Cinder is 36% android, and the legal property of her step mother. Working as a mechanic to help pay for her family's lifestyle, she meets the handsome Prince Kai of the Eastern Commonwealth when he brings her a robot to fix. After her step sister is struck down with an incurable plague, Cinder is sold off as a research subject but soon finds out she may be even more different than she realizes. Can she help her world fight this plague and keep Prince Kai from marrying the evil Lunar Queen who only wants to rule Earth?

I really enjoyed the world-building in this tale. Earth is divided up much differently than in our time, and Meyer has a nice mix of future and Asian flavors in the new city of Beijing. Although Prince Kai is not really described in the best detail, I imagine him to be a handsome Asian prince which is nice to see. The stuff with the ball was a bit tiresome, but I liked how it made sense in the end. The evil mind controlling Lunar race was pretty cool too. Reminded me a bit of the evil King Leck in Graceling and Bitterblue. Hard enemy to fight, for sure! I am excited to see how Cinder fights against Queen Levana. I also loved that Cinder was a mechanic and into fixing her own body parts and old cars. She didn't need a dress or fancy parties, she only put up with it to save her man. Ends in a cliff hanger, so I'm definitely interested to see where this party is heading!