I don't know what I was hoping for. To be honest, I was excited by the premise: a cyborg Cinderella story. Androids, the future, why people living on the moon! Fascinating!

Unfortunately, Cinder lacks subtlety. It's a good story, in the sense that I think Transformers good as a popcorn conveyance, but it doesn't have lasting appeal. There are no strong surprises, and the surprises that do exist are ruined, in large part, because the author foreshadows an event so strongly that she practically gives the surprises away. More than once I found myself saying, "I saw that coming."

And this speaks nothing of the setting. China, in the future. A world that has seen its fourth world-war. Cramped living quarters, vague hints of an economic collapse... but the settings don't live up to the action. I didn't feel that I was in China, even a futuristic China. The few hints of economic hardship or extreme population density are seemingly thrown in without rhyme or reason, without fitting into the greater narrative. It isn't exactly jarring, but doesn't help with the believability of the story.

This is simply a quick read, but one that leaves you empty, and wanting more.