Review: Cress by Marissa Meyer

Cress (The Lunar Chronicles #3) by Marissa Meyer

Release Date: February 4, 2014
Genre: Young Adult, Science Fiction
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends (Macmillan)
Pages: 560
Format: eBook
Source: Purchased by Reviewer
Goodreads • Amazon

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.

The wedding between Emperor Kai and Queen Levana is just around the corner. Cinder has a plan, interrupt the wedding and save Kai from Levana's evil (but probably perfectly manicured) hands. But first, she needs the help of the only Lunar hacker she knows: the adorable, socially awkward Cress.

Let's just talk about Cress. Because I love her. For someone who spent seven, pretty formative years of her life in almost complete isolation, she is surprisingly sane. Extremely socially awkward, but sane. Also brilliant. And she has a mile-long crush on Thorne, which I can totally relate to. I'd like to think that she and I would be home gurlz.

But seriously, her back story is heart-wrenching. Her mistress, the right-hand thaumaturge of Queen Levana, has kept her stranded in a satellite, doing odd-jobs for Her Majesty. She has been emotionally abused for seven years, and I think it speaks volumes about Cress that she hasn't broken under her circumstances. And think about the courage it must have taken for her to reach out to Cinder in the first book. She is the understated heroine who dreams of adventures and stories, but cannot see that she is braver than any hero she has ever read about--that she is creating her own hero's journey. It is endearing, and--maybe I'm getting too sentimental--but I think it's a testament that even the most timid of people can accomplish great feats.

She is the Neville Longbottom of The Lunar Chronicles.

Bless her, I'm getting all weepy-eyed. It's too much--I'm getting all the feels.

Back to the plot: in exchange for her help, Cress stipulates that Cinder and the gang have to rescue her from her solitary satellite. In case you can't tell, this is the Rapunzel interpretation of the series. And yes, her hair. Oh my gosh, her hair.

Gah! I want to tell you guys what happens, but I hate giving spoilers. Suffice it to say that Cress and Thorne are just so freaking cute it hurts. I was just dying from their cuteness.

This novel is definitely more action-packed than its predecessor. From daring escapes to Lunar showdowns to crashing a royal wedding, it is one heck of a ride. And I have to say that Cress might be my favorite out of the series.

I think it brilliantly showcases the best of each character: Thorne's eternally optimistic and roguish nature, Cinder's quiet, yet unwavering determination in the face of opposition, Wolf's loyalty, Iko's humor and Dr. Erland's determination to right his wrongs.

The end of this novel is also heart-breaking. It gives you a glimpse of Princess Winter's (the protagonist of the final book) life, and the terrifying reality that she faces everyday so she won't be like her step-mother. It's certainly disconcerting, but I am so excited for when it comes out. Everything's pointing to a fantastic conclusion to what has been the best series I've come across in a while.

If nothing else, I hope I've at least conveyed my enthusiasm about this series. Seriously, they're great books, and I hope some of you guys get a chance to read them.

So go read! Go relive your childhood with a fantastic twist!

About the Author

Marissa Meyer is the New York Timesbestselling author of The Lunar Chronicles. She lives in Tacoma, Washington, with her husband and three demanding cats. She’s a fan of most things geeky (Sailor Moon, Firefly, any occasion that requires a costume), and has been in love with fairy tales since she was a child. She may or may not be a cyborg.

Review: Scarlet by Marissa Meyer

Scarlet (The Lunar Chronicles #2) by Marissa Meyer

Release Date: February 5, 2013
Genre: Young Adult, Science Fiction
Publisher: Square Fish Books (Macmillan)
Pages: 512
Format: eBook
Sources: Purchased by Reviewer
Goodreads • Amazon

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.

So yeah, I'm assuming you've read Cinder in the short period of time between that review and this one. If not, well you probably shouldn't have read the synopsis above. And you should probably stop reading...right now. Unless you don't mind spoilers, then, by all means, continue.

We left off with Dr. Erland dropping off a new state of the art foot and hand and a not so jaw dropping revelation (for us). Realizing what her true identity entails, Cinder makes good on her promise to escape and picks up a new companion along the way, the charmingly daft Captain Thorne. The American rogue. Who is by far my favorite. 

What can I say? I have a thing for pirates.

Thousands of miles away in Toulouse, France, Scarlet Benoit is searching for her grandmother, whom nobody seems to care about. In the midst of all the confusion with Cinder's escape and the threat of a Lunar war, she meets a shy-looking street fighter who simple refers to himself as Wolf.

That's right ladies and gents, we have ourselves a Little Red Riding Hood interpretation. I'm going to be honest, Little Red Riding Hood has never been my favorite, nor do I keep up with the new interpretations of it. However, I think that making Red a kick-ass wolf hunter is a trope. 

Scarlet is less of a wolf hunter, but she is pretty kick-ass. 

Wolf offers Scarlet his assistance to find her grandmother, hinting that he may have an idea of who has taken her. And, well, the rest is kind of spoilers, so let's just say she accepts.

Meanwhile, Cinder is searching high and low for any information about her childhood--the times she can't remember before her surgery--and she finds out more than she might've wanted to. 

So, the second installment of The Lunar Chronicles is still wonderful and exciting and everything that Cinder was, but it definitely felt like a transitional novel. Don't get me wrong--I love the characters, but the plot wasn't as...well, I can't really specify what it was that bothered me. 

It was good--don't misinterpret my hesitancy--but I felt like something was missing. I still consider it a page-turner and definitely highly recommend it, but I just want to let you guys know that I felt like something was off. Maybe it's just that I'm not a fan of the original story. Actually, that's really probably it. So don't worry about it. 

Anyway--keep reading the series! The third and most recent installment, Cress, is awesome. Expect the review soon, because I'm going to write it as soon as I finish this sentence!  

About the Author

Marissa Meyer is the New York Times bestselling author of The Lunar Chronicles. She lives in Tacoma, Washington, with her husband and three demanding cats. She’s a fan of most things geeky (Sailor Moon, Firefly, any occasion that requires a costume), and has been in love with fairy tales since she was a child. She may or may not be a cyborg.

Review: Cinder by Marissa Meyer

Cinder (The Lunar Chronicles #1) by Marissa Meyer

Release Date: January 3, 2012
Genre: Young Adult, Science Fiction
Publisher: Square Fish Books (Macmillan)
Pages: 448
Format: eBook
Source: Purchased by Reviewer
Goodreads • Amazon 

Humans and androids crowd the raucous streets of New Beijing. A deadly plague ravages the population. From space, a ruthless lunar people watch, waiting to make their move. No one knows that Earth’s fate hinges on one girl. 

Cinder, a gifted mechanic, is a cyborg. She’s a second-class citizen with a mysterious past, reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsister’s illness. But when her life becomes intertwined with the handsome Prince Kai’s, she suddenly finds herself at the center of an intergalactic struggle, and a forbidden attraction. Caught between duty and freedom, loyalty and betrayal, she must uncover secrets about her past in order to protect her world’s future.


Okay, there are a lot of things I like: dystopians, scifi, angelology, paranormal, etc., etc. And I assume you guys know this by now. I realize I tend to start out reviews with "I LOVE [insert genre here] books." So let's start this out properly:

I LOVE modern adaptations to fairytales. Especially Grimm's Fairytales--they are near and dear to my heart for obvious reasons. (I assume you guys have figured out my last name by now).

But a lot of times I feel like Cinderella has been over done. The adaptations have become trite, but, true to any five-star review, Cinder offers a fresh twist on this classic tale.

Meyer's  Linh Cinder is a mechanic in New Beijing. Adopted as a child after a terrible accident, Cinder becomes a serf to her step-mother after her adoptive father passes away from letumosis. She spends her days in her shop, repairing droids and port screens and earning her step-family a living. But despite her labors and hard-working attitude, she is loathed by almost everyone she comes in regular contact with. The reason: she is a cyborg, outfitted with mechanical limbs and synthetic optic nerves that allow her to tell when someone is lying.

So naturally, she is mortified when a dashing young man strides up to her shop as she is attempting to surreptitiously replace her mechanical foot with a better-fitting one... And that dashing young man just happens to be the charming Prince Kai, disguised in a ratty sweatshirt in the middle of summer. How embarrassing.

Thankfully, he doesn't seem to notice that she's missing a foot when he sets a broken android on her worktable. In fact, he seems to actually enjoy talking to her...even up until the point he accidentally let's slip that the android may have confidential information stored in it.

But then the marketplace she works in becomes ground zero for a letumosis break out. And that's when Cinder's mundane world lifestyle as a mechanic gets turned upside-down.

And I guess I should mention that Earth is in contention with Luna. Yes, the moon. The moon is now home to an alien race, the Lunars (name-drop!), who are evolved from the original colonizers of Earth. So I guess they're technically a subspecies and not aliens...but we're going to stick with aliens. Aliens who can control bioelectricity, which apparently means they can control people's thoughts and perceptions of themselves.

So magic. Magic in space.

Yes, please and thank you.

But anyway, Luna is ruled by an evil queen (because there has to be an evil queen), who uses her space-magic to make people her thralls. It's awesome. Well, unless you're one of her thralls. That sucks.

In short, I am completely smitten with this adaptation. I love Cinder, because she completes my childhood fascination of being a mechanic and she has just the right amount of snark.

Aaaand if I go on any longer,  I'll start to gush about the entire plot and you all will be mad at me for spoilers.

If you guys trust my opinion, then you'll read this series. It contains the perfect combination of the classic Cinderella tropes and futuristic awesomeness. It had me turning pages faster than I could read (which was really counterproductive, but you get my drift).

GO! READ! BE ENTHUSED!



About the Author

Marissa Meyer is the New York Times bestselling author of The Lunar Chronicles. She lives in Tacoma, Washington, with her husband and three demanding cats. She’s a fan of most things geeky (Sailor Moon, Firefly, any occasion that requires a costume), and has been in love with fairy tales since she was a child. She may or may not be a cyborg.