Scarlet - Marissa Meyer + Cinder Audio Clip!

Synopsis: Cinder returns in the second thrilling installment of the New York Times-bestselling Lunar Chronicles. She’s trying to break out of prison—even though if she succeeds, she’ll be the Commonwealth’s most wanted fugitive.
Halfway around the world, Scarlet Benoit’s grandmother is missing. It turns out there are many things Scarlet doesn’t know about her grandmother and the grave danger she has lived in her whole life. When Scarlet encounters Wolf, a street fighter who may have information as to her grandmother’s whereabouts, she has no choice but to trust him, though he clearly has a few dark secrets of his own.As Scarlet and Wolf work to unravel one mystery, they find another when they cross paths with Cinder. Together, they must stay one step ahead of the vicious Lunar Queen who will do anything to make Prince Kai her husband, her king, her prisoner. (From Goodreads)

The Lunar Chronicles are freaking genius. I'm just completely in love and in awe. I spent a long time not reading Cinder. I was pretty sure Cinderella and cyborgs weren't really my thing. But it turns out, when done as well as these books are, it's exactly my thing. And the only thing that makes it better, is when you take a fairy tale I like even more and throw it into the mix.

If possible, I love Scarlet even more than Cinder. Both girls are strong and amazing, but Scarlet is a bit more of a spit fire. She never hesitates to jump head first into things she doesn't know or to let people know exactly what she needs. And Wolf is wonderful, as far as male leads go. He's strong and a little emotionally reserved, but fiercely protective. I adore him.

These lovable characters are so perfect for this beautiful, intricate, and impressive story. I know I'm gushing, but it's hard not to when talking about this book. I mean, I know the Red Riding Hood story and still I kept thinking - How did I not see this coming? It was so full of surprises and twists. I was lulled into a sense of security and then jerked out of it or I wouldn't be able to trust someone completely trustworthy. My emotions were all over the place.

Then there's the amazing way that Scarlet's story weaves with Cinder's. Cinder's story is still progressing and we see her adventures happening a the same time Scarlet is embarking on her mission to find her grandmother. Just about the only predictable thing in this book is that they will meet at some point, but the way they are brought together and the way their stories are linked is just so awesome. Every little bit of the puzzle that fits into place is so satisfying.

I'll probably never be able to completely convey my love for this book, for this series. I definitely can't express how excited I am for Cress, the Rapunzel retelling out next year. Because between finally reading these books and finally watching Tangled, I'm pretty sure there may be so much epic-ness in the third book that it might just explode. I'm so happy, so excited, and so in love with this series - with all that's happened and all that's to come.

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I'm also very excited to share a clip of the Cinder audiobook with you! Cinder was really amazing and what I've heard of the audio - it sounds awesome! Definitely something to check out, whether you've read the book or not! 

Click here to listen to Chapter One of Cinder! 

Cinder - Marissa Meyer

Synopsis: 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. (From Goodreads)

One of my guest reviewers, Caralyn, actually already reviewed Cinder for ItBW. But I recently picked it up and I just wanted to share a few thoughts. If you want to read Caralyn's review that goes a bit more in depth you can find it HERE.

Total honesty time: I had no desire to read this book. Cinderella is an overdone, overrated fairy tale. And I'm not particularly a fan of cyborgs. So I spent a year actively not reading this book. Even though I have not heard anything less than raving about Cinder, I was pretty convinced it wasn't for me. So why did I actually pick it up? Hard to say. Mostly out of curiosity. I also got pretty excited when I realized Scarlet was a Red Riding Hood retelling and that next up was Cress - Rapunzel and then a Snow White retelling. Even better - all these characters come together. So I finally read it.

Or devoured it, is probably more accurate. This book is spectacular. Like, whoa. I'm so impressed at the way Marissa Meyer pulled this off. Because when you step back and look, what she did was take on a massive project. This is futuristic politics, colonies on the moon, cyborgs, and all these things had to twist into the familiarity of the Cinderella story. I was skeptical, and I regret that a bit. If you're only looking at the surface, this is just straight up a compelling and well-written story. It's easy to lose track of time with this book.

I'm just really glad I gave Cinder a chance. There's a reason people rave about it.

July Top 5

OH hey last day of July. I think I say this every month, but how in the world did we get here? I don't know about you, but my July has been kind of life-altering in a scary, but great, way. Caralyn has been doing a fab job keeping up the blog while I've been out - I've popped in here and there, but she's been pretty much running the show. It's hard to, you know, have a life AND maintain 6 blog posts a week, so I've been very happy to have someone to rely on. Anyhow - I've still managed to sneak a few books into my schedule and I have read some pretty awesome stuff. This month, though, Caralyn and I are splitting our top five. Here are the books that rocked our world in July:

1. Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas

Hannah says: Such awesome fantasy. This novel is joining an already rich genre and it so deserves a spot up there as one of the best. Read my review here. 

2. Pushing the Limits by Katie McGarry

Hannah says: It's been a few weeks since I read this incredible book and I still miss these characters. Whenever I see the book cover my heart leaps. I think it's safe to say this book is pretty permanently etched into my mind. Read my review here. 

3. Rift by Andrea Cremer

Hannah says: YES. Andrea Cremer's new series is SO wicked and intense. I loved the Nightshade series, so it's pretty epic to see where Calla's world all started. Review to come. 

4. Cinder by Marissa Meyer

Caralyn says: I loved the futuristic retelling of Cinderella and the strength of Cinder's character - it definitely has its own innovative twists on the classic story. Read my review here. 

5. Wings of the Wicked by Courtney Allison Moulton

Caralyn says: This sequel to Angelfire was packed with more romance and more butt-kicking angels. Still love Ellie's sarcasm and Will's selflessness. Wellie forever! Review to come. 

What were your top reads this month? 

Secondary Character Saturday (15)

This is a weekly meme created to honor the characters that don't always get their voices heard, who support (or work to destroy) our beloved protagonists. This is for the third wheel in the love triangle (can you have wheels on a triangle?), for the BFFs, the family members, or even just the kind and loving (or deceitful and creepy) stranger who shows up and changes the game. We all know these stories wouldn't hold up without support so I'd like to take the time to highlight the best secondary characters I come across. This is an opportunity to talk about what makes these characters special, maybe to speculate what their world would be like without them, or maybe cast them in their own primary roles. If you'd like to create a SCS post leave your link in the comments and I'll check it out!

So today it's all about:

Iko from Cinder

I really loved Iko as Cinder's android sidekick. She provided a lot of comic relief and an escape for Cinder from the horrible treatment she receives from her adoptive family. I love her response of "I don't compute" when she doesn't understand a situation...it serves as a reminder that shes a machine, even though she's one of the most compassionate characters.

Iko technically belongs to Cinder's stepmother, Adri, as property, but she's joined at the hip with Cinder as her friend. In a world where there's a definite separation between humans and robots, Iko bridges the gap. She has a defective personality chip that allows her to be more human so that she empathizes with Cinder and does her best to avoid Adri. I especially loved the scene where Iko has taken some of Adri's make-up and pearls and tries to dress herself up just to poke fun. She's a seriously cool robot who acts more human than most humans and always has Cinder's back.

I don't want to give too much away if you haven't read the book yet, but Iko is in a bad way when the book ends, but the story isn't over. She's going to be with Cinder for the rest of the Lunar Chronicles, I'm sure...in one form or another. I'm really interested in what role she'll play in the later books because I know Cinder will need her. 

What did you all think of Iko or any of the other characters in the story?

Cinder - Marissa Meyer

Synopsis: Humans and androids crowd the raucous streets of New Beijing. A deadly plague ravages the population. From space, the 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. (from Goodreads)


I've always enjoyed the story of Cinderella, ever since we read a bunch of different versions from different cultures in elementary school. Cinderella is truly a universally loved fairy tale.This version kinda follows the Drew Barrymore - Ever After retelling more so than the Disney classic. It's a bit more believable that way. You'll see what I mean.

Cinder is extremely resourceful, smart and very proactive in the situations she's thrown into. She never gives up, no matter the circumstances. That's what I like about this girl. She's so strong. The problem is she's not a complete human girl. There was an accident at some point in her life and a chunk of her body has been replaced with robotic parts...including one of her feet. ;-) In Cinder's world, being a cyborg puts you way below humans and not far above androids. It creates a type of class system of the future that she has no control over and can't escape. Just like no one of today has any control over being born into extreme poverty, Cinder had no say in becoming a cyborg.

The hierarchy that Marissa Meyer has developed for her world got me to thinking about the prejudices we face today. Not to be too political, but it reminded me of racism in the 50's and 60's during the Civil Rights movement and even the Feminist movement after that. And I guess you could say today the big movements are for equal marriage rights and immigration rights as well. Basically, at almost every point in out history there has been some group that has been marginalized and treated like second-class citizens due to race, gender, religion, etc. It's interesting to me because the generation that fought for civil rights way back when are now the same generation fighting against equal rights for gays, lesbians, etc.

It's odd how as young people, we seem to embrace everyone but as we age, there are certain things we just can't except. My parents, for example, love listening to hard rock music and my grandparents, on the other hand, thought rock was sacrilegious. And I guess you could say that currently, rap music has replaced rock music's role of being the "corrupter of youth", and my parents can't stand it. They hate rap. It upsets them. But I like it. It doesn't bother me at all. I guess what I'm trying to get at is there will always be something that your generation refuses to accept into society, no matter how inviting and open you were in your youth. Makes me wonder what "thing" my children will be into that I won't have tolerance for.

This is what fascinates me about this story; in the future, the people who are looked down upon are the cyborgs. And there really is no logical basis for this reasoning, just like all the prejudices we face today. I didn't tear through this book like I've done with others, but it was more like a steady, page-turning thriller. I just wanted to soak it all up. And even if you know the story of Cinderella, you'll never guess how this ends!