Cress by Marissa Meyer | Book Review

Cress  by Marissa Meyer

The Lunar Chronicles #3
First Published: 2014
Hardcover
YA, Sci-Fi
Rating:

Even in the future. there are damsels in distress...
In the third installment of the Lunar chronicles, Cress, having risked everything to warn Cinder of Queen Levana's evil plan, has a slight problem. She's been imprisoned on a satellite since childhood and has only ever had her netscreens as company. All that screen time has made Cress a great hacker. Unfortunately, she's just received orders from Levana to track down Cinder and her handsome accomplice.

When a daring rescue of Cress involving Cinder, Captain Thorne, Scarlet, and Wolf goes awry, the group is separated. Cress finally has her freedom, but it comes as a high price. Meanwhile, 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.

Cress had the very unfortunate luck of being one of the books I got stuck on in my February book slump. It was no fault of the book, really, because it's great. I was just not feeling reading at all, so it took me ten days to read it. That's a long time, for me.

Cress starts with it's namesake, floating around space on a satellite. Finally, we get to see things from this character's perspective, which we've been teased with since book one. And guess what? She is adorable.

She pretends she's a character in a movie when she needs to hold on to hope or do something that scares her. She fantasizes about people she doesn't know and what could be (#RealFangirl). She is sweet, brave and I just loved her!

And Thorne and Cress together? OTP all the way - they had me constantly smiling and grinning the whole read. Y'all know I love Thorne. He's one of the best parts about Scarlet. And in Cress? He really gets to shine. Big chunks of this story are about this devil-may-care, carefree rouge showing his true colors - that of a really loyal, really caring, and kind of self deprecating person.

And there's no one better to show Thorne his better parts and make him the hero he should be than Cress, who's been half-way in love with him from before they ever met, and all the way in love with him by the end of this novel, because of his many faults instead of despite them #GOALS

Now, Cress has the most POVs and plot-lines to date in the series - we had Cress, the occasional Thorne, Cinder, Kai, Scarlet, the Doc, Mira... That's a lot. And while I can definitely say it's incredibly well done and weaves together seamlessly, it was also the drawback of this book to me.

The thing is, at every given time there was one POV I was interested in above the rest (and it wasn't always the same pov). And while all the POVs were interesting, every pov that wasn't the one-I-was-most-invested-at-in-the-moment dragged. I wanted it to be over quickly so I could finally return to the story-line I wanted. Those were the moments I put the book down, and coming back to it was difficult (re: February book slump)

Now. I gotta mention The best part of this novel by a landslide... Iko! This android needs her own talk show. Shine, my bright star, shine!

P.S - Wolf. My sweet child. Let me hug you. You're killing me here!

Cannot wait to Winter! We got a slight taste of Winter in this novel, and I for one want more!

 

Scarlet by Marissa Meyer | Book Review

Scarlet by Marissa Meyer
The Lunar Chronicles #2
First Published: 2013
Paperback
Young Adult, Fantasy
Rating:

This is not the fairytale you remember.
But it’s one you won’t forget.
Scarlet Benoit’s grandmother is missing. The police have closed her case. The only person Scarlet can turn to is Wolf, a street fighter she does not trust, but they are drawn to each other.
Meanwhile, in New Beijing, Cinder will become the Commonwealth’s most wanted fugitive – when she breaks out of prison to stay one step ahead of vicious Queen Levana.
As Scarlet and Wolf expose one mystery, they encounter Cinder and a new one unravels. Together they must challenge the evil queen, who will stop at nothing to make Prince Kai her husband, her king, her prisoner . . .

You see, I had a plan. A very meticulous, well-thought out plan that I am kind of hating right now because it made me wait three years to read this book. The plan was very simple: as Cinder already promised this series would become one of my favorites, I would just... wait. Until it was over. So I could binge read.

DID I MENTION HOW MUCH I HATE THAT PLAN NOW?? 

This book... just... asdfghjkl is the best adjective. The feels, man. The feels. Much in the fashion of Cinder, Scarlet doesn't beat around the bush of introducing us to the next duo in the series we're going to adore. Thy name is Scarlet Wolf (stfu I don't care this is not their official ship name, it's my official ship name for them).

Scarlet Benoit is looking for her grandma. Remember way back in Cinder when Nainsi booted up again mid-sentence and relayed information about the possibility of an ex-military pilot from the EF hiding the Lunar Princess? That's the one. Yeah, I had to rack my brain to remember, too. Way to go Meyer.

So, Scarlet was delightful. She's the kind of hot-headed firecracker that's got brains on her, which is a deadly combination. And she's really not afraid to shot you. All the girl wants is her grandma, her farm, and peace. Why can't anyone give that to her?!

Now Wolf....

I'M TAKING HIM AND NEVER GIVING HIM BACK! Seriously, what is this adorableness!? I wasn't expecting it, but I highly approve! Wolf is such a sweetheart! Yes, sometimes he shows some of that first gif but mostly he's just a precious cinnamon roll and I love him so dearly and asdfghjkjhgfd

And together??? The shipping is real guys. It's like, Cinder and Kai? Cuties. Wolf and Scarlet?

only with less rage and more heart-eyes

Seriously. Ruining me here Meyer!

Not only with Wolf, but with Cadet Captain Thorne too! Like, I didn't expect him to be in this book. I didn't expect half the novel to be about Cinder and him at all and I loved it. And him. Again, expectation versus reality and reality is so much better! He is such a goofball! He made me laugh, and I kind of think Cinder really needs someone like him around *heart eyes*

ALL the males in this world ruin me. Take Kai for example - I was so afraid that he was going to go the bitter "she played me" route, and while he entertains the thoughts (because how can you not) he is not that at all. He still cares for Cinder, still can't think she's anything less than what she showed herself to be. He is listening to his heart and I HEART IT.

Is this a review? Is this a lovefest? I don't even know but I don't even care!

Speaking of things that ruin me negatively - Adri and Levana. I hate them both.

Like, I didn't hate Adri in Cinder (I really, really pitted her existence), but now I'm genuinely hoping Winter has a scene where Cinder becomes empress and Adri tries to mooch of it by saying she's always cared for Cinder and Kai steps up and be all like "remember that time you tried to send her to her death, accused her of all sort of things and said you wanted nothing to do with this aberration? yeah, fun times. GOODBYE BIYOTCH".

As for Levana... she is horrifying. And the scene from her pov? nope nope nope nope nope nope nope. Like, I don't want to read Fairest because that sounds so disturbing but now I kinda feel like I have to??

And finally, this book moves from the cutest thing ever to gloom and doom in like three seconds flat. Be prepared to not be prepared for it coming at all.

FUN LUNAR CHRONICLES FACTS!
Levana in Hebrew means Moon. She is literally Queen Moon.
Ze'ev in Hebrew means Wolf. So Wolf's name is... Wolf. lol.

Cinder by Marissa Meyer | Book Review

Cinder by Marissa Meyer
The Lunar Chronicles #1
First Published: 2012
Paperback
Young Adult, Fantasy
Rating:

Cinder, a gifted mechanic in New Beijing, is also a cyborg. She's reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsister's sudden illness. But when her life become entwined with the handsome Prince Kai's she finds herself at the center of a violent struggle between the desires of an evil queen - and a dangerous temptation.
Cinder is caught between duty and freedom, loyalty and betrayal. Now she must uncover secrets about her mysterious past in order to protect Earth's future.

Cinder is the first book that comes to mind when anyone wants a re-telling recommendation from me. And you know what's the real kicker? I freakin' almost didn't read it. I don't know why; maybe it was because it has cyborgs in it, and I haven't read many--if any--of those. Or because it was the only book out in the series at the time and I don't usually do those. Perhaps it was just because.

But for whatever reason, I am eternally thankful for Goodreads Group Reads, because without them I may have never given this a chance.

Don't believe me it's that good? Well, what if I told you this book could make you cry before it even really starts? Will you believe me then that this whole creation is awesomesauce? Because it does. It manages to make you so in tune with the characters and their feelings in such a short amount of time that you cry for them.

And this book pretty much starts by saying that in this Cinderella story, not everyone gets their happily ever afters.

Although, calling this a "Cinderella story" is not quite accurate. Yes, we have the evil stepmother. Yes, we have one evil stepsister, and we have the prince, the ball, and the shoe... sort of. But Cinderella is the theme - not the story.

Forget everything you know about the story of a servant girl who desperately want to go to the ball and dance with a prince, and a fairy comes along and--well, you've seen the Disney movie, no point in rehashing everything. Cinder has very little to do with that old age tale.

To me, Cinder's is actually, surprisingly, a story of slavery. It's a story about death. It's a story about dictatorship. And it's a story about finding yourself among the wreckage. This story takes your childhood fairytale and makes it something far greater, while throwing nods to the original version here and there that are sure to put a smile on your face.

The namesake of this novel, Cinder, is also the main character. And she. is. amazing. She's smart, courageous and strong. She is someone you can fully support and root on. Someone with whom you'll fall in love for sure.

Her love interest is Prince Kai, and he's one of the more likable princes I've read of - the title Prince Charming fits him well, as would Sweet Charming lol.

As for the romance between these two? I'll be honest. I don't think there was any--not yet. Cinder and Kai are attracted to one another. They are in the process of feeling more than just friendship throughout the book. But they still haven't went passed the 'liking' stage.

However, to me there is something immensely charming about the way they're testing the water; talking, sending signals, withdrawing them... Their real romance hasn't started yet - but you can tell it will be epic once it does.

All the supporting characters, with emphasis on the fantabalous Iko, added to the story and were well rounded themselves.

Now, I've seen people argue the book could do without the Cinderella theme because it makes the book predictable. I disagree, because it only makes it predictable in areas we would've already predicted, even without the theme.

And more often than not, things develop in such an unexpected way that though you did predict she'll go there, or do that, based on Cinderella, it's almost always shocking.

The only truly predictable thing has nothing to do with the theme, and to me it rather felt like Meyer blatantly intended for it to be obvious to the reader. I never felt like the "big revelation" was supposed to be a shocking, but rather the whole scenario leading to it.

Speaking of Meyer... I may be, possibly, in love with her writing style. She made us sweat for information. There is no such thing as outright explanations and world-building in Meyer's writing. Instead, most of everything we learn is through conversations, memories, and actions. She leaves it up to us to gather the clues, trusting our intelligence. And it works. It works brilliantly.

#Fangirl: You Need This Trailer Artist In Your Life

Okay, so this is a really spontaneous post, as I've just discovered this incredible trailer artist. This fan makes "tv credits" for fictional tv shows based on the books she loves. She makes an art of assembling clips and it looks so professional. I would watch any tv show that had these for opening credits, especially if they're based on books.

Heck, publishing houses should hire her to create their book trailers because these are far better than any of the ones I've seen out there.

Take this one for the Raven Boys, for example:

Like, seriously. I watched this and I was in awe. It's absolutely perfect, and it doesn't look fan-made at all. what is this sorcery????

Is this what people call an instant-sub? Why, yes, yes it is. I didn't even need to go to see the rest of her tv credits before I subscribed, but I went after just for fun, and found more incredible pieces.

Such as this Cinder tv credits

But okay, I may be a bit biased because those are books I've already read and loved (which, ps. I'm totally isn't. I'm way harsher of variations/adaptations/etc for things I love. I'm nit-picky with them. Can't find a single fault with any of these, though). What about books I haven't seen/read?

Well, check this trailer for the short story "The Man in the Parlor" which was so good I went to read the short story after.

So, what do you think of her tv credits/trailers? are you going to subscribe to her too?