Cinder may be a cyborg, but she's also a famed mechanic. Which is what brings Prince Kai to her stand in the market, asking her to fix an android that might contain state secrets. Cinder also has to deal with her stepmother and stepsisters, the upcoming ball, and the plague that's breaking out. Kai's life is complicated as well, constantly attempting to avoid a war with the Lunars, a race of people who have evolved from the first humans to live on the moon. Amongst all of this, Cinder and Kai begin to discover who they are, and what they're up against. 
 I'm going to be honest here: I went in not expecting to like this book. It's gotten a lot of hype, but I was skeptical about another fairy tale retelling. And I was even more skeptical about one with a sci-fi bend. For all that I love and devour fantasy/supernatural/paranormal fiction, I have a little bit more trouble with sci-fi. And I've seen feeling s be weird in sci-fi, and I like feelings. And to pair this with a fairy tale, the roots of the fantasy fiction mindset, I just wasn't sure. Also, maybe I was a little unclear about the definition of a cyborg. Because I was wrong. My fellow readers were right. And Cinder was absolutely delightful. 
 The world building was so much better than I expected. It was a world that worked with its own internal logic, and I was willing to suspend my disbelief. Evolution gave us the magical element of the Lunars, while also staying within the more sci-fi realm. Even with the technological advances, settings such as the market offered an older feel. Maybe online shopping isn't the way of the future after all. The group panic of the plague also fits within that realm. That's not to say I don't have questions about the world, like the market. Also, the junkyard: What exactly was in the junkyard? How big is the junkyard? Has a better way to deal with junk not been established? How can junkyards support a larger population? Also, what exactly happened in WWIII and WWIV? Still, the questions didn't interrupt the flow of the novel. Rather, they've offered me things to ponder, and hopefully at least some questions will be answered in the future, not that I'm going to lose any sleep over the junkyard stuff. 
 Since I mentioned the feelings thing earlier, I was very attuned to Cinder's ability/inability to feel in this novel. Cinder definitely can experience human emotion, and is mostly human, with references to a cyborg leg, hand, some spinal cord, and maybe some other assorted parts. However, Cinder cannot do things like cry or blush, and if she's feeling too overwhelmed and anxious, her system can shut down for her own protection. Without the means to express them, emotions become a handicap, and Cinder spends a lot of time repressing them. It became an interesting exploration of how we view emotions, especially in women, as a culture. They are often seen as weakness. I am interested to see how emotions play into the overall arc of the series. 
 When it comes down to it, the novel was fun and I liked the characters. I'm excited for the next installment, even if I'm worried it may not have enough Cinder for my liking. 
 Read on Tea and Tomes