Cinder

Cinder, Marissa Meyer

Eclectic Reader Challenge: Retelling of a fairy tale

Cinder, as you can imagine is a retelling of Cinderella, but with Cyborgs! I probably never would have picked this up on my own but a friend recommended it and it fit my challenge criteria. I am really glad I read it because I loved it and am already working on the sequel. This story has been told a thousand times and in a thousand different ways but this was a refreshing new take on a classic. Here is the goodreads.com blurb:

Humans and androids crowd the raucous streets of New Beijing. A deadly plague ravages the population. From space, a ruthless lunar people watch, waiting to make their move. No one knows that Earth’s fate hinges on one girl. 

Cinder, a gifted mechanic, is a cyborg. She’s a second-class citizen with a mysterious past, reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsister’s illness. But when her life becomes intertwined with the handsome Prince Kai’s, she suddenly finds herself at the center of an intergalactic struggle, and a forbidden attraction. Caught between duty and freedom, loyalty and betrayal, she must uncover secrets about her past in order to protect her world’s future

Like I said I really enjoyed this book, the story flowed nicely and I never felt like there was a lull. I was on the edge of my seat waiting to see how this played out and wondering how long it would take Cinder to piece together who she really is and then what she would do with that information. Meyer's story is brilliant and you should all read it! 

The Elite & The One

The Elite & The One

Alphabet Challenge 

I thought I'd do a quick review of these books since I finished up the series and I am going to use them for my Alphabet Challenge. The story is a continuation of The Selection process with America still competing for Maxon while trying to decide if she still loves Aspen. They also both get into deeper topics such as the Caste system and the trouble within it. America and Maxon form and alliance with the Northern rebels and believe it or not I started liking Celeste. Overall they were good books and quick reads. My only issue was that I thought it took way too long for America to make her final choice. Hope you all read them and enjoy! 

PS: Aren't these book covers just gorgeous!?!?!

The Selection

The Selection 
To Be Read Pile Challenge

Oh my this book,  I devoured it in less than 24 hours! I needed a book that was fun and easy like this one after the blah I felt for Interview with the Vampire. America Singer is a fun character and I found myself sucked into her world quickly. I was pulled into the love triangle and couldn't decide for a long time who I was rooting for. America is an easy to relate to character, a girl next door type, and seeing her struggle to become princess material is interesting, I could just imagine myself being the same way and making the same mistakes. The premise was a new take on what could be a tired genre, For thirty-five girls, the Selection is the chance of a lifetime. The opportunity to escape the life laid out for them since birth. To be swept up in a world of glittering gowns and priceless jewels. To live in a palace and compete for the heart of gorgeous Prince Maxon. But for America Singer, being Selected is a nightmare. It means turning her back on her secret love with Aspen, who is a caste below her. Leaving her home to enter a fierce competition for a crown she doesn't want. Living in a palace that is constantly threatened by violent rebel attacks. Then America meets Prince Maxon. Gradually, she starts to question all the plans she's made for herself--and realizes that the life she's always dreamed of may not compare to a future she never imagined. I would recommend this book to anyone who would listen and insist you pick it up ASAP!!! I am already half way through the second book in this series and it was not even on my to read list :-)

Interview with the Vampire

Interview with the Vampire 
Eclectic Reader: Published before you born
To Be Read Pile

Meh, that's about all I have to say for this book. I really didn't care for it at all. I know this opinion upsets throngs of people and I will most likely be burned at the stake as a heretic but alas here we are. I found the writing style had too much flourish for my taste. I imagine Rice was trying for the novel to read more like Dracula and I did not care for that one either. I am certain I am a product of my generation on this matter. Also, I found that I did not care for any of the characters I couldn't find a redeeming quality in any of them. Here the little blurb from goodreads.com : Here are the confessions of a vampire. Hypnotic, shocking, and chillingly erotic, this is a novel of mesmerizing beauty and astonishing force—a story of danger and flight, of love and loss, of suspense and resolution, and of the extraordinary power of the senses. It is a novel only Anne Rice could write. Nothing more to say on this really, maybe watching the movie first ruined me, maybe I'm just weird but I am glad to be moving on to another book.