Review: Cress by Marissa Meyer

Summary
Rapunzel’s tower is a satellite. She can’t let down her hair—or her guard. 

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

Their best hope lies with Cress, who has been trapped on a satellite since childhood with only 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 goes awry, the group is separated. Cress finally has her freedom, but it comes at a high price. Meanwhile, Queen Levana will let nothing stop her marriage to Emperor Kai. Cress, Scarlet, and Cinder may not have signed up to save the world, but they may be the only ones who can.

Review
You always need a plot to drive a story, with enough twists and turns to keep you guessing. It needs to surprise you so much, that you will be happy when you are wrong in assuming in what is going to happen next. You also need characters that can help carry the weight of the story, long enough to draw you in and capture your imagination. They need to seem real enough that you even begin to feel that you are next to them in the action, and that consequences will be dire, even for you.

Marissa Meyer does all this and even more.

It is impossible to not already be captivated in the story from her previous two novels in the series, Cinder andScarlet. There are some who believe that as you progress in a series, the plot may die down and even become boring, but that is definitely not the case here. You finally get to meet Cress again, after meeting her briefly in the first book. And while she seems very weak and a liability in the beginning, she definitely earns her place in the group, and turns into an essential asset. Captain Thorne is still his selfish, charming, self, but he may surprise you once or twice in the novel.

Scarlet also cements her vitality in the group, and especially in Wolf’s life. She still is the girl who doesn’t know when to keep her mouth shut, but you will never want to scold her for doing so. She isn’t afraid to make a stand, and you wish that there are more people like her in the world. Wolf seems still on edge, but you can’t help but root for him and feel his pain as he continues to suffer from his demons.

You learn more about Prince Kai, and while he does some commit some pretty hefty mistakes, you also want to give him a big hug to help him get through the whirlwind of his life. Cinder of course, is at the top of her game, and while everyone comes together to make the puzzle, she is still the one who takes center stage, and the one you want to keep your focus on.

I didn’t think it was possible to want the date for the release of the final book, Winter to be any closer, but after reading Cress, I found it to be true. This book definitely knocks it out of the park, and the series doesn’t seem to be losing its light.

Reviewed by Mercedes Olivas

Book Information
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Publication date: 2/4/2014
Pages: 560

Review: Cinder by Marissa Meyer

Summary
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.

Review
Fairy tales are stories that create the very essence of us as beings. They teach us the basic morals of how to interact with one another, and how to see life every day. The story of Cinderella brings the story of hope that life will get better for us, even though there is no way a blue sky can be behind all those gray clouds.

It is hard to get that basic story out of our head, which isn’t helped by the Disney film adaptation in order to see a different version that can somehow be better.

Marissa Meyer does just that and even more.

Cinder is a character that is very truly relatable, and you can’t help but root for her to get through the hard life she has been given. You want her to triumph more than anything, and also get the very charming guy in the end, Prince Kai. The urge to go into the novel and hurt the people who hurt her and don’t see her way of the world is very overwhelming, so you may want to read with caution. 

Prince Kai seems to embody the very qualities that is desired in a somewhat “Prince Charming” character. He is funny, understanding, smart, very down to earth, but most importantly, he sees Cinder for who she is, and isn’t afraid to treat her as his equal, even though they are clearly not.

This novel seems to make you believe in faraway romance again, and makes you desire a happy ending more than anything. Love is ignited very early on, but the hardships are reminded all the time. I recommend this novel to anyone who has ever believed in something impossible, and also to the people who don’t. 

Reviewed by Mercedes Olivas

Book Information
Publisher: Square Fish
Publication date: 1/8/2013
Pages: 448

Review: Scarlet by Marissa Meyer

Summary
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.

We enter this novel, reeling from the information bomb dropped at the end of the previous novel, with inquiring and hungry minds as to what comes next in Cinder’s journey to fulfilling her destiny. However, Marissa Meyer introduces you to a new character that takes the center stage and is the primary person you have contact with. Scarlet, based on an update of Little Red Riding Hood, is the main narrator while you do get snippets into what is happening in Cinder’s life and her next move into helping everyone she loves.

Scarlet is a girl who also has never had it easy, lives with her grandmother, and together they deliver goods to local markets and restaurants from their ranch/farm. However, one day when she comes home from work, she finds that her grandmother is missing and no one seems to know where she is. The police are no help, thinking she has run off on her own, and Scarlet even turns to her father whom she has no respect for. 

It is only when she gets a tip from Wolf, a street fighter and a complete stranger to everyone in the community, who tells her that he knows where her grandmother is. Together, they embark on a journey that will change their future, their relationship together, and have them collide with Cinder in a way no one thought was possible.

Review
This book was just as amazing as the first, making me even more excited for the next novel in the series, Cress, which comes out next month. The stories are very well-woven together in terms of plot and character development, but it is a little frustrating that some secrets are still being kept between each other.

The only disappointment with this novel that I had was less time to develop Cinder’s story, since you connect with her tremendously during the first novel. Scarlet, however, is still a very wonderful character to meet, and you will be anxious to learn the next part of their story.

Reviewed by Mercedes Olivas

Book Information
Publisher: Square Fish
Publication date: 2/4/2014
Pages: 512