Cinder by Marissa Meyer

Most of you have already read this, because I am ridiculously behind with this series. Just in case you haven’t, here is the blurb from Goodreads:

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

First off, the good things. I absolutely love this concept. It was a nice refresher from the typical YA dystopian, taking us far into the future. Cinder’s character was hilarious, and I love her interactions with Iko, the family android. I think that all of the relationships in this novel were done well, whether it be family, friends, or love interests. There was nothing super insta-lovey, but still a little bit. I mean no one wants to read a whole book of just two people taking their time to “getting to know each other” before ever saying they have mutual feelings, right? I know I don’t!

I really liked Kai’s character. I almost wish we would have gotten more from his perspective. It seemed like every time his character would begin to develop, perspectives would change.

Okay, now the bad things. Well, thing really.

It was incredibly predictable. If you’re paying attention, you know exactly how the book is going to end after only being 20 pages in. I even had a moment where I stopped reading, turned to my husband, and read him a particular passage. Without even knowing anything about the book he was like, “Yeah, so blabbity blah blah is how that is going to end.”

Most of the time, I hate books that give too much away too soon, and in this case it was wayyyyyy too much.

But- the concept and the characters were so interesting that I continued on and finished it, and I will probably read the next two Scarlet and Cress. Hopefully they won’t be as obvious as this one was!