I've actually had the audiobook for Cinder for quite some time. I started it and then stopped, and just couldn't get into it the first time around. But everyone kept telling me how amazing and fabulous and OHMYGODWHYHAVEYOUNOTREADTHISYETGOOD it was so I decided I needed to give it another try. 
 Sometimes books just can't live up to their hype, and sometimes when you listen to an audio, the narrator ruins it for you completely. In the case of Cinder, it's the latter and when I read Scarlett and Cress, I will definitely be getting the ebook versions and not the audios, because the narrator doesn't do this story justice. 
 I don't think there is really anything I can say about this series that would come as a surprise to anyone. Marissa Meyer paints a really vivid world in New Beijing and I was able to envision it perfectly in my mind. Lots of wealth is balanced with poverty in the dirtier, poorer parts of the city. Meyer is definitely a world-crafter. 
 I also enjoyed the sci-fi twist on this Cinderella re-telling. Cyborgs and robots and space travel ties in neatly with a dystopian future on our world. There was a specific scene, actually, that tied it all together for me: when Prince Kai was having a conference with the other dignitaries around the world and their faces were broadcast to individual screens around his conference table. Demolition Man, anyone? 
 Overall, this would have been about a 3 1/2 star read for me, but the ending was unexpected and totally brought it to a 4-star! I am genuinely interested in reading Scarlett and finding out what happens next! 
 Narrator 4-1-1 
 Rebecca Soler just didn't do it for me. She didn't hit the men's voices very well at all, although I do give her props for doing a German accent I guess, but overall, I couldn't even tell most of the time when it was her or Prince Kai talking. Her voice is just too high and she hasn't mastered inflections yet. I think this is a series best left to reading with your eyeballs rather than listening with your ears.