WHY?! ....is what I was asking myself. Why did I not read this sooner!? I came across this book before, but finding it on Goodreads once 'Winter' was released, I thought ok YES Cinderella story-line, modern and futuristic twists.. you can't go wrong! 
 And you really can't. I just want to pick at Marissa Meyer's brain SO badly now! And, she's a huge fangirl! Sailor Moon! Harry Potter! Cosplay! Loves cats! This woman is my spirit animal! 
 But anyway, more about the book. 
 I could NOT put this book down. Some use that phrase loosely. I literally didn't put it down. I took it to work and read pages between my boss walking around, I slept with it, I even took it to the 5 minute drive to the store! 
 This novel has such an appealing story-line. At first, knowing Meyers is a Harry Potter fan, while reading the first few chapters I thought to myself, I really hope she wasn't copying concepts from HP, The Hunger Games, etc. (No offense, I'm sorry for judging a book by it's cover!) BUT ITS NOT! It is thoroughly original, with research, accuracy, and creativity. It's appealing to me because it isn't all happy endings. It's a futuristic retelling of a classic. You are routing for the right people in all the right places. 
 It holds the back bone of Cinderella, but you aren't left feeling like you're about to read a Disney story. The whole series is a futuristic retelling of fairy tales. It has a darker side, slightly graphic with the plague, and mild romance that isn't all rainbows and butterflies like it would be if it were a Disney story. What is kept true is the stepmother and stepsisters, the glass slippers (in this case a prosthetic leg/metal foot), Iko represents the friendly mice, an annual ball, and either Dr. Erland or Cress is the "fairy godmother" (depending on how the reader wants to interpret them I suppose). 
 To conclude this ramble.... READ THE LUNAR CHRONICLES!!