Book Review: The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer

The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer:

Cinder (The Lunar Chronicles, Book 1) by Marissa Meyer

Originally Read: February 9, 2012 (Not Reviewed)
Completion Date: January 30, 2015
Length: 390 Pages

Synopsis from Goodreads:

Humans and androids crowd the raucous streets of New Beijing. A deadly plague ravages the population. From space, a ruthless lunar people watch, waiting to make their move. No one knows that Earth’s fate hinges on one girl.

Cinder, a gifted mechanic, is a cyborg. She’s a second-class citizen with a mysterious past, reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsister’s illness. But when her life becomes intertwined with the handsome Prince Kai’s, she suddenly finds herself at the center of an intergalactic struggle, and a forbidden attraction. Caught between duty and freedom, loyalty and betrayal, she must uncover secrets about her past in order to protect her world’s future.

I remember buying this book when it first came out. We were at Walmart and it caught my eye. I read it almost immediately and promptly added her to my auto-buy list. Fairest, a novella in the series, was recently released and I knew it was time to revisit Cinder and finally read the rest of the series. I really enjoyed this reread. Cinder is young, so she bugs me sometimes, but it is nice to see a series of books essentially centred around strong women and rewriting the damsel in distress stereotype. And, Marissa does it so well. She makes Cinder 'different' and looked down on by society so that it tackles prejudice and discrimination without coming right out with how it can relate to our own society. She just makes Cinder's story that much better because she has further to rise. Obviously there is more to Cinder than meets the eye, but I was very happy that I decided to go back and reread this one before moving on to the rest.

Strongly recommended!

Scarlet (The Lunar Chronicles, Book 2) by Marissa Meyer

Completion Date: February 1, 2015
Length: 452 Pages

Synopsis from Goodreads:

Cinder, the cyborg mechanic, returns in the second thrilling installment of the bestselling Lunar Chronicles. She's trying to break out of prison--even though if she succeeds, she'll be the Commonwealth's most wanted fugitive. Halfway around the world, Scarlet Benoit's grandmother is missing. It turns out there are many things Scarlet doesn't know about her grandmother or the grave danger she has lived in her whole life. When Scarlet encounters Wolf, a street fighter who may have information as to her grandmother's whereabouts, she is loath to trust this stranger, but is inexplicably drawn to him, and he to her. As Scarlet and Wolf unravel one mystery, they encounter another when they meet Cinder. Now, all of them must stay one step ahead of the vicious Lunar Queen Levana, who will do anything for the handsome Prince Kai to become her husband, her king, her prisoner.

Moving on to Scarlet. I started this book when it first came out, but it just didn't call to me at the time and I put it aside until now apparently. I read it very quickly this time around, so I am glad it clicked with me finally. Frankly, Scarlet tries too hard to be a 'tough' girl and she annoys me. She got better as the book got going, but she is older than Cinder and does things that I find myself rolling my eyes about. She just didn't click with me at first. In the end I felt that the series grew in this book and I enjoyed seeing how all the stories were going to come together. It definitely turned into a page-turner of a book. I am glad I decided to undertake this journey through the series. This book made me even more excited about the series as a whole and I couldn't wait to see what happened next in Cress.

Strongly Recommended!

Cress (The Lunar Chronicles, Book 3) by Marissa Meyer

Completion Date: February 8, 2015
Length: 550 Pages

Synopsis from Goodreads:

In this third book in the Lunar Chronicles, 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. 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 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.

Then I moved on to Cress. It took me a lot longer to get through this one than the first two books. It wasn't because I liked it less, it was more time constraints and the fact that I am not good at reading books by the same author in a row. So, I slowed down... I still really enjoyed the book, though, and I was so proud of myself for finishing it and catching up on a series. Cress is exactly what you would expect from a girl that has been isolated and locked up. She is a bit naive and innocent, but there is a backbone there. I enjoyed getting to know her better because she only sort of lurked in the first two books. This was her time to shine and come together with the other characters. I will enjoy seeing how things play out in the next book and how she grows as a character. In Scarlet, the characters were in a group for most of the book, but circumstances pushed them apart in this one so we got a chance to spend time with them individually before they started coming back together again. I am really enjoying them all individually and as a group. I am really excited to see how it all plays out in the final volume later this year!

Strongly Recommended!

Fairest (The Lunar Chronicles, Book 3.5) by Marissa Meyer

Completion Date: February 8, 2015
Length: 222 Pages

Synopsis from Goodreads:

In this stunning bridge book between Cress and Winter in the bestselling Lunar Chronicles, Queen Levana’s story is finally told.

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.

Marissa Meyer spins yet another unforgettable tale about love and war, deceit and death. This extraordinary book includes full-color art and an excerpt from Winter, the next book in the Lunar Chronicles series.

Okay, if I had been paying attention I probably wouldn't have bought this... I was behind on the series and the new book always comes out at the beginning of the year, so I just grabbed this and didn't pay attention to the fact it was a novella and the last book wasn't out until later this year. When it arrived I couldn't be bothered to send it back, so I read it instead. And, I am glad that it exists. It is the story of Levana. She is the Lunar Queen that has played a role in all of the other books, but we never really got a chance to know her. Now that I do... All I can say is 'Wow!'. Marissa has definitely come up with a very interesting back-story for the Queen. And, let's face it... Sometimes I feel bad for her, but other times she got what she deserved. I will be interested to see how this will influence my reading of Winter when everything will come to a head.

Strongly Recommended!

And that concludes my rambling post about this series...