Review: Fairest by Marissa Meyer

Series: The Lunar Chronicles

Hardcover: 272 pages

Publisher: Feiwel and Friends

Genre: Fairy Tale | Sci-Fi

Date of Publication: January 27, 2015

My Rating: 5 out of 5

Synopsis: 

Pure evil has a name, hides behind a mask of deceit, and uses her "glamour" to gain power. But who is Queen Levana? Long before she crossed paths with Cinder, Scarlet, and Cress in The Lunar Chronicles, Levana lived a very different story--a story that has never been told...until now. 

New York Times--bestselling author Marissa Meyer reveals the story behind her fascinating villain in Fairest, an unforgettable tale about love and war, deceit and death. This extraordinary book includes a special full-color image of Levana's castle and an excerpt from Winter, the exciting conclusion to The Lunar Chronicles.

Review: 

As if we didn't know before... 

Queen Levana is CRAZY!

At first I had a pinch of sympathy for the unloved, verbally abused young Levana, but then she unleashed a whole bundle of psycho and I changed my mind. Watching Levana become consumed by her own manipulation added such depth to the villain's character. 

In Fairest, we find that Levana's parents have been killed and she must now bare the brunt of her sister's abuse alone. After seeing how horribly her family treated each other and their subjects, it is no surprise that Levana grew up to become a deceitful, selfish, manipulative witch determined to let nothing stand in the way of her gaining power. 

With every book Marissa Meyer releases, I become more and more impressed with her story telling ability and her unique writing style. She has become one of my favorite authors. I am anxiously looking forward to finishing Winter, the final book in The Lunar Chronicles series. 

Amazon | Twitter | Author | Goodreads

The Lunar Chronicles Series:

Cinder (January 2012)

Scarlet (February 2013)

Cress (February 2014)

Fairest: Levana's Story (February 2015)

Winter (Coming November 2015)

Review: Cress by Marissa Meyer

Series: The Lunar Chronicles (Book 3)

Hardcover: 560 pages

Publisher: Feiwel and Friends

Genre: Fairy Tale | Sci-Fi

Date of Publication: February 4, 2014

My Rating: 5 out of 5

Synopsis:

In the 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 has 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.

Review:

I could not put this one down. Cress blew Cinder and Scarlet out the water. It was fast paced and kept me on my toes. Though I am usually able to predict what is going to happen, I was pleasantly surprised at how many times I was proven wrong. I love it when an author can surprise me with plot twists. 

I was crushed for Wolf when the team was separated and they lost Scarlet. We was truly a sad puppy without his mate. 

Cress joins the narrative and is able to give us insight on Levana's mission. Her naivete is endearing and she is adorable. When Cress first meets Thorne, she is so in love with the idea of him from seeing him on her netscreen, that she ignores his flaws. This builds and builds as they have to work together to survive. There is heartbreak, jealousy, and insecurity. Haven't we all been there? (Apart from having to cross a desert at risk of death.)

By the end, I had experienced an emotional roller coaster and I was metaphorically out of breath. I can't wait to pick up Fairest and finish the series with Winter. The Lunar Chronicles series is by far one of my absolute favorites.

Nook | Kindle | Twitter | Author | Goodreads

The Lunar Chronicles Series:

Cinder (January 2012)

Scarlet (February 2013)

Cress (February 2014)

Fairest: Levana's Story (February 2015)

Winter (Coming November 2015)

Review: Scarlet by Marissa Meyer

Series: The Lunar Chronicles (Book 2)

Hardcover: 452 pages

Publisher: Feiwel and Friends

Genre: Fairy Tale | Sci-Fi

Date of Publication: February 5, 2013

My Rating: 5 out of 5

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 turned 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.

Review:

Wolf is so attentive to his alpha female.

I love Scarlet and Wolf. It doesn't take him long to fall completely for her. He is a big teddy bear that just needs a hug for all he has been through. Ugh! I swooned so many times because of these two.

Heartthrob Thorne joins Cinder when she breaks out of jail. He is the comedic sidekick that the story needed. Thorne is amazing! He is charming, hilarious, and absolutely full of himself--in an endearing way.

Though Cinder is amazing, I am delighted to say that the story gets better and better. I can't say that I like Scarlet better, but I would say I like it just as much because of the characters. The great thing about Meyer's writing, is that she has found a way to seamlessly stitch together the happenings of people all over the world into the same story. It flows so smoothly. The reader is not left wondering what is happening to people in other cities. The story follows Cinder, Scarlet, Prince Kai, and Levana. Marissa Meyer is brilliant!

Nook | Kindle | Twitter | Author | Goodreads

The Lunar Chronicles Series:

Cinder (January 2012)

Scarlet (February 2013)

Cress (February 2014)

Fairest: Levana's Story (February 2015)

Winter (Coming November 2015)

Trailer:



Review: The Dream Thieves by Maggie Stiefvater

 

Series: The Raven Cycle (Book 2)

Hardcover: 416 pages

Publisher: Scholastic Press

Genre: Paranormal

Date of Publication: September 17, 2013

 

My Rating: 3 out of 4

Synopsis:

If you could steal things from dreams, what would you take?

Ronan Lynch has secrets. Some he keeps from others. Some he keeps from himself.

One secret: Ronan can bring things out of his dreams.

And sometimes he's not the only one who wants those things.

Ronan is one of the raven boys - a group of friends, practically brothers, searching for a dead king named Glendower, who they think is hidden somewhere in the hills by their elite private school, Aglionby Academy. The path to Glendower has long lived as an undercurrent beneath town. But now, like Ronan's secrets, it is beginning to rise to the surface - changing everything in its wake.

Review:

I hate to say it, but the second book in The Raven Boys series fell flat for me. I am so disappointed, because I really wanted to love this book. It took me two months to read it--which is really saying something because I read the first book in about three days.

I would argue that more than half of this book could be removed and the reader would still know what's going on. The unnecessary filler and "character building" didn't serve it's purpose. For the majority of the novel it felt as though the plot were at a stand-still. It was such a struggle for me to finish it. If I had not already bought the third book, I would have put it down and been done with it.

My love for the characters and the story is the only thing that really kept me going. There were moments that I enjoyed and moments I didn't, but I can't rate this one higher due to the drop in momentum.

Oh, and there were so many F-bombs I lost count. That is something else that annoys me. I know we are talking about high school boys here, but it took away from the beauty of the work.

I hope the third book redeems the series.


Check out my review of The Raven Boys

Nook | Kindle | Author |Twitter

 

Author Bio: Marissa Meyer

Author Spotlight

 

Marissa Meyer is the New York Time's bestselling author of The Lunar Chronicles. She received her Bachelor's in Creative Writing and Children's Literature from Pacific Lutheran University, and went on to receive a Master's in Publishing from Pace University. (She knows her stuff) Before her wildly popular book series, she worked as an editor in Seattle and even became a freelance typesetter and proofreader. She currently lives in Tacoma, Washington.  

I think the most charming thing about Marissa is that she is a big geek like me. Some may have first discovered Marissa under her pen name "Alicia Blade" on Fanfiction.net. There she wrote Sailor Moon fan fiction. She is a Moonie enthusiast who enjoys cosplay, and I'm sure she geeks out on the Sailor Moon Crystal reboot.

Her debut novel Cinder echoes her love of the 90s anime and reinvents the classic fairy tales we all know and love. Her writing style is full of plot and intrigue that is fast paced and engaging. I have fallen in love with her works and I look forward to reading more from her.

Works:

The Lunar Chronicles:

Cinder (January 2012)

Scarlet (February 2013)

Cress (February 2014)

Fairest: Levana's Story (February 2015)

Winter (Coming November 2015)

"Glitches" (Prequel to Cinder)

"The Queen's Army" (Prequel to Scarlet)

Author Links

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads | Amazon |