Marissa Meyer has had me hooked since the beginning of this series. The third book of The Lunar Chronicles, CRESS, is no exception. Although it's not my favourite of the three, it still has the same feel, the same comedy, and the same insane drama as the others.
Based on the Rapunzel fairy tale, like the other two books, it's only inspired from the fairy tale and not a true retelling. I don't think I've ever read or heard the whole Rapunzel story but from what I know, what's really been retained from the fairy tale is the long hair and the tower. However, because this is science fiction novel, instead of a tower, the damsel in distress, Cress, is locked up in a satellite in space. Her captor is the Lunar government that thrives by preying on the weak, which includes untalented members of its society, like Cress. By untalented, I mean unable to control people with her mind and unable to glamour her appearance. Lunars see themselves as a superior race of humans and they frown upon having untalented shells in their society. I really liked Cress's addition to the story because we really get to learn more about the Lunars and their culture, and we more or less begin to learn Lunar Queen Levana's ultimate evil plan of world domination.
I'm really glad the main characters of the two other books play a major part in this novel. One thing that I'm not crazy about with some series is that you fall in love with a character, and then you barely see him or her again in the rest of the series. That is not the case with this novel since Cinder and Scarlet play pivotal roles in Cress's story. What's also great is that the author isn't too keen on happily ever afters and leaves us with crazy cliffhanger all round. Not only with the stories themselves, but also with the romance. As the end of the series grows closer, it seems like things are beginning to wrap up, but it's great fun to see how the romantic relationships are evolving with each book, even if it is from a distance.
Speaking of romance, Cress and Thorne seem like an unlikely pair and theoretically shouldn't fit together, but for some reason, his sarcastic personality and her eccentric personality work together. It's also fun so see the womanizing, worldly Thorne fall for the naive Cress. I'm really glad that Prince Kai has a bigger role in this third instalment. It seemed like book 2 didn't feature him all that much, especially as Cinder's love interest so it's nice that their story is being revived.
Overall, I really enjoyed CRESS but with one exception. It felt like the story lagged around the middle of the novel, like everything was going too slow. It's probably because all the characters were separated from each other after an unfortunate incident, but it felt like it took so long for them to get back together again. Maybe that's the price you pay for having such a large cast but I would never sacrifice this cast for a faster pace book.
CRESS is without a doubt a great addition to the series. Political intrigue, great character interactions, heart warming romance, and fun comedic relief is what Marissa Meyer is becoming famous for. Inspiring great stories from fairy tales and placing them in science fiction doesn't hurt either but I think her writing style is unique because combining all those characteristics together make her a great storyteller. Like CINDER and SCARLET, CRESS has set my expectations very high for the next book and I'm really looking forward to meeting Winter. We briefly met her but we don't know much about her yet. We do know that she's a princess, and some Lunars believe she's the legitimate ruler of Luna, so we definitely have another great novel coming up.
If you haven't read this series yet, I highly suggest that you do. If there's one series I've reviewed on this blog that I would totally recommend, it's this one, and since it all starts with CINDER, that's the one you need to read first.
Glad you enjoyed it. This is one series I tried to get into but couldn't. I only got halfway through CINDER before stopping. It just wasn't for me. :(
ReplyDeleteI seriously cannot wait to read this book - it's been on my radar for MONTHS now!! Of course, it comes out when I am flat broke, but I hope to buy a copy soon. Glad you liked it, can't wait to read it myself! I mentioned you in my blog today: http://authorjess.blogspot.com/2014/02/snooping-around-sunday-blog-lovin.html
ReplyDeleteI reall, really want to buy Cress now that it's finally out, but of course I bought a new book last week! Can't wait to read it and I'm glad you enjoyed it!
ReplyDeleteI bought Cress with every intention of starting it immediately, but then I got sucked into the Mortal Instruments series! I think I'll put Cress immediately after I finish those books. I really want to see more of Thorne - and please tell me that we get some more Scarlet/Wolf scenes??
ReplyDeleteLOVE this series so much and you are right the appearance of all characters in this book was a great and perfect addition. I think without them I would have been not so excited about the book. Thorn and Cress just don't do it for me. I loved Thorn and I believe that someone else would have been a better fit...
ReplyDeleteI love his womanizing! I think they will work great, opposites attract right =). I agree its good that we see all of the characters continuing throughout. We didn't see as much of Wolf and Scarlet as I would have liked though but I'm glad we got to see more from Kai's perspective because I admit I was not a fan of his at all and now I'm warming to him a bit more.
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