Once Upon a Time... discussion

Please use (view spoiler)[spoiler (hide spoiler)] for any spoilers!

haha! I have read all of these books and will gladly do so again. I loved The Cinder books, I have read all of them. Chanda Hahn's series is a loved one also, so it is so hard to choose between the two. Better get reading. :)

Shana wrote: "haha! I have read all of these books and will gladly do so again. I loved The Cinder books, I have read all of them. Chanda Hahn's series is a loved one also, so it is so hard to choose between the..."

Oh, that's actually wonderful news:) I mean, that you love them enough to read them again! I've only read part of Cinder and want to finish that series. I'm looking forward to getting through The Unfortunate Fairy Tale series too.

I actually voted for this by accident in the first poll. I clicked the name thinking I'd link over to the book so I could read about it and ack! it was my vote!

But I was happy to see that one vote less wouldn't have changed the outcome. :)

That said, I was voting fairly randomly because they all looked good and I am looking forward to reading this one. Especially with the comment by Shana above!

This is actually the only choice that didn't appeal to me in any way, but I will give it a try.

Lisa wrote: "This is actually the only choice that didn't appeal to me in any way, but I will give it a try."

I feel like it's going to be another sort of The Windup Girl, which wasn't my favorite, but this sure gets a lot of good reviews so I'm game.

Diane wrote: "I actually voted for this by accident in the first poll. I clicked the name thinking I'd link over to the book so I could read about it and ack! it was my vote!

But I was happy to see that one v..."

Diane, just for future reference, you should be able to change your vote. I think you can erase your vote or something and then it lets you vote again.

Lisa wrote: "This is actually the only choice that didn't appeal to me in any way, but I will give it a try."

Lisa:( I actually started reading it last year and stopped... uhm... I don't remember exactly why, but I'm committed to get through it this time with group support;) Tonight, I'm going to start with re-reading UnEnchanted though.

Diane wrote: "Lisa wrote: "This is actually the only choice that didn't appeal to me in any way, but I will give it a try."

I feel like it's going to be another sort of The Windup Girl, which was..."

me, I'm game too:p

Heidi wrote: "Diane wrote: "I actually voted for this by accident in the first poll. I clicked the name thinking I'd link over to the book so I could read about it and ack! it was my vote!

But I was happy to ..."

I just looked all around for a "like" button for this (I'm out of goodreads practice!). But, yay! :)

Just wanted to let folks know Cinder is currently $2.99 if you haven't picked it up yet.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005KJJ4F8/?...

I just got it last night and will read it after I finish The Unfortunate Fairy Tale series which I've got a good start on!

Uhm... overall, though... maybe we were too ambitious this month with all these reads!

Probably much too ambitious! I had to finish a different book I was reading first. Just finished it last night and since I picked up Cinder from the library yesterday, started it today. Only read half a chapter so far, but it hasn't totally bored me or put me off yet. Hasn't super grabbed my interest yet either, though.

I've been meaning to read Cinder for a while now, so I managed to squeeze it into my reading for this week.

...and now I'm on the third book, wondering why I didn't picked this series up sooner.

It's such a strange mix of fairy tales and sci-fi. You know basically where the story is going, based on the fairy tale the book is covering. But the way it's handled, it fits in beautifully with the world Meyer created for the series.

Like, the entire bit with Cinder fleeing the ball...I had been worried that it would feel forced, but it was handled pretty well.

Just don't go in expecting any surprises. Even if the series hadn't been spoiled for me by a wave of people I follow reading Cress earlier this year, it was *really* easy to see what was going to happen.

I agree with Maki. I'm only half way through the first book - "Cinder", but it is fairly easy to predict what is going to happen, even without it relating to the Cinderella tale. I usually don't like to read sci-fi, but this one isn't too bad, since it doesn't go overboard on the sci-fi aspects and has enough of the fairy tale basis.

Lisa wrote: "I usually don't like to read sci-fi, but this one isn't too bad, since it doesn't go overboard on the sci-fi aspects and has enough of the fairy tale basis."

That's it, exactly!

Maki wrote: "I've been meaning to read Cinder for a while now, so I managed to squeeze it into my reading for this week.

...and now I'm on the third book, wondering why I didn't picked this series up sooner.

..."

I just swung by your blog but couldn't comment there. WOW... you moved through the Lunar Chronicles this month?!?!?!?! Okay... well as soon as I start reading them we will have a good discussion? yes?:D

Finished reading Cinder on Sunday and it did continue to be predictable, but not in a bad way. It was kind of like I would have been irritated if the things I expected didn't happen. It was interesting enough that I will definitely have to read the rest of the series, but not enough that I must start them immediately.

Heidi wrote: "I just swung by your blog but couldn't comment there."

I used to get flooded by a good hundred plus spam comments a day, so I had to make it harder for them to get in. I think it's set up where you need an account to comment now. To be honest, I'm impressed you went all the way out there. I usually just forget that it exists. XD

"WOW... you moved through the Lunar Chronicles this month?!?!?!?!"

I'm a VERY fast reader...especially when the book keeps my attention. I think I read all three over the course of forty-eight hours, or so.

"Okay... well as soon as I start reading them we will have a good discussion? yes?:D"

Yes... >:D

Lisa wrote: "It was kind of like I would have been irritated if the things I expected didn't happen."

My biggest worry in that was that when the Cinderella scenes did get put it, they'd feel forced...like the author was trying too hard to make sure she got all of the important parts of the story in there. I like the way it turned out, though. :)

I should also point out that I already had all three books - I just hadn't gotten around to reading them before now.

It's why I've stayed out of the Unenchanted series thread so far. I've only got the first book, and since I'm planning on reading the rest when I can get them, I'm doing my best to avoid spoilers.

It's the equivalent of me sticking my fingers in my ears and going, "LALALALALA". XD

Perfect analogy, Maki! I do that both with books and movies I want to watch. For example, I have refused to watch The Hobbit movies and won't until the trilogy is completed. I avoid conversations about books until I am ready to, or have already started, the series.

Lisa wrote: "For example, I have refused to watch The Hobbit movies and won't until the trilogy is completed."

Same here! Even though I already know the story, I'm waiting for all three to come out so I can watch them all back-to-back in one gloriously insane 9 hour marathon. ;P

I'm going to be a little delayed getting into Cinder, I got sick and a really bad headache for past two days, but feeling better now... hope to finish up some other stuff this weekend and get to it by Monday!

Maki, you must be a really fast reader! :D And yeah, every now & then I just go visit people's blogs because they're fascinating. I wish I had more time to do that more often, because it's fun.

Lisa, your thoughts on Cinder were interesting, that it was predictable but also kind of what you wanted.

Heidi wrote: "Maki, you must be a really fast reader! :D"

I work the midnight shift. I've got a lot of spare time on my job that I can dedicate to reading, when I'm not distracted by the internet. XD

Maki, it is totally awesome that you can read at work! So few people have that luxury. I think that is one of the advantages of night shift.

Lisa wrote: "Maki, it is totally awesome that you can read at work! So few people have that luxury. I think that is one of the advantages of night shift."

Oh, definitely. One of the major perks to my job - I work at a hotel, and don't see many guests on my shift, so I've got plenty of time to read, or just goof off on the internet.

I'll pile on here too, Maki... THAT IS SOOOOOO AWESOME, lol. Wow. Almost a dream job for an avid reader:D

I've started Cinder Not quite through the first part. I did try to read this a while back and quit. I haven't hit the part that made me quit yet, I wonder if I'll remember what it was:) Anyway, what I do remember is that I LOVE LOVE LOVE the premise of Cinderella as a cyborg, pretty awesome! AND... the world is just awesome, having it set in Asia. It's always good to get out of the old USA;)

Okay (view spoiler)[God, I just hate when Peony gets Letumosis (or whatever it is! hate! hate! hate!... okay, just had to get that out:P (hide spoiler)] I'll probably get to read more tonight.

Heidi wrote: "Anyway, what I do remember is that I LOVE LOVE LOVE the premise of Cinderella as a cyborg, pretty awesome!"

The cyborg thing was really cool. I wasn't expecting to like that element as much as I did. I'm not as into sci-fi as I am fantasy, so I was worried that the sci-fi elements would stop me from getting invested in the world.

The Asian setting is awesome, although honestly I kept forgetting it was set in Asia until someone would mention "New Beijing". XD

As for your spoiler there...yeah. It should have been the other one. But then, I suppose that whole aspect of the story needed a catalyst.

I couldn't have replied any better than Maki did, since I would have said exactly the same thing.

So... seems like most of us agree the cyborg aspect is really cool and so is the location:) I'm almost half-way thru now and uhm... now I remember what kind of bugged me the first time around... (view spoiler)[ Premise. Great. Location. Great. Cinder. Great. I like her. But... I don't like that she doesn't think about poor little Peony for like two days (or something)(even though her own life is at risk)(that just bugged me!) Kai. Kai. Kai. He has potential, but he feels more like a plot device than a character. It really strikes me when he pops back in the room and randomly asks Cinder to go to the ball. I just didn't feel the precedent for this... even though it was presented as a random. Act. Okay. I'll set that aside and finish reading the book:D Did Kai bug anyone else or am I just being w-itchy?!!?? lol (hide spoiler)]

None of Kai's actions really bothered or surprised me. I guess maybe that was just the way I expected a well behaved royal to act. It was a lot of Cinder's actions that irritated me, as you mentioned in the spoiler.

Kai just sort of blended into the background for me - well, when he wasn't being fawned over by every single female character.

I do agree that he felt more like a plot device, though. (view spoiler)[Sadly, that trait carries through the rest of the series (so far), as well. There are other male leads, though! I found Thorne and Wolf much more interesting. (hide spoiler)]

Maki, are you talking about the other books in the series? Haven't read them yet.

Lisa wrote: "Maki, are you talking about the other books in the series? Haven't read them yet."

Yes. Kai sort of takes a backseat in Scarlet and Cress. Don't worry - no spoilers! I just wanted to mention that the male leads do get more interesting.

Maki wrote: "Lisa wrote: "Maki, are you talking about the other books in the series? Haven't read them yet."

Yes. Kai sort of takes a backseat in Scarlet and Cress. Don't worry ..."

Maki, because I do really love the world, I am super curious about the rest of the series... and it is good to know there are some more male leads;)

Lisa, I guess overall on Kai, it seems to make the point of how subjective reading is overall, which is why I appreciate discussions like these:)

Hope to finish the book this weekend.

I'll be picking up Scarlet from the library on Monday. Looking forward to those better male characters. Honestly, the doctor was more interesting than Kai.

Lisa wrote: "Honestly, the doctor was more interesting than Kai."

He really was.

And I'm not saying Kai's a bad character. He was just...boring.

Agree: Kai's not a bad character just a little flat.
Agree: Dr. Erland is more interesting:) I always find myself enjoying is his exchanges with Cinder, he's kind of wily.

So... weekend detour: Suits, Ssn 4 marathon... it was pretty fantastic but definitely ate into my reading time! One "Book" left to go in Cinder.

(view spoiler)[ I hated Peony died, but it was good storytelling drama( (hide spoiler)]

Also, Adri: Ugh. Her nastiness is done really well! I always find my heart racing at the end of her scenes.

I've read all of the books so far in the Cinder series. Awaiting Winter? I think the next one is called. I thought the retelling of the fairy tales using science fiction is refreshing. Very cleverly done and not so far off the beaten path you don't recognize the original story!

Mary wrote: "Awaiting Winter? I think the next one is called."

Yep, Winter. From what I can gather, it's the last one in the series, too. :(

When is it supposed to be released?

Lisa wrote: "When is it supposed to be released?"

According to Winter's page, it's not supposed to come out until November 24th 2015. Over a year away! Ahhh!

Hmmm - guess maybe I don't need to hurry reading the rest of the series. I picked up Scarlet from the library today. If it doesn't majorly hold my interest then I'll just wait a while to read the third one.

I probably wouldn't have rushed through the books like I did if I had known ahead of time that Winter wouldn't be out for so long.

It's okay, though. I'm used to waiting.

Grrr... just lost my entire comment!!!!

Start over.

I finished Cinder last night. Yay, that alone made me feel great. It's a worthy read... because of the plot, world building, and the way the original fairy tale is retold. I connected with the story more on an intellectual level than on an emotional one, although there were some very emotional moments in the story, and those were the points at which I was most glued to the page as a reader.

There's currently a queue for Scarlet and Cress at my local library, and with Winter coming out in 2015... the END of 2015, lol, I'll probably hold off on those until next year.

But I'm really glad we did this as a group read, cause otherwise I might not have finished it, and like I said, I'm glad I did.

Thank you Maki, Lisa, Diane, Shana, Mary, and Muggle for participating in the discussion. If anyone else has any thoughts on the book along the way, please add them!

I'm 23% done with Cinder:

As another group member said, I have this to say:

"Dear Past Self, Why did you wait so long to read this book?"

I was really dragging my heals about starting this and so far I'm really enjoying it. I like it better than the Unfortunate Fairy Tale ones, at least so far!

Diane wrote: "I was really dragging my heals about starting this and so far I'm really enjoying it."

I'm always nervous when books are as hyped up as this series has been - there's always the nagging suspicion that the book won't live up to all the praise. So while I was interested in reading it, I spent so long putting the series off.

As long as I didn't read it, it couldn't disappoint me.

But, since it was the group read, I actually had the books, and I'd already read the first Unfortunate Fairy Tale book, I figured I'd get it over with.

And, well, as I said...I'm sorry I ended up waiting this long to read it. XD

After starting and stopping it once, I'm glad I finally finished Cinder too. I don't think I'd have picked it up again if it wasn't for this group. So, Thank You all! The world is really good and I love how she twisted the central Cinder-ella tale:D I would have hated to miss it.

No spoilers, but Maki, how do you think the next two books compare? I know you said there are two good male leads coming up! Anything else?

Heidi wrote: "No spoilers, but Maki, how do you think the next two books compare? I know you said there are two good male leads coming up! Anything else? "

I liked Scarlet a bit more than I liked Cinder - there's a lot more action going on, although the characters are still generally avoiding the whole Levana plot. It does introduce Throne, though - who, following your Star Wars comparison, would be the Hans Solo of the series. ;P

Cress is basically dedicated to building up side characters, but I really liked the relationships being built and destroyed in that one. It's my favorite of the bunch so far, but if you want a book with plenty of plot progression, it'll probably frustrate you.

Maki wrote: "Heidi wrote: "No spoilers, but Maki, how do you think the next two books compare? I know you said there are two good male leads coming up! Anything else? "

I liked Scarlet a bit more than I liked ..."

I actually love side characters:) and relationships being built and destroyed, so that sounds good! Sounds like when I get to them, I'll enjoy them too!

I'm buying cress right now, having just finished scarlet, which I bought immediately after finishing cinder!

I think I also liked scarlet better. at first I was afraid it was going to be a bit hokey, but it actually really came together well and I like the new characters introduced.