Mini Reviews: The Lunar Chronicles Edition (with a Gold Star!)

I FINALLY got the chance to catch up with the Lunar Chronicles series, which is one of my favorites! I love how Meyer manages to combine the soul of the original fairy tales with some fantastic new science fiction elements creating a whole new world that manages at once to also feel familiar.

Cress 
by Marissa Meyer
Lunar Chronicles, book 3

Cinder and Captain Thorne are fugitives on the run, now with Scarlet and Wolf in tow. Together, they’re plotting to overthrow Queen Levana and her army. Their best hope lies with Cress, a girl imprisoned on a satellite since childhood who's only ever had her netscreens as company. When a daring rescue of Cress goes awry, the group is separated. Cress finally has her freedom, but it comes at a high price. Meanwhile, Queen Levana will let nothing prevent her marriage to Emperor Kai. Cress, Scarlet, and Cinder may not have signed up to save the world, but they may be the only hope the world has... (Description from Goodreads.com)

I loved how this particular addition to the series managed to add yet another set of characters and their own back stories to the mix, but still managed to feel completely cohesive. That's tough to do!  Each portion of the story, no matter how far it seemed to stretch from Cinder's central, pivotal story line, still felt vital and I was kept right on the edge of my seat. Well done. 

Full disclosure: Book Purchased for my own Personal Library 

Fairest: Levanna's Story 
by Marissa Meyer
Lunar Chronicles, book 3.5
Prequel to Cinder

Mirror, mirror on the wall,
Who is the fairest of them all?

Fans of the Lunar Chronicles know Queen Levana as a ruler who uses her “glamour” to gain power. But long before she crossed paths with Cinder, Scarlet, and Cress, Levana lived a very different story – a story that has never been told . . . until now. (Description from Goodreads.com)

I was completely and utterly enthralled with this book. I LOVE to think about how the villains of stories came to be the people they are when we see them interact with our heroes and heroines. Levanna's story was utterly compelling - learning her history and actually feeling sorry for her - having to remind myself about the things she goes on to do...Just wow. I actually want to give this novella a shiny Gold Star!

Full disclosure: Audio book received from AudioFile for Review/Book Purchased for my own Personal Library