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!

Review: Scarlet by Marissa Meyer

Author: Marissa Meyer
Title: Scarlet 
Series: Lunar Chronicles #2
Publication: February 5th 2013
Publisher: Feiwel and Friends
Source: Around the World Arc Tours 

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.

Thoughts: Cinder is about to attempt the greatest escape of her life. Scarlet receives the news that the search for her missing grandmother has been closed, even though she knows something is amiss with her disappearance. Both of these girls are on a mission that somehow has to do with the mysterious Princess Selene and when their paths finally cross what they uncover comes as a surprise. As Queen Levana's uncompromising fury reaches a boiling point, she becomes a ticking time bomb determined to destroy everything in her way but Cinder is the bull’s-eye at the center of it all. Will Cinder fight her destiny or embrace her fate?

Queen Levana epitomizes evil hidden behind the facade of beauty. She takes her deviousness to a sick twisted level in this book. All she really wants is to start the war she's been threatening all this time but now one person stands to be the key to stopping her...Cinder. Prince Kai in an effort to keep the peace and maybe his feelings of betrayal agrees to hand Cinder over to the Queen not knowing that she is more valuable than he could imagine. Only a small few know why she fears Cinder so much and in this second book Scarlet uncovers the reason as well as Cinder. 

Cinder in this book dislikes the fact that her future seems to have been planned without her consent, she wants none of it. All she desires is to be left alone but as she gets closer to the truth of her origin she will question her place in the world. I like how she grows and becomes stronger and develops beautifully into the heroine that I hope she will be by the end of this series. Scarlet intrigues me, she has an innocence to her that speaks through the page but she also has a fire that simmers within her. She is not a damsel in distress and is not afraid to say what she feels and that's something great about her as a character. There are new males introduced one being Wolf, the shy mysterious street fighter with the hidden rage in his eyes and let me just say that when his secret is revealed, one word: Crazy! The other fella, I am unable to recall his name but he is humorous and sort of stuck on himself. 

The author weaves the story of Scarlet so intricately that it melds beautifully with the story of Cinder. The plot goes back and forth between Scarlet, Cinder and Prince Kai as they face difficult decisions yet it doesn't hinder the flow of the story nor the action. I agree this is not what I remember but it's so much better. This is how to revamp a classic fairy tale while remaining true to some of the original and adding a refreshing updated twist. I'm extremely curious how everything will tie in together at the end. Check this series out; I think any fairytale or sci-fi lover will enjoy it.

4.5 stars