"Cinder" by Marissa Meyer

My friend recommended this book to me, it is my first time listening to an audiobook. I like that it's the first book in a series. The books are all based on fairy tales, set in a futuristic world. This story takes place in New Beijing, and has some Asian descriptions so I imagine that it's based in China.

We are first introduced to Cinder (I'm guessing you can imagine what fairy tale she is based on), a cyborg mechanic. She was a human orphan and had an operation to make her part machine, which usually happens when there is an accident or something. She was living in Europe and adopted by a man, who died shortly after. So she was raised by her "legal guardian" and step sisters. Cyborgs are treated at second class citizens, and Cinder hides her real identity.

What I loved about this story is it was predictable (you had a general idea of what would happen knowing the fairy tale), but also had its own twist. You know that Cinder will go to the ball and meet the prince, and run away and leave something behind. But Cinder actually meets the prince early on in the book, and he does not know her secret for a long time.

A big twist in this book is the outbreak of letimosis, a disease that Cinder's nicer step sister catches. They are racing to find the cure throughout the course of the book.

You expect that the worst person in the book will be her stepmother, but you actually meet the evil queen Lavana. She is the queen of Luna (on the Moon), and is based on the queen from Snow White. She even (allegedly) killed her own 3 year old niece because the niece was the heir to the throne.
Prince Kai becomes the emperor when his dad dies of letimosis, and it is after his death that you meet Queen Lavana. She wants to marry Kai to form an alliance with New Beijing and Luna. Cinder finds out that Lavana means to kill Kai afterward, and runs to the ball to warn him. Lavana exposes Cinder as a cyborg, which shocks Kai.
(SPOILER ALERT AHEAD)
After Cinder is arrested, she finds out that she is actually the princess of Luna. She is supposed to be handed over to Lavana to go back to Luna, but the book ends as she cuts out her own ID chip and plans to break out of prison.