Review: Cress by @marissa_meyer

Author: Marissa Meyer
Title: Cress
Series: The Lunar Chronicles #3
Publication: February 4, 2014 
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends 
Source: Aroundtheworldarctours

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.

Cress has lived in a satellite for most of her life with her only companion being a computer program. Unwanted by her family, she's taken away to be destroyed but her skills gave her a new purpose that the Queen and her minions exploit for their evil use. Desperately she yearns for release from her little box in the sky and she has her sights set on one Captain Thorne, who just happens to be with Cinder, the girls she's tasked with locating. Cress's tired of being used for the destructive plans of Queen and devises a plan of escape that just happens to turn into a deadly adventure with the cutest guy in the world. 

Cress is adorable in her belief that she's a damsel in distress. She has this ideal of romance and being rescued by the handsome prince, which is understandable because she's had no interaction with anyone outside of her captor. Her experience with the world is through her window and the net...until a rescue attempt goes awry and she sees the world is much more dangerous and complex than she would've ever imagined herself. I liked that as the story progresses; she becomes a less damsel and more of a girl who can hold her own. 

There are many perspectives in this book from different facets of this world and it doesn't get confusing or disrupts the flow. I actually found it to move the pace along at a steady rhythm. Cinder struggles to come to terms with her power as she gets stronger she begins to fear that she will become just like the Queen. Kai knows what in store for him, if he goes through with the wedding but he can't come up with an alternative that doesn't result in more death. Wolf seems less himself in this book as he grapples with his fear for one of his friend’s safety. He's still scary but his spirit's wounded. Winter seems more unstable than the other girls and it's nice to get a glimpse of her and Lunar. Captain Thorne's absolutely hot and I enjoyed the interactions between him and Cress, which allowed for more insight into his personality. All these characters mesh well together and I'm enjoying how everything is playing out as they race to find the Lunar Princess, a cure for the deadly disease-spreading on earth and to stop the Queen. Cinder discovers that she's possibly the key to changing everything, she doesn't like it but as they uncover an interesting revelation about the disease, she begins to see that her fate's bigger than the desires of her heart. Overall, great read and look forward to the next book soon!