Fairest (The Lunar Chronicles #3.5) by Marissa Meyer

Synopsis: "In this stunning bridge book between Cress and Winter in the bestselling Lunar Chronicles, Queen Levana’s story is finally told. Mirror, mirror on the wall, Who is the fairest of them all? Fans of the Lunar Chronicles know Queen Levana as a ruler who uses her “glamour” to gain power. But long before she crossed paths with Cinder, Scarlet, and Cress, Levana lived a very different story – a story that has never been told . . . until now. Marissa Meyer spins yet another unforgettable tale about love and war, deceit and death. This extraordinary book includes full-color art and an excerpt from Winter, the next book in the Lunar Chronicles series."

  Title: Fairest
Series: The Lunar Chronicles #3.5
Genre: Fantasy, Dystopian
Pages: 220
Ages: 14+
My Rating: 3 stars
One Word: creepy AF
Fave Quote: N/A (too lazy to look)

  Review 

In great anticipation for Meyer's next novel, Winter, I decided to contain my impatience by reading Fairest, the prequel to Winter. This book gave me problems in that I wasn't sure if it were a novella or a novel. I was so confused though because who would make a #3.5 in a series? Like, do I have to read this book in order to understand the next book? Should I read it? Is it worth it? IS IT A NOVEL OR A NOVELLA?

The good thing about this book (novella?) however is that it is nice and short which I needed for the car ride back from Florida (17 hour car ride=NEED A BOOK!!) so I decided to pick this baby up at the library. Considering that I haven't read the last book, Cress, in a while, I had to catch my brain up on the world of Luna. Once I had that down, I was very fascinated in Queen Levana's story in how she sort of became a messed up psychopathic woman from her sister Channary's dominance over her, to Levana's crazy evil thoughts about Princess Selene, to her even more disturbing actions over Evret.

OH MY GOD HOW MESSED UP IS THIS WOMAN!!!?!?!?!? I was thinking this throughout the whole story because although there was good reason to understand her psychotic brain (her childhood story), she just became so deranged that I had to put the book down and read the same passage from far away to make sure my brain wasn't tripping with me. Poor, poor, poor Evret. His life was totally ruined because of Levana and poor Selene (although thankfully I know Selene's outcome from the previous books ;)). I mean, in the beginning I was a little sympathetic to her ugliness and bitchy sister and all that, but after that I was like this girl deserves no sympathy whatsoever. SHE'S A CRAZY BITCH! CRAZY!!!

Okay, that's all I have to say about this book. The reason I gave it 3 stars was because how fucking creepy it all was, which was good for Meyer's sake showing us how fucked up Levana was, but bad for me because I don't know if I will be able to sleep tonight *_*
 ★★★

Cress (Lunar Chronicles #3) by Marissa Meyer

Synopsis: "In this third book in the Lunar Chronicles, Cinder and Captain Thorne are fugitives on the run, now with Scarlet and Wolf in tow. Together, they’re plotting to overthrow Queen Levana and her army.

Their best hope lies with Cress, a girl imprisoned on a satellite since childhood who's only ever had her netscreens as company. All that screen time has made Cress an excellent hacker. Unfortunately, she’s just received orders from Levana to track down Cinder and her handsome accomplice.

When a daring rescue of Cress goes awry, the group is separated. Cress finally has her freedom, but it comes at a high price. Meanwhile, Queen Levana will let nothing prevent her marriage to Emperor Kai. Cress, Scarlet, and Cinder may not have signed up to save the world, but they may be the only hope the world has."

Title: Cress
Series: The Lunar Chronicles #3
Genre: Fantasy, Romance, Science Fiction
Pages: 550
Ages: 13+
My Rating: 5 stars
My Word: YAASS
My Fave Quote(s): These two quotes that have to do with Thorne and his personality :D

“Captain! To your left there’s a Lunar guard and on your right is a doctor who’s running tests on Lunars and I’m being held by one of Levana’s wolf hybrids and please be careful!”
Thorne took a step back into the hallway a gun from his waistband. He spent a moment swiveling the barrel of the gun in each direction, but nobody moved to attack him.
With some surprise, Cress realized that the operative’s grip had weakened.
“Er…” Thorne furrowed his brow, aiming the gun somewhere near the window. “Could you describe all those threats again because I feel like I missed something" (348).

“Knees suddenly weak, she reached for his forearms to stabilize herself. “You came for me.”
He beamed, looking for all the world like a selfless, daring hero.
“Don’t sound so surprised.” Dropping the cane, he pulled her into a crushing embrace that tore her away from Wolf and lifted her clean off the floor. “It turns out you are worth a lot of money on the black market”  (350).

“Captain?"
"Yeah?"
"Do you think it was destiny that brought us together?"
He squinted and, after a thoughtful moment, shook his head. "No. I'm pretty sure it was Cinder"  (512).
I'M TELLING YOU the series just gets better and better
AND THIS BOOK:



Literally, right from the beginning I knew this book was going to be good. And once I found at that Cress liked Thorne, I was totally ready for it.

I mean....it's THORNE



This book was so good and ugh had so much romance and action and suspense and... *sigh* I couldn't contain it all in. I even squealed a couple of times, that's how much I-yes I'm gonna say it- fangirled. And I laughed out loud whenever Thorne was in the story because he always made it funny :D.
“Captain! To your left there’s a Lunar guard and on your right is a doctor who’s running tests on Lunars and I’m being held by one of Levana’s wolf hybrids and please be careful!”

Thorne took a step back into the hallway a gun from his waistband. He spent a moment swiveling the barrel of the gun in each direction, but nobody moved to attack him.

With some surprise, Cress realized that the operative’s grip had weakened.

“Er…” Thorne furrowed his brow, aiming the gun somewhere near the window. “Could you describe all those threats again because I feel like I missed something" (348).

Anywho, let's get down to the nitty gritty here and talk about the fantastic plot. I loved Marisa Meyer ever since I read Cinder and obviously, Cress did not disappoint. The third book, Cress was based off of the fairytale Rapunzel and had a science fiction twist to it. I still can not get over the whole plot, all of the action with Queen Levana with "Cinder and Co." (lol). The part of the book where Thorne and Cress are stranded in the desert just added to the adventurous and humorous book. (I admit I laughed a few times in public :o) Anyway, once everyone regrouped (minus one character :I ), that's when everything started going chaotic and action-packed and awesome. The story was so amazing and all of the new problems and new characters just added to its awesomeness.

Speaking of characters, I immediately loved Cress from the beginning; the quirky, small girl trapped in a satellite for 9 years. I instantly attached to her because I related to her in the "quirkiness and short" sense, not the "trapped in a satellite" sense! NOT TO MENTION that Thorne and her got to bond on a scalding and water-less desert together!

AHH THORNE. He was my all time favorite character (and still is) since the second book, and him and Cress? YES! I 100% guarantee that people were giving me weird looks as I smiled stupidly at my book when there were Cress and Thorne moments. In addition, Meyer kept the characters just as amazing as the last book. Characters such as Cinder, Wolf, Dr. Erland, Scarlet, Queen Levana, Kai, Iko, the list goes on. I loved how the characters still each stuck with their own quirky personality, and not to mention Wolf and Scarlet ahhhh thrilling right there, yet I'm mad that I have to wait until Winter to see what happens with them :O.

Each individual romance (CINDER AND KAI INCLUDED *sigh* only in the end though...) was and stayed perfect since the last two books, and lastly, new characters, such as JACIN AND PRINCESS WINTER, were amazing. I GIVEA THUMBS UP TO THAT UPCOMING BOOK BECAUSE DAMN THOSE TWO CHARACTERS=PERFECTION. AHH I'm already having feels, I mean, who wouldn't ship Jacin, arrogant/emotionless, with Princess Winter, who was all crazy and insane? :D Am I right? I can't wait until the next book!

Yet another amazing book from the Lunar Chronicles and I'm already counting down for Winter because I NEED to know what happens :O I CAN'T WAIT A YEAR D':
★★★★★

Scarlet (The Lunar Chronicles #2) by Marissa Meyer

Synopsis: "Cinder, the cyborg mechanic, returns in the second thrilling installment of the bestselling Lunar Chronicles. She's trying to break out of prison—even though if she succeeds, she'll be the Commonwealth's most wanted fugitive.

Halfway around the world, Scarlet Benoit's grandmother is missing. It turns out there are many things Scarlet doesn't know about her grandmother or the grave danger she has lived in her whole life. When Scarlet encounters Wolf, a street fighter who may have information as to her grandmother's whereabouts, she is loath to trust this stranger, but is inexplicably drawn to him, and he to her. As Scarlet and Wolf unravel one mystery, they encounter another when they meet Cinder. Now, all of them must stay one step ahead of the vicious Lunar Queen Levana, who will do anything for the handsome Prince Kai to become her husband, her king, her prisoner."

Title: Scarlet
Series: The Lunar Chronicles #2
Genre: Science Fiction, Dystopian, Fantasy-ish, Romance <3
Pages: 452
Ages: 12+
My Rating: 5 Stars
My Word: Unthinkable
My Fave Quote:
" 'There you have it. As long as there's an alpha femal nearby, you should be just fine. That shouldn't be hard to find, right?'
            Wolf's expression iced over and he looked away. His tone became uneasy again. 'I know you must want nothing to do with me. I don't blame you.' Wolf scrunched up his shoulders, and met her with an expression full of regret. 'But you're the only one, Scarlet. You'll always be the only one.' " (P. 446)

Review

**WARNING: DO NOT GO BEYOND THIS POINT UNLESS YOU CAN HANDLE AN ABUNDANCE OF FANGIRLY WORDS BEYOND COMPREHENSION**

Right when I finished this book, I was so sure that I would give this book 5 stars, because mostly of Wolf and Thorne-the newest addition to the Lunar Chronicles. They were so bloody perfect that I just had to give this book five stars.

But then I'm like: Holly, you have to look at the book as a whole and rate it off of that. And, I still gave it 5 Stars. WHOOO!

I waited a YEAR for this book and now I have to wait another before the brand smacking new Cress comes out D:.

Marissa Meyer, I can't even describe how amazingly perfect you have blended the tale of Little Red Riding Hood into the mix of "Cinderella" dystopia-madness. Everything was PERFECT GAAHHHH this is me right now:


This book is so flawless-the plot, the twisted tale, and don't even get me started on the characters.

Despite what I just said about not starting on the characters, I NEED to get started on the characters. THEY'RE amazing. Cinder was always so witty and such a badass with a twist of humor in her from book one, and Kai was the prince who invited Cinder to the ball without caring what others thought about the decision, and I thought that was worthy of 5 stars, but all these new characters?

Scarlet, Wolf, Thorne-so amazingly perfect gahhh. The characters' personalities were so real. Scarlet is badass just like Cinder, and And Wolf...Wolf is quiet and shy, an attitude belied from the original Little Red Riding Hood. He is strong, though, not just physically, but mentally. He protected Scarlet from his own controlled thoughts by his "master". Also, Thorne is probably the best character. He's like the glue that keeps this whole book together; without his humorous and arrogant personality I would not have given this book 5 stars. Also, Kai didn't pop up in this second book as often as I'd like, but I'm sure he'll become a bigger part in Cress!!

Anyway, this plot was probably the most thoroughly considered storyline. I kept asking myself: How is Scarlet connected to Cinder? When will their storylines meet? It was so fascinating to read through it and figure everything out. Especially the whole Wolf thing based off the dystopia's technological root, that was very clever. Nonetheless, Marissa did a flawless job connecting her two versions of Cinderella and Little Red Riding Hood and creating such a remarkable complete book.

Now, my review so far is kind of sucky, but who can blame me? I'm stuck in my after-reading-fangirling haze whilst trying to write a grammatically structured review at the same time. Let's just say that I loved this book, and I can't wait for the following book Cress in 2014.

Also, here is what I'd kind of like to say to Wolfe if he were not a fictional character:
But I know that him and Scarlet are a way better couple. *Forever alone*
★★★★★

Cinder (Lunar Chronicles #1) by Marissa Meyer

Synopsis: "Sixteen-year-old Cinder is considered a techonoligical mistake by most of society and a burden by her stepmother. Being cyborg does have its benefits, though: Cinder's brain interface has given her an uncanny ability to fix things. (robots, hovers, her own malfunctioning parts), making her the best mechanic in New Bejing. This reputation brings Prince Kai himself to her weekly market booth, needing her to repair a broken andriod before the annual ball. He jokingly calls it "a matter of national security," but Cinder suspects it's more serious than he's letting on. Although eager to impress the prince, Cinder's intentions are derailed when her younger stepsister, and only human friend, is infected with the fatal plague that's been devastating Earth for a decade. Blaming Cinder for her daughter's illness, Cinder's stepmother volunteers her body for plague research, an "honor" that no one has survived. But it doesn't take long for the scientists to discover something unusual about their new guinea pig. Something others would kill for.

Title: Cinder
Series: Lunar Chronicles #1
Genre: Fairy-Tell (if that's even a genre) and Dystopianish
Pages: 387
Ages: 12+ (I don't know, it might be hard to understand under 12)
Date I Finished: March 30th, 2012
My Rating: 5 Stars
My Word/Phrase: MADE ME APPREHENSIVE

Oh. My. God. What just happened?! Where did this book come from? Is it just me or does this book have some magical obsession drug and you can't be away from this book more than a minute? WOW. Alright, let me tell you one thing: THIS BOOK WAS SO SUSPENSEFUL!!! Of course, it was based off of the story, Cinderella, but it had a dystopian twist to it. I was so apprehensive throughtout the whole book! Literally, my heart was hammering in my chest trying to tell things to Cinder that she didn't know, or tell Kai things he didn't know. But, come one, no one else felt that this book was like an addicted drug?! In my head, (since I didn't want to act like a lunatic, screaming) I was yelling at Cinder to run faster and tell Kai this and to do that. I couldn't help, but keep reading because throughout about half the book, was this suspenseful part and I NEEDED to read more, because I needed to know what would happen in the end or else I'd die of apprehension. Oh I LOVED the characters! I felt so bad for Iko; her being an andriod and all. She just wanted to go to the ball. Prince/Emporer Kai was, in my head, so cute!! I loved his personality, being funny and carefree sometimes. Oh, but Cinder, how could she say no to Kai?! Even if I were a cyborg and something else that I can't say or I'd give the book away, I still wouldn't help but say yes, considering how cute he looked in my head. The ONLY bad part was that I knew something very important from the book, way before the twist even occurred, but, who knows, it might just be my smartness. :P I really recommend this book to many people who are dysopian/fairy-tale fans. I'm not much of a fairy-tale fan myself, but I was sucked in to this book still! I officially admit it, Marissa Meyer has brought me to the point where I couldn't help but keep turning the pages, and where I literally CAN NOT wait for the next books in the series!
★★★★★