I have been hearing the buzz about Cinder, by Marissa Meyer, all over the web and the fairy tale communities, so if you've already read this, just squee with me for a bit, okay? And if you haven't -- I would say the buzz is not overrated.This is the story of Cinderella, except it's told in way-future China, in a community where cyborgs are ostracized for being less-than-human, androids are all over the place, and the lunar colonists have become their own species. And if that wasn't fun enough, Cinder is a cyborg mechanic who just happens to be the only person who can fix Prince Kai's broken android.
There's plenty of political intrigue and rich world building in this one -- it's not just a gimmicky Cinderella retelling. There were a couple times when I thought the writing was a little off, but not enough to distract from the story or the characters.
This is well worth a read, and if you don't believe me, the first 5 chapters are free for kindle, so you can check them out for yourself. (Even if you don't have a kindle you can read them on your computer.)
One note of warning: this is the first book of a trilogy and definitely one that ends on a cliffhanger. I am curious to see if Meyer will incorporate other stories in the other books of the trilogy, as well as being curious as to just what will happen in the world itself.
