Genre: Dystopian Romance for Teens
You’ll like this if you like: YA Novels, Tension, Sub-plots, Depth, Subtext, Incredible World-Building, Intrigue, Three Dimensional Characters (from Cinder to Queen Levana. Every one has something they want and a reason behind it).
Cleanliness: As far as the romance, there’s one kiss. It was a great kiss, though only provoked by the tension in the scene (and Kai didn’t kiss her back!).
Hero Type: Beta Male
For the majority of the book, Kai’s obviously attracted to her, but doesn’t know she’s a cyborg. There’s also Queen Levana, the Lunar queen, who comes to earth, so they can negotiate peace. The Lunar people have telepathic abilities that can make people think differently. This results in illusions and mind-control. There’s also a plague going around, infecting the people of New Beijing. Queen Levana proposes to have the cure. With all of these things going on, you probably don’t need me to assure you what an awesome story it is, but I’ll do it anyways 😉
I thought having the main character as a cyborg was really weird. I personally like the main character to be a little similar to myself (even appearance wise), and I’m not a cyborg. Well, not last I checked. But Marissa Meyers handles this surprisingly well. Cinder can’t blush or cry, and you become very sympathetic towards her. There’s also that matter of why she’s a cyborg, which adds a hint of intrigue to the story. The plots are complex, but not so much that the plot threads twist together confusingly and the story becomes convoluted. And I loved the romance (Bet you didn’t see that comment coming) 🙂 Kai and Cinder weren’t always together, but there was enough tension to sustain their separation, and I don’t recall a single page being dull. The entire book is great, and the next ones in the series are amazing too. I didn’t read it until it was recommended by a friend from church, then from two sisters who are also great friends of mine.
What do you think of the classic story of Cinderella? Is this version better? Would you like to see more book reviews on dystopian romance novels for teens?