Fairest by Marissa MeyerMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
They say there are two sides to every story. Ever wonder what the other side is, well here is your chance to find out. Marissa Meyer author of the Lunar Chronicles has written the side telling the villain’s, Queen Levana, side. As from my other reviews of the three of four books published as far as yet, it’s not surprising as to why I like these book and Fairest is no exception. It is a haunting, warped and extremely well written story told from the opposite prescription of Meyer’s other tales. This story depicts the untypical setting, where the heroine does not live happily ever after. Rather, this is a story about hostile beginnings of unhappy endings, and of the inner workings of the mind of a villain.
Those who have read the first three books in the series know of the evil and manipulative Queen Levana. But what if Levana isn’t what you thought she appeared to be and what could possibly be beneath the Glamour of her beauty. This is a psychological analysis above all else, one that will explain all that Levana is. Seeing the horrors of Levana’s childhood truly make us understand how she came to be the evil, power hungry queen is in Cinder, Scarlet, Cress, and hopefully in Winter (the 4th book in the Chronicle).
Her childhood and early adulthood is not an easy one, filled with unimaginable terrors, and you soon find that you understand and even sympathize for her. Although you can understand what molded her to become such a villain, her actions are still unforgiveable. Despite the compassion you may gain for her by reading about her upbringing, she is still the villain and Meyer never lets you forget that. From her motivation in needing an Earthen alliance to the backstory about the origins of Princess Selene, everything is told in a way for you to see the whole story unfold.
Much like I have said before if you love the classics or the first three book, you need to pick this one up as well. It will not disappoint.
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Re-Read in 2015 for the release of Fairest by Marissa Meyer
Cinder by Marissa MeyerMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
Oh my goodness, not another remake of Cinderella, is what I told myself before reading this book. And yet I read it as soon as it came out. I could not be so wrong about this retelling. The massive amount of hype for Marissa Meyer’s Cinder is certainly not unwarranted. It deservers every five-star review, adoring comment and tons of sales because Meyer has truly created something spectacular and somewhat original here. This is an incredible start to be what I am sure will be an astonishing series, and I’m looking forward to reading every last tidbit.
Cinder is, at its core, a sci-fi Cinderella retelling, but it truly is much more that what our childlike fantasies told us it was. Cinder is set 200 years after World War 4 in New Beijing, China; where a deadly plague has taken over and a ruthless Lunar colony waits steadily to attack. No one knows it yet but Earth’s fate depends on Cinder, a gifted mechanic and cyborg.
The character building was amazing and realistic. The quality of imagination Meyer’s put into the world and the character was stunning and dazzling. Each character has their own distinct personality with realistic motivations and reaction. From the comical to the malevolent each character stood out on their own as an individual and part of what made this story so incredible.
Cinder:
To absolutely love this book you must enjoy the character of Cinder. Cinder as a main character has spirit and humor. She fights and protests for the thing she wants and believes in while keeping a rare kindness that is not seen much in the other characters of the book. I admire her strength and hero-like qualities throughout the whole story.
Prince Kai:
The love story in this book is a bit overlooked but is still present in the detailed minds (as read we know) of the character. Prince Kai and Cinder have a chemistry that is just so obvious and yet fascinates us to our core. Not only is it a slow entanglement that ignores the preconception of the classic tale, love at first sight, this connection seems more genuine and realistic. Rooting for this wonder couple came quite easily.
Step-family:
You don’t really get much of Cinder’s step-family throughout the book. But it is obvious from what we do read of them, Cinder’s step- mother and her oldest step-sister have a jealously issue with her. As far as the younger step-sister she seem to be kind enough but try not to upset her true family by treating Cinder like a true sister.
Queen Levana:
Boo… Queen of Lunar; Levana is seen quite offend in the book being the main opposite role of Cinder. For everything good in the world there is always something evil and that is this queen. Levana has a plan in acting to take over Earth for the resources, which involves a marriage and chemical warfare. Cinder is just a thorn in her side, threating to ruin her plans of domination.
Like other reviewers have mentioned, the main flaw in Cinder is its predictability. The so-called “twist” Meyer has created are total obvious. But being a retelling of such a famous story we as reader are quite familiar with the twists and turns of the Cinderella story. But no worries even with this pit-fall the tale of Cinder was unbelievable and I’m excited to see what will soon come about from this amazing cliff-hanger.
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Scarlet by Marissa MeyerMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
With my hesitation and judgments of reading Cinder, Marissa Meyer’s debut of the Lunar Chronical, I found that I truly like it. I didn’t really love it as much as other reviews but despite my ambivalence about the first book, I was determined to give Meyer’s series another try and I am pleased that I did.
Scarlet starts up right where Cinder left off, where Cinder has been arrested and is looking for a way out of jail, even though by doing so she’s going to be the Commonwealth’s and Lunar’s most wanted fugitive. There is a seamlessly integration from Cinder’s story into Scarlet Benoit tale. Scarlet who lives halfway around the world in France is the care taker of her family’s farm. But her grandmother is missing, the classic Little Red Riding Hood story, and she’s the only one who can find her. Cinder and Scarlet’s stories soon intertwine in a brilliant and entertaining way as the two much come to face the fact that the power-hungry Queen Levana (Boo) will never rest until she has control of Earth while knowing Cinder and Scarlet might be the only ones willing to put a stop to her.
Much like in Cinder, the character building was stunning and genuine. Meyer’s put in great thought when rewrite this unique retelling of these two classics.
Scarlet is a very strong female protagonist, yet in a completely opposite way than the intelligent and reserved Cinder. Her extraordinarily braveness and spunk combined with her loyalty to those she loves is inspiring and admirable. As shared protagonists, Cinder and Scarlet complement each other, comprehending for each other faults and supporting each other strength. The both of them are completely different people with two completely different personalities and ways of observing the world around them. Cinder quiet and thoughtful while Scarlet fiery and impulsive.
The romance in this book between Prince Kai and Cinder is lacking and so I forced more on the romance between Scarlet and Wolf, the mysterious street fight who intention are quite questionable. The chemistry between these two is dazzling.
Though, I connected more with Cinder, Scarlet is a very close second. Meyer proves herself once again to be a completely skilled and gifted writer, finding new ways of combining the stories of Little Red Riding Hood and Cinderella while adding in that extra layer of sci-fi. This series is a must read.
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Cress by Marissa MeyerMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
Cinder and Scarlet, debut and sequel of the Lunar chronicles, was an unexpected surprise. Before reading Cinder I had stated that “Not another Cinderella remake” but this remake of both Cinderella and Little Red Riding Hood could not have been told any better than in this revamped sci-fi series. So when Cress, the third of four books was release, I was patiently waited at my local bookstore front doors to open to get my hands on my own copy. True be told I read the first half of the book that day.
Cress much like Cinder and Scarlet was amazing. Marissa Meyer deserves every complement on these books.
So to start off, Meyer introduces us to the newest addition to the cast, Cress. Cress is basically being held hostage in a satellite; living her entire life with only net screens and androids as company. Fortunately for Cress all this screen time has made her quite an excellent hacker and an asset to any team. (Go team Cinder)Not so fortunate though, Cress is being ordered by Queen Levana of Lunar, to search for Cinder and her crew. But Cinder and Cress have their own way of communications and soon strike a deal. Cress is in need of rescue and Cinder needs her freedom.
I truly can’t get over how well developed and detailed the character building is in all three books. They each have their own quirks, flaws, strengths and personalities to make them distinguishable, relatable and memorable. Cress is no exception.
Cinder, intelligent and considerate, is not transforming into this leader role, becoming more unwavering and determined. She grows in the book so much matured than in the first book. Cinder is the person who’s always so rational, calm under pressure and always has a plan. Now she has this commanding feel to her as well. Warmhearted, loyal, faithful, bossy and at time arrogant; Scarlet Benoit makes her second appearance in Cress just as memorable as in the second book. However it is not all about her anymore, she really does not have a lot of time throughout the scenes in the book but what she does have she makes count. Cress is a completely different protagonist from the shy but intelligent Cinder and the loyal but fiery Scarlet. Cress, is naïve and fragile and for being locked up for as long as she has been (her whole life) who could blame her. Underneath everything, though Cress is sweet and courageous, plus her hack abilities are truly kind of cool. The newest male of this story happens to be a heart throb save the damsel in distress kind of man; but of course he is or Rapunzel would never get out of that tower or satellite. Throne is easy going, charming, hilarious and everything about him screams flirt. I found myself falling for Throne immanently and also a bit jealous of Cress. He also put much more of a role in Cress than he did in Scarlet, which is awesome. Speaking of Scarlet, Wolf, who plays a minimal role in this book, plays a heartbreaking role throughout Cress dealing with the vulnerable side of him as he and Scarlet become closer. The confident, ruthless Wolf is missing and I missed that. I find bad boys are sometimes nice to have around. And as far as bad, who worse than our villain Queen Levana. She is still evil what more need to be said. And lastly, Prince Kai. I understand he is the Prince and he must lead his people towards a brighter further but really marring Levana is not going to help that situation at all. What is Cinder to think of your decision Prince Kai.
I could go on for hours about this book giving away spoilers and so much more so instead I will just say go, get this book, get this series, read it.
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