Book Review: Cress

By Marissa Meyer

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.

Meyer does it again; another fabulous retelling, but also a great example of how she has created a unique and individual story and has continued to build it up to a larger climax in this installation.

from Instagram: theelunarchronicles

There are a hundred different reasons why I'm already so invested in The Lunar Chronicles, but just talking about Cress here, I was really only disappointed in a very small number of categories.

First, let's talk about what I really liked:

I loved how strange Cress was, and yet it totally fit her in terms of how she had to grow up and stimulate herself. Her little fantasies to get through difficult times were entertaining, and they were convincing as a coping mechanism for her loneliness.
One thing I was curious to know about was why she was so sympathetic toward Earthens, and not for Lunars. I think what was trying to get across was that her isolation from both Lunars and Earthens led her to seek contact through videos and news reports, which only come from Earth due to Lunars' aversion to photography and cameras. And from that research, she grew to identify more with Earthens than with the Lunars that locked her away in a satellite, but her loyalty was something I was wondering about most of the time.

OMG! The plan to ruin the wedding! (I won't put any spoilers here) But yes! Such a fantastically comical and impossible idea! Loved it, and the execution made me think of Oceans Eleven or maybe even a Sly Cooper video game. Just hilarious.

In this book (and Scarlet in particular to me) Iko just shines. Her personality really brings a lot of comical relief to what could be a really tense reading. I was so upset when I thought that her new body was going to be ruined and she was going to have to be the ship again, but things are great, and she gets to stay mobile! YAY!

And finally, POOR BABY WOLF!! Again, no spoilers, but awwwwwwwww. Every time he comes up, I just want to hug him. I'm pretty sure he's my favorite.

And my only issues remain minor, such as a need for more Scarlet, because she's just plain awesome and badass (but unfortunately, I understand the necessity of her absence -sorry, still no spoilers).

I could have done with a little more insight into Dr. Erland's PoV, especially when he started putting puzzle pieces together at the end.

Things I'm looking forward to in the finale:

I liked the introduction of Princess Winter, and I'm excited to get her story.
Can't wait to see what Luna is like!
Although I'm super nervous about how well Cinder will find Lunar revolutionaries. The team will have to be very sneaky to pull off any sort of "revolution" on enemy territory.

The Blonde Rating: 4/5
Goodreads Rating: 4.5/5
Amazon Buyers' Rating: 4.8/5

That's it for Cress, for other Lunar Chronicles reviews, click here for Cinder and here for Scarlet.

Cinder by Marissa Meyer (The Lunar Chronicles)

     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 first comment is this: why didn't I read this sooner!?

     I've had it for weeks, and I decided to deviate from my TBR list a little bit to push this to the top because Marissa Meyer was coming to town and I wanted to get my copy of the book signed. Halfway through, I was racing out to my local indie bookstore to get Scarlet so I wouldn't have to wait once I was finished. Something tells me the wait between Scarlet  and Cress is going to be unbearable.

      I really liked the way this was done. The elements of the original fairytale are evident in the book, but the setting and characters are so unique, interesting, and different from any other adaptions and recreations of the Cinderella tale that I've ever seen before. 

      I really appreciated the world-building that went on in this book. There was no giant paragraphs trying to describe the NEW WORLD ORDER or describing the "how the world got this way." It was done very naturally; the reader was introduced to new parts of the world as Cinder or Kai was approaching elements that were different than what the reader might have assumed. I loved the whole aspect of "cyborgs as lower class citizens" -it really adds a new dynamic to her relationships with the people around her.

      The Lunars are freaking crazy! I love to hate them, which is totally the whole point to them, I feel, which is great!

      Though I will admit, I TOTALLY called the "secret" ending by page 115. And, once suspecting it, all of the clues just seem like giant neon signs pointing to it until it is finally confirmed. Not that it deterred from the story at all, I just like being right.

Things That I Liked:

1. Dr. Erland; he's like the greatest loving uncle, or cool grandpa ever. Right from the start I wanted to like him, so I was really glad we got to, but I didn't really see too much of his "going mental" happening in this book. Maybe it's explored more in Scarlet?
2. Iko; poor little android! I loved her, and it made me so upset that Cinder lost her little partner in crime for so much of the book.
3. Prince Kai; he had such a sweet personality, and I liked his persistence in pursuing Cinder, and his complete disdain for Levana. He felt like a real guy character.

Things That I Didn't Like:

1. Adri and Pearl, Levana; I loved to hate this dysfunctional step-family and this stupid, mean, awful queen.

Overall Impression:

     What a cool, unique re-envisioning of this classic fairytale. I cannot wait to see how Cinder gets out of her predicament and continues on with her story in the upcoming books.

The Blonde's Rating: 4.5/5

GoodReads Rating: 4/5 

Amazon Buyer's Ratings: 4.5/5

Stick around for further reviews of The Lunar Chronicles books!

Thanks!

The Blonde