Last month I started a book club. I used to be a part of one locally and I really missed it. I had joined another online book club but the books weren’t really to my taste and I was getting bored. There isn’t a great deal of activity in my book club, but if you’d like to join you are more than welcome. 
One thing I noticed with other book clubs is that it’s easy to get bored if the books aren’t to your taste, especially when it happens in consecutive months. I wanted a group that was reading books that suited a variety of tastes, and not just reading a book because it was in the top 10.
One of the books for March was Cinder by Marissa Meyer. Cinder is the first book in the Lunar Chronicles, which tells the story of a Cyborg named Cinder. The Lunar Chronicles is a new take on the popular fairy tales we know and love, including Cinderella, Snow White, Rapunzel and Little Red Riding Hood.
Each tale is set in a futuristic world where androids, cyborgs and humans attempt to coexist. Still not considered a real citizen, Cinder is forced to work for her Step mother and step sisters. After a strange encounter with the Prince of her country, Cinder’s world spirals out of control and she learns things about herself that have the power to change her life forever.
I have to admit that the Cyborg mention threw me off this book a little. It wasn’t a genre or book that I would normally choose for myself but it still had me intrigued. Even though the story is set in a futuristic world, it was surprisingly less sci fi than I expected. I read the entire series and it had similarities to Hunger Games.
The story line was a little predictable and it was easy to see where the intended twists were. Despite this I still enjoyed the book. It was a nice, easy read that was probably more geared towards a preteen to early teen audience.
I liked that the story was told from different points of view too. Although Cinder was the main character throughout the 4 books, Meyer also filled in the character profiles of several other main players in the story. She has also written a series of novellas that help to fill in any gaps left by the main series. It’s a nice way to get to know the characters better.
I’m glad that I gave this book a go despite my initial concerns about the genre. One thing I learned from my Aussie Author Challenge last year is that sometimes stepping out of your reading comfort zone really pays off.
What was the last book you read?
What book have you read that really surprised you?
Linking up with Kirsty for I Must Confess
I just finished reading Girl Boss. I’ve read a few books along those lines recently and while I like them, I don’t get why people are so in love with them. I think it’s because I’ve never wanted the 9-5 life that I have, whereas for people who fawn over the books, it’s the first time they’ve been introduced to any alternative.
I actually just finished The Lunar Chronicles series at the start of the year. I thought Cinder was the weakest book, my favourite was the Rapunzel story. Loved Cress!
That sounds like a great book. I need some good books to read and I like to read before bed. Ha ha a Cyborg that would throw be to.
I don’t find much time to read for pleasure these days but when I do, it has to be something that is captivating and distracts me from my to do list.
I’m not reading any fiction at the moment and haven’t for a very long time as I have struggled to be engaged with any topics or authors despite checking out recommendations of many. I think I like biographies and memoirs most at the moment as I like knowing how ‘real’ people deal with life. Of course I continue to read the newspaper every single day! I like anything that encourages reading and if book clubs do that I reckon they are all-good. Denyse
I’ve never been in a book club. Not sure if I’d like it to be honest, as I like to read what I want and if something isn’t gripping me I will put it down, life’s too short to waste time reading boring books. This one you’ve described does sound interesting though! I don’t mind a little bit of scifi, fantasy or paranormal 🙂
I’ve haven’t read any fiction for a long time. I read non-fiction now and lots of online articles and blogs. But I should get back into reading again. That sounds like a genuinely interesting series – I really like the concept of futuristic fairytales, retold. Intriguing.