Cinder by Marissa Meyer Narrator: Rebecca Soler
Series: The Lunar Chronicles #1
Published by Macmillan Audio on January 3, 2012
Genres: Dystopian YA, Science Fiction
Length: 10 hours, 6 minutes
Format: Audiobook
Also in this series: Cinder, Scarlet, Cress, Fairest
Also by this author: Cinder, Scarlet, Cress, Fairest
Source: Audible
Amazon • Audible • Goodreads
Humans and androids crowd the raucous streets of New Beijing. A deadly plague ravages the population. From space, a ruthless lunar people watch, waiting to make their move. No one knows that Earth’s fate hinges on one girl…
Cinder, a gifted mechanic, is a cyborg. She’s a second-class citizen with a mysterious past, reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsister’s illness. But when her life becomes intertwined with the handsome Prince Kai’s, she suddenly finds herself at the center of an intergalactic struggle, and a forbidden attraction. Caught between duty and freedom, loyalty and betrayal, she must uncover secrets about her past in order to protect her world’s future.
So, perhaps listening to an audiobook of a title that I’ve already read is maybe cheating little bit. But I’ve been DYING to reread Marissa Meyer’s CINDER now that SCARLET is out in the world, basically to confirm my unending love for and steadfast belief in the sheer AWESOMENESS of this series. It goes without saying, then, that the audiobook of CINDER, narrated by Rebecca Soler, takes Marissa Meyer’s excellent series debut and fleshes it out the story of the cyborg Cinder and Prince Kai and New Beijing in the best way.
Since I’ve already read and reviewed CINDER–AND LOVED IT–it’s safe to say that hearing this story instead of reading it was a wonderful new perspective for me. Mostly, though, listening to the audiobook of CINDER refreshed my memory and reminded me of little things about this series that I had forgotten since my first reading, which was over a year ago. The one thing I always remembered about this book–aside from Prince Kai–was Cinder herself. She’s such a great character. Smart and determined to do good for herself and her friends, but still unsure, still kind of awkward. For all that she’s a cyborg, she’s a very real balance of brave and quiet. I love how nervous she gets around Kai, but how fierce she is when it comes to her best friend, Iko, and her sister, Peony. Rebecca Soler really brings Cinder to life.
I always knew that the drama in CINDER was top-notch, and listening to the audiobook reaffirmed this for me. Cinder’s relationship with Adri and Pearl is just as infuriating here as it was during my first read. Bonus: I know that I was mispronouncing Adri’s name in my head (I said “Ay-dree”, but Rebecca Soler pronounces it like “Audrey”). I still am hoping that these two get a MAJOR comeuppance. MAJOR.
The real drama, though, is with Queen Levana, and her sinister, manipulative Lunars, and the way they are trying to ruin Prince Kai and New Beijing AND The Commonwealth. Even though I knew what was going to happen in CINDER, being exposed again to Levana and her scheming, cruel politics reminded me how awful she is, and how dangerous. I loved reading about the conflict between the Lunars and The Commonwealth, and Cinder and Kai’s place in it all.
Obviously, since I just mentioned Kai, let me just state for the record that he is just as awesome in the audiobook of CINDER as I remembered him being in the actual print version. I will always love how strong he is as a leader, and how he falls for Cinder slowly but confidently, despite the fact that he knows she’s, at the very least, a very common commoner. He might not handle the truth of Cinder very well, but I never faulted him much for crumbling under the shock of it all. AND, hearing Cinder and Kai’s first interactions gave me new tingles because Rebecca Soler gave them just the right inflections of flirtiness. Also, THE ELEVATOR. I have to confess to forgetting to that scene a little bit, but I won’t forget it ever again.
The production of the CINDER audiobook was excellent. I’ve listened to audiobooks in the past where I could hear the narrator breathing and THAT is awful. But the audio was clear, Rebecca Soler’s voice was perfect–not annoying or anything at all. If you’re thinking of rereading CINDER, you’d be well-served by checking out the audio version for a new perspective. If you’re reading CINDER for the first time, ditto. I’m new to audiobooks, but THIS ONE is one of the good ones, friends. I’m already getting read to snag me the SCARLET audiobook (also narrated by Rebecca Soler) for more.
Awesome review, Amy!!! If I hadn’t bought Cinder as a hardcover book, I totally would have picked up the audio! I heard it was really amazing – And now I know! It makes me want to listen to the audio now……. Maybe if I have time before I read Scarlet! 🙂
So happy to hear this is just as rad in audio format!
Oh, that elevator scene! Now that’s something that I like thinking about when it comes to Cinder and Kai 😉 And yay for awesome rereads and for awesome audiobooks!