I have quite a few books that I’ve been meaning to review, but simply haven’t gotten to yet. So, I decided to just knock this series out in one go. I’ll spare you the summaries, and just give some brief thoughts (along with my customary content ratings).
Cinder by Marissa Meyer
I’ll admit, I was very pleased when we were told that Cinder did not have any tear ducts. I hate when the heroine cries anytime something happens, so the fact that Cinder literally could not cry was something to be celebrated in my book. I liked pretty much all of the secondary characters. Dr. Erland seemed like a good guy and I really enjoyed Cinder’s relationships with Peony and Iko. There were a few things that kept the books from being a five though. First, I just want characters to be honest with each other for once! IS THAT TOO MUCH TO ASK??? Second, the word “chafe” is used three times throughout the book. It’s not that common of a word and wasn’t the best choice in those circumstances. Third, how is Cinder such a good mechanic? Is it because she’s a cyborg? I just feel like this was never explained to us. Last, the final twist was SO OBVIOUS. I don’t mind that the twist was obvious, but it just makes me wish it had come out sooner so more could have happened with it.
Overall: 4 | Language: None | Violence: Moderate | Sexual Content: Mild | Smoke/Drink: Mild
Scarlet by Marissa Meyer
I liked Scarlet as a character quite a bit, but there were times when I wondered if she was too similar to Cinder. The voices weren’t necessarily as distinct as I would have liked them to be. Again, though, secondary characters are great. I LOVE Thorne and think he’s a great addition to the cast. He brings in some great moments of comic relief. My one issue with the plot is that I feel like Scarlet forgave Wolf a little too quickly and that makes their relationship feel a little inauthentic. Overall, though, I’m not too bothered by it. Wolf as a character could have more depth, but again, it’s easy for me to look past. This book makes me excited to see how the rest of the story plays out.
Overall: 5 | Language: None | Violence: Heavy | Sexual Content: Mild | Smoke/Drink: Mild
Cress by Marissa Meyer
Hopeless. That’s basically how I felt for 75% of the book. I just could not see how everything was going to work out! At the same time, when the pieces started to come together, it made me really, really excited. I just wanted to cheer out loud! I like Cress especially because she does seem really different from both Cinder and Scarlet. I also like that she brings out another side of Thorne. He was fun in the second book, but it’s nice to see that he has another dimension. Iko is such a great character too and I’m glad that she was able to play a bigger role. Overall, I feel like the story is woven together so seamlessly. All of the characters are different and interesting and I’m excited to read the next book!
Overall: 5 | Language: None | Violence: Moderate | Sexual Content: Mild | Smoke/Drink: Mild
Overall Notes:
Love the cover designs, hate the font choice. Interesting world building.
What's She Reading? 
With me it’s just the opposite. I like the fonts, but as for the covers… Cinder’s is the only one that appeals to me.
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That’s so interesting! I like the fonts used for the covers and chapter headings, but the actual text is just kind of distracting to me. I think the thing that I like about the covers is that they match. I like when series’ have a really strong theme running through the covers.
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Ah, I guess I get you. The themed covers do appeal more. But somehow, the cover for Winter is the only one in the series that I actually like. Scarlet is good, too. Cinder, for me, is just meh (in fact, I don’t think I’d have even bothered to check it out if a friend hadn’t recommended it to me on Goodreads, imagine that!). But it’s the cover of Cress that I simply can’t stand. I don’t know why, but I seem to hate it with all my heart.
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Haha that happens sometimes!
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I love Thorne too, and Iko. I believe it was explained that the reason she’s a good mechanic is partly due to the fact that she can download any manual immediately and view it in her vision. So she can read it and overlay diagrams when fixing things.
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Okay, that makes more sense. I just got half-way through the book and thought “how can she do this stuff?”
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Did you read the short story prequel Glitches? It has her first discovering her cyborg abilities and her first fixing Iko. I know it was mentioned there, but I thought it was mentioned in the book too since Glitches only appears in the paperback edition.
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I haven’t! I think in the book it might be implied and it does show her pulling up schematics for things, I guess it just went over my head haha.
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