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Thursday, January 16, 2014

Review: Cress by Marissa Meyer


Review: Cress by Marissa Meyer
Goodreads 
Release date: February 4th, 2014
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends (Macmillan)
Series: #3 in The Lunar Chronicles
Source: gift from Christina
Rating: *FLAIL*

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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.


This review contains spoilers for books one and two in the Lunar Chronicles, Cinder and Scarlet.

Okay. Words. I need to put together words for this book, but I can't because THIS BOOK.

 

It's a big, honking long book, and trust me, that's the best part. You never want this ride to end. We're thrust into action and adventure from the get-go. The characters you've come to love throughout the series suffer through so many setbacks and insanities, and you suffer right along with them. It's enormously fun.

And we meet out new girl, Cress! I ADORE CRESS. She is naive, sweet, enthusiastic, terrified, secretly brave, very imaginative, and intensely lonely. She's a Lunar shell, and she has zero experience of the world, as she's been trapped in a satellite for ten years, doing her evil mistress's evil technological bidding. I loved that she has a lot of her misconceptions of people and life knocked away. She really comes into her own in this book, and I'm so excited to watch her develop more in the next. And I love that her sweetness and belief in people has positive reinforcements on my baby, one Carswell Thorne. But I will get to them a bit later.

Just be patient.

What I love about this series is how much it has grown in scope. With each addition of a new storyline and heroine, Meyer tosses a new juggling ball in the air, and heck if she's not still juggling them all with aplomb. The consequences are more epic, the stakes are moon-high (SEE WHAT I DID THERE?), and the tension is high. The plot builds to scary-huge moments, and the ending? WHOA. Whoaaaaa. Trust me, by the end, after all the crap hits the fan and our heroes are heroic and both bad and good things happen, you'll be DYING for Winter.

This series really does have the best of both worlds, being both sci-fi and fairy tale-esque. I've always thought this series was light sci-fi, or accessible sci-fi, I suppose. It's a world that's very easy to inhabit as a reader, and I love that. The characters feel familiar because of their fairy tale counterparts, but they're by no means unoriginal. In fact, I say the characters are the strength of this series. Cinder, Kai, Scarlet, Thorne, Wolf, Cress, Iko--I care about them so much, and when sad things happen to them, I GET SAD. Cinder and Thorne have one of the best platonic friendships since Aria and Roar. I'll dare you not to get misty at a certain scene. Aw, and Iko! Thorne and Iko! And just Thorne, generally. As a Thorne-person. Thorning around. Being Thorne.

 

Book five of the Lunar Chronicles: Thorne by Marissa Meyer. I would read that so fast.

I'm trying to leave as many spoilers out of this as possible, but I will tell you that our heroic band is separated very early on. Scarlet, Cress, and Cinder all have their own plots for most of the book (not telling your where the boys are, though for fairy-tale-esque and logic reasons, you can figure out where Thorne is). (Okay, fine, he's with Cress. There you go.) I loved that Meyer chose to focus on the part of the Rapunzel storyline that is usually glossed over--the part after Rapunzel is cast from her tower. The part where she wanders the wilderness in search of her love and has to start anew (with babies, because fairy tale Rapunzel was a bamf). Basically, the part where Rapunzel does all her growing.

 

Okay, let's talk about the important things: the ships. Some people may may say this ship is creepy, but these people are obviously incorrect people whom we shall never trust again. Right? Right. Cress and Thorne are utterly hilarious and adorable and guyssss, I ships it. I love her huge crush on him, and the disillusionment that follows. I love Thorne's charm and charisma and worldliness, and the way it plays off Cress' total ignorance of most things and her strong ability to perceive other things. I love... the thing... that happens to Thorne... and how that affects the way he comes to know Cress. *vaguety vague vagueness*

Scarlet and Wolf suffer QUITE A BIT in this one (no, seriously, BE PREPARED), but I was totally proud of my girl Scarlet. Wolf? Wolf needed a good shake or two.



Queen Levana continues to evil all over the place, and Prince Kai continues to be adorable. Poor Kai. He finally agreed to marry the evil queen at the end of Scarlet to prevent more bloodshed and get the letumosis vaccine, which continues to kill millions in the Eastern Commonwealth.

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Kai just needs a really big hug, you guys. He's dealing with a lot, and finally starting to put a lot of the pieces together as to the larger picture at hand (Cinder is the lost princess, Kai, you can do it, Kai). We also get to meet several new characters, including Jacin, a stoic and hard-to-pin-down Lunar guard, whose precise fairy tale counterpart is still a tiny bit of a mystery (I think Huntsman). And we also meet, right at the end... Winter.

Holy crap, Winter.



That's all I'm going to say.

SO much happens in this book. People are lost in the Sahara, there is death, shootings, palace coups, rescue operations, weddings (!!), maimings (!!!), genocide, revolution, kissing (!!!!!!), and so much more. Cress is the best book in the series so far, and cements the Lunar Chronicles as one of the best series around. Jump on this spaceship as soon as you can.


12 comments:

  1. *flails around* I just CANNOT WAIT TILL MY PREORDERED CRESS DOWNLOADS INTO MY KINDLE!!!!

    And we meet Winter!! Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah, too much excitement!!

    Also, love all the Tangled GIFs!!

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  2. You totally nailed it with Rating: FLAIL.
    Because yes.

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  3. Basically, I adore you for writing this review and filling it with the most perfect GIFs in the entire world. I LOVE IT. (And yes, I too am flaily about Cress -- and dying over the long, long wait we have for Winter.)

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  4. Everyone has been saying it was amazing, so to read another rave review has me even more excited. The next two weeks are going to be agony.

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  5. I cannot wait to get a chance to read Cress! I thought I couldn't be more excited for it than I already was but your review really has me even more excited!

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  6. My post on this went up today, too. Twinsies!

    I, for one, am crazy excited about getting the ULTIMATE wicked stepmother in the next book. I mean. Bitch is evil. And I REALLY like Jacin. I'm looking forward to Levana's using her mind control to try to get him to cut out Winter's crazy little heart.

    Also, the stuff with Scarlet and wolf was awesome in this one.

    The only relationship I feel kinda meh about is Cinder and Kai. I love Thorne and Cress. Thorne! And Cress!

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  7. Oh, fine. I WILL RE-READ THIS BOOK VERY SOON. Amazing review Gillian. <3 I'm just so happy that you loved Cress as well. Sigh. It was just PERFECT. KAI! CRESS! Everyone. I loved everything about this book.

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  8. My plan is to re-read Cinder, FINALLY read Scarlet, THEN CRESS hopefully before the end of this month, or the first of Feb since Cress is coming out soon-ish. I can't WAIT to feel all the feels like you did, Gillian! And to meet Scarlet and Cress. GAH. I want to swoon over these books tooooo.

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  9. This series this series this series this series! I just love how Meyer does her thing. I just can't stop reading this series. I've been waiting for Cress forever but some reason, I'm looking forward to Winter even more even though I've yet to even touch Cress. (Maybe I just want to see the cover really badly?)

    I can see you're a Thorne fan. :3 Everyone seems to ship Thorne and Cress, which I have no problem with since I'm sure I'll love them too, but guys DON'T FORGET ABOUT CINDER AND KAI!! ;.; Kai just needs to hurry up, put the pieces together, and realize that Cinder was his True Love all along!

    Thank you again for another great review. ><

    (I've been watching Once Upon a Time recently, which has been putting me into a Lunar Chronicles mood even though they're nothing alike xD)

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  10. Oh my gosh. I know you posted this like a year ago but I couldn't help but agree!!!!! The way it ended made me want to throw my book out the window! I ship Cress and Thorne so hard too, and when the thing happened in the desert how they had JUST missed Cinder got me so frustrated!! Did you know Winter is coming out in November? OF NEXT YEAR?!?!?!?!?! Just because Ms. Meyer here decided to create a prequel about Levana. I don't know how to process this information.

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  11. Oh. My. Stars. (See what I did there??!) I SHIP CINDER AND KAI AND SCARLET AND WOLF AND CRESS AND THORNE. Even though it looks weird I'm assuming that you understand. Even this post is like a year ago, I HAVE to reply. Poor Wolf!! He is so heartbroken over Scarlet's assumed death!!! And Thorne and Cress???? Perfect!! And I'm still cirrently half mad at Kai for being so dense! You'd think the king of the Eastern Commonwealth would put the peices together that the Lunar cyborg fugitive was a Princess Lunar cyborg fugitive - she did get burnt after all, the whole skin flakes thing - but it's so adorable how they FINALLY FINALLY FINALLY kiss!!!!! Oh my stars I read that part like sixteen times over again - one because I loved it and two because that's also Cinder-Selene's age. I will JUST DIE waiting for Winter to come out in NOVEMBER! ALMOST A FULL YEAR!!! I'm also dying to know if Cinder recognizes Winter even though it would be hard to remember but it would be so SAD if she didn't!!! And I never thought about which character Jacin was, though now that you mention it, you're probably right - it's Huntsman. Even though I don't think Levana's past/childhood makes it right to do all the things she did, I understand and I feel so bad!!!!!! All along I was like poor Channary she was so nice and Levana killed her but really, Channary was an idiot to go to such lengths to be with guys and so often AND for burning Levana. I know that doesn't excuse Selene's "death" and murder of Winter's dad (I FORGOT HIS NAME!!!) but I get it. Mostly. And these two lines have been echoing in my head from Fairest: she would do to the child what Channary did to her. Only she, unlike her sister, would be merciful; she would force the child to then go on living.

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