This book has been showing up in my 'books you might like' feed EVERYWHERE. So I finally gave in, the premise sounded absolutely intriguing, and decided to see what the hype was about. 
 I am all about retellings, but they do tend to be predictable, and this was no exception. In the end, I had a really hard time connecting with any of the characters, and the pace of the plot did not help my wandering eyes - I caught myself skimming a few parts of this book in search of some more action and depth. I was definitely hoping for some more world building and deeper explanations, but hopefully that gets fleshed out in the second book. 
 What I loved most about Cinder was that she didn't accept the role of a victim, but rather took charge and did something about her life, and I adored that she was part cyborg. Even if I had a difficult time connecting with her, I do admire that bit. 
 This book wasn't very heavy in the romance department, and the relationship has a pretty slow burn. Overall I think there were a lot of avenues that could be further explored but weren't, a general lack of world building, and an inability to fully connect with the characters is what fuels my 3 star rating. 
 I am going to continue with this series, because there's a crazy amount of promise, and I want to know what happens next!!