Review: Cinder, Scarlett, Cress, & Fairest

HAPPY "WINTER" RELEASE DATE! 

In honour of the release of Winter, I'm doing a big old post about what I thought about the entire series! Let's do this and then immediately dive into Winter, okay? 

Reviewer: Kristen

Author: Marissa Meyer

Pages: 390

Format: Hardcover

My Rating: 8 out of 10

Summary (you are the best, Goodreads): 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.

My Thoughts: This book is a Cinderella retelling. This book has one badass main character. Could it get any better? YES. ADD SOME ANDROIDS. AND MARISSA MEYER DID THAT. AND MARISSA MEYER HAS CREATED A MASTERPIECE THAT SHOULD BE READ BY EVERY SINGLE PERSON THAT EXISTS. Seriously. I don't know how else to sell it. I had to be sold on it. And I'm so glad that my friend literally forced the book into my hands and said "Sit. Read." If it wasn't such a fantastic book, I would have been insulted. I want to keep most things about this vague just incase you haven't read this, but I will say that this spectacular book was my least favourite in the series. What? Yeah. It only gets better, buckos, and that is a testament. Also, what is everyone thinkin about Prince Kai? Do we like him? I'm indifferent. 

Final Thoughts: Go get. 

Reviewer: Kelsey
Rating: 7 out of 10
Why: This is such a unique way of retelling this classic story. I was impressed by the badassness of the main character and I came to kind of like Kai. I would recommend it.

Reviewer: Kristen

Author: Marissa Meyer

Pages: 452 

Format: Hardcover 

My Rating: 9 out of 10

Summary (I love you even though you're not an android, Goodreads): 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.

My Thoughts: I know, I know, I am a broken record. But this series just got a whole HECK of a lot better. When I first started this, I didn't know what to expect. I went into it completely blind and because of that I wasn't aware that we didn't follow Cinder and Prince Kai but instead got introduced to the wonderful characters that are Scarlet and Wolf. Hello. Scarlet. Badass. I love her almost more than Cinder, and I am preparing myself for heartbreak because I just love way too many characters from this series. Except Levana, screw that witch. Though, I'm more unsure about Wolf than I am about Prince Kai. I think I like him. The latter, that is. I'm unsure about good ol Wolfy Wolf. 

Final Thoughts: Have you gone and got? Have you loved it? 

Reviewer: Kelsey
Rating: 8 out of 10
Why: This book is every BETTER than Cinder. It is another extremely creative way of retelling this story but the characters are even better. Wolf was a tad creepy and Scarlet did a lot more for him than she needed to but I guess I like him well enough. I love that old characters come back into this story to make the cast even more entertaining than it already was. Give this book a chance, even if you weren't a huge fan of Cinder. I did and I'm so glad.

Reviewer: Kristen

Author: Marissa Meyer

Pages: 550 

Format: Hardcover

My Rating: 9.5/10

Summary (love you long time, Goodreads): 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. 

My Thoughts: I LOVE CAPTAIN THORNE AND NO BODY CAN STOP ME. HE IS MINE. I LOVE HIM TO INFINITY AND BACK AND HE IS SO PRECIOUS. I also love Cress she is precious and she needs to protected at all costs. And also I love Scarlet. And Cinder. And literally everyone and this series is so good that I've been reduced to a rambling buffoon but I don't care. Cress was definitely my favourite book of the series. The only reason I didn't give it 10/10 is because I put it down for a while, and it took me a really long time to pick it back up. I don't know why. I was loving it, I was invested in the characters. I just got distracted, I guess. 

Final Thoughts: How much do you love Thorne? I love Thorne. 

Reviewer: Kristen

Author: Marissa Meyer

Pages: 220

Format: Hardcover

My Rating: 7.5 out of 10

Summary (I love Goodreads as much as Levana hates mirrors): In this stunning bridge book between Cress and Winter in the bestselling Lunar Chronicles, Queen Levana’s story is finally told.

Mirror, mirror on the wall,
Who is the fairest of them all?

Fans of the Lunar Chronicles know Queen Levana as a ruler who uses her “glamour” to gain power. But long before she crossed paths with Cinder, Scarlet, and Cress, Levana lived a very different story – a story that has never been told . . . until now.

Marissa Meyer spins yet another unforgettable tale about love and war, deceit and death. This extraordinary book includes full-color art and an excerpt from Winter, the next book in the Lunar Chronicles series. 

My Thoughts: I LOVE villains. Seriously. Villains are 9 times out of 10 my favourite characters. Evil characters are just so intriguing and I just want to know everything about them. And, ladies and gentlemen, Levana is one of the wickedest (and not in a good way) villains that there is. I'm glad that I read this because we get so much information about Levana and what makes her tick and why she is the way she is and her upbringing. I think that it has added so much to the story without taking anything away. The only reason that I didn't rate this higher is because I thought there was like 100 more pages at the end of the book, but it was a preview for Winter that I didn't read because then I'd be way too excited and I AM STILL BITTER ABOUT IT.

Final Thoughts: If you love this series, and how could you not, you definitely won't regret picking this up. Levana is one wicked mothertrucker. 

And now I am peace-ing out because Winter is waiting for me! Expect a review soon! 

Reviewer: Kelsey
Rating: 7 out of 10

Thoughts: This was both fast and easy to read. I thought that getting some insight into the queen. I was very impressed with how absolutely crazy the author managed to make her sound. I loved getting the back ground and all the insights we have after reading this novel. I was so surprised at the stuff that happened to her. I don't want to spoil anything but holy heck. I didn't have any expectations before reading this book and that made it even better. I'm so glad that I read this novel. 
Also, I agree with Kristen. I love villains. They are so great. Enjoy it!