cinder finds out her true identity, She sets off on an across the world journey to find possibly the only person who could help her learn more about herself: Michelle Benoit. Along the way Cinder meets an unlikely accomplice, Thorne. Together they make their way to France and out run the police, Kai's army, and also Lunar werewolves. Oh... did I mention that Cinder is the most wanted person on both Earth and Luna?
Scarlet Benoit's life is unexpectantly changed forever when her grandmother Michelle goes missing. Knowing that something is very wrong and that her grandmother could be in a lot of danger, Scarlet is determined to find her. With the help of a mysterious man named Wolf, they set out to find her grandmother. Along the way Scarlet discovers the truth about not only her grandmother's disappearance but also the part she played for both Earth and Luna. Scarlet also uncovers Wolf's many secrets and her strange connection to the wanted "criminal" Cinder. Scarlet was the perfect sequel. It is quite evident as to what fairytale this story alludes to but just like Cinder, it has a very interesting twist. I loved this story and found it really interesting what all the author had planned for the main characters as well as the new ones. I really love the way both the new and the old characters intertwined. It was very well thought out and although I liked the plot, there really wasn't much action until the end. The only other critique I have is that it really took me a long time to fall in love with Scarlet as a character. At first, she wasn't really that interesting and all I really cared about was what happened to Cinder. Whenever I got to a chapter that was about Scarlet I would mentally say to myself, "Come on. Can't I just know what happens to Cinder." I've talked to other fans on Lunar Chronicle Forums and asked if anyone else had this problem and I was surprised to find that many people did. If you are reading this book and feel the same way, hang in there! Scarlet definitely becomes important and loveable once you really get into the novel and discover more about her and by the end she's just as close to you as Cinder. This book has the perfect amount of intrigue and adventure with just the right amount of romance sprinkled in. It's a great summer read and I recommend it to anyone who's a fan of The Mortal Instruments or The Hunger Games.
SCARLET: