I think there's something to be said about reading a book without reading all of the rave reviews first. When I read John Green's latest, I'd peeked at some of the reviews on GoodReads and was secretly thrilled to see so many five star reviews; I knew that I was in for a good read. (Not to mention a good cry!)So, one would think that the same would apply to Cinder. Everyone on GoodReads is posting five star reviews, and I've been trying not to read any of them, waiting to read it for myself so that I could make my own judgements on the book.It was good. It was really, really good. I don't know if I'd give it quite five stars because it didn't blow my mind, but it would still earn a solid four and a half stars. Meyer has painted a truly unique world, with likeable characters and a really good spin on a traditional fairytale. I like fairytale retellings, and this one is definitely unlike any other.The story moves well and it's paced nicely. It wasn't a Hunger Games-type page turner, but it definitely kept me interested and wanting to find out what happened next. By the end of the book, I was really loving the story and will keep reading this series for sure. I'm thinking that the next book will probably be even better than this one, since the storyline won't require so much explanation on the setting, the culture, etc. and it can just delve more into the storyline itself. Review also posted at: http://writergrrlreads.blogspot.com/2012/02/cinder-marissa-meyer.html
