Review: Winter

Info: 
Title: Winter
Author: Marissa Meyer
Series: The Lunar Chronicles #4
Publisher: Feiwel and Friends
Publication Date: November 10, 2015
Source: Purchased

Synopsis:
Princess Winter is admired by the Lunar people for her grace and kindness, and despite the scars that mar her face, her beauty is said to be even more breathtaking than that of her stepmother, Queen Levana.

Winter despises her stepmother, and knows Levana won’t approve of her feelings for her childhood friend—the handsome palace guard, Jacin. But Winter isn’t as weak as Levana believes her to be and she’s been undermining her stepmother’s wishes for years. Together with the cyborg mechanic, Cinder, and her allies, Winter might even have the power to launch a revolution and win a war that’s been raging for far too long.

Can Cinder, Scarlet, Cress, and Winter defeat Levana and find their happily ever afters?

Review:

This was one of those bittersweet books, because a series you loved is coming to close. While this wasn't my favourite book in the series, I still enjoyed it and thought it ended the series well. My favourite characters (Thorne and Iko) were back in action, although neither of them played as major of roles as some of the others. But they didn't do anything to diminish my love of them, so that's always good. This book focused on Winter, Levana's stepdaughter and Meyer's version of Snow White. I really enjoyed Winter's character. It was interesting to see a glimpse of her madness and see her struggle to differentiate reality and hallucination. Despite her difficulties, Winter is a kind and likable character. We also got a see a softer side of Jacin in this book and he *almost* became likable at times. The finale was filled with excitement and was not a disappointment, although I think it was always going to be a happy ending, even when it felt a touch unrealistic. I can't say too much without things getting a little spoiler-y. Overall, I enjoyed the conclusion to the series and can't wait to read whatever Meyer puts out next! Find the Book: Goodreads | Amazon | The Book Depository | Chapters Find the Author:   Goodreads | Web | Facebook | Twitter

Review: Fairest

Info: 
Title: Fairest
Author: Marissa Meyer
Series: The Lunar Chronicles #3.5Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Publication Date: January 27, 2015
Source: Purchased.

Synopsis:
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.

Review:
While Fairest was a fun extra installment, it lacked some of the magic found in the other books. The biggest reason for this is because it focuses on Levana, a character readers (myself included) can't stand. While it was interesting to see her side of the story, it does not make her any less of a psychopath. Ok granted there were some hardships in her life, but the way she reacted to them shows how insane she really is.

So basically the book is Levana's backstory, starting with the death of her parents when she was a child and ending with her as queen of Luna with designs on Earth. While it was interesting to see the other side of things and get explanations for things like Levana's obsession with glamours and why she wants Earth so badly, it never really made me sympathize with her. Well, perhaps a bit in the beginning, before she starts doing things that were completely insane and honestly creepy.

Fairest also lacked some of the adventure and excitement of the other books, as it is a prequel and we already know how things end up. But the author's writing still maintains the same quality as the previous books.

Fairest certainly is Levana's story. It follows her development from lonely princess to tyrannical ruler. While not as good as the books in the main series, it's still worth reading for fans who can't wait for Winter. 

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Review: Cress

Info:
Title: Cress
Author: Marissa Meyer
Series: The Lunar Chronicles #3
Publisher: Feiwel and Friends
Publication Date: Feb. 4, 2014
Source: ARC received from publisher in exchange for an honest review

Synopsis: 
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.

Review:
I am so in love with this series that it's ridiculous. With that said, it's so hard for me to write an actual review and not just revert to fangirl flailing. But I will try.

Cress was amazing. I am so in love with the world that Marissa Meyer has created. It feels to intricate and real and, while I definitely don't want to live there, I can't wait to return there when Winter arrives next year.

Great characters make great books and I love the characters in this series. All of the characters from the earlier books feature prominently and we also meet Cress. I love Cress and spent half of the book wanting to give her a big hug. She's so naive, but sincere and lovable. And Thorne! I am definitely a Thorne girl, although I did yell at him at least once. The only character who I didn't enjoy as much was Wolf. I won't give anything away, but he kind of completely shuts down for some of the book and I just wanted to shake him (although then he'd probably bite me).

I'll be the first to admit that I'm not a romance girl. But this book had one scene that struck me as so romantic that I couldn't do anything for a moment but grin and clap my hands.

Overall, I'm in love with Cress and the Lunar Chronicles. And while "Winter is Coming", it can't come fast enough.

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Review: Scarlet

Info:
Title: Scarlet
Author: Marissa Meyer
Series: The Lunar Chronicles #2
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Publication Date: February 5, 2013
Source: Purchased

Synopsis: 
The fates of Cinder and Scarlet collide as a Lunar threat spreads across the Earth...

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.

Review:
I absolutely loved Cinder and I was a bit worried that Scarlet, the sequel, wouldn't live up to my high expectations. But I shouldn't have worried, because I loved Scarlet just as much.

This installment has a split focus on Cinder and a new character, Scarlet Benoit (with a few glimpses of Emperor Kai thrown in). I loved Scarlet. She is fiery and stubborn and loyal and dedicated. I definitely connected with her and I loved the parts about Cinder and Scarlet equally (this doesn't always happen, I often prefer one character's story).

We met a few other new characters in this one and they are well done as well. Captain Thorne started off annoying, but now I love him. He provided some excellent comic relief, as well as being much less useless than I initially thought. And Wolf. Oh my goodness, what can I say about him? I was so torn throughout the most of the book. I had both hopes and suspicions, and somehow both ended up being true. And by the end, I was much less torn.

The only slightly negative thing I can say is that it took me a bit to get into this one. I think that is 100% me though because I was reading this one over the holidays, so there was so much going on that made it a bit hard to focus on reading.

I really love the world Marissa Meyer has created and I can't wait to start Cress to continue in it. And Winter will be a very long time coming!

I can say with confidence that Scarlet is the best book I've read so far in 2014!

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Cover Compare: Scarlet

A while back, I did a cover compare for Cinder by Marissa Meyer here. And since Scarlet's review will be going up tomorrow, I figured now was a great time to do a Cover Compare for Scarlet as well.

I love the US covers for this series. I think they're really distinctive and cool. I also like the Italian cover, although I don't know how fitting it is with the story, since I found Scarlet to be way too practical for such a long cloak. Is that just me? I also like the German cover. I'm a sucker for this style of cover and the little wolves! So cute. The Spanish cover creeps me out. She'd like a creepy doll! Actually, that's almost exactrly what I said about the Spanish cover of Cinder, although in that case I liked it. Probably because I couldn't see her face. And the Portuguese cover looks like ever other YA cover ever. Pretty but common and it doesn't really fit with the story in my opion either. What do you think? Which is your favourite?

US

Spanish

Italian

Portuguese

German

Review: Cinder

Info:
Title: Cinder
Author: Marissa Meyer
Series: The Lunar Chronicles #1
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Publication Date: January 3, 2012
Source: Purchased


Synopsis: 
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.

Review:
I am in love with this book. Seriously! Best book I've read in months.

Sometimes it's hard to write reviews of book you love that make sense and aren't completely filled with fangirl flailing. But here it goes:

Characters: Awesome!
Plot: Awesome!
World-building: Extra Awesome!

There were so many little details and excellent minor characters. Like Iko, who is probably my very favourite character. The world-building, as I said, was a highlight for me. It was so good. There were no noticeable info dumps, but I felt like I really knew the world.

The only possibly negative thing I have to say is that it was a touch predictable. Retelling often are, by their nature, but the big twist near the end I predicted on page 116. This didn't matter to me though, I still loved the book and having guessed the ending didn't diminish my enjoyment at all. In fact, it probably increased it because I got to shout "I KNEW IT!" at the top of my lungs. So satisfying.

Basically, I loved Cinder and wish I hadn't waited so long to start it. But on the bright side, now I can dive straight into Scarlet.

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Cover Compare: Cinder

I love checking out the cover of other language versions of popular books. Today I took a look at Cinder, which I'm totally admitting that I haven't read yet.

English

Spanish (hardcover)

Italian

Portuguese

Spanish (paperback)

For once, I think the English version is my favourite! I love how it's a total nod to the fairytale while still looking all cyborg-y. The Spanish paperback is really similar, but I prefer the red shoe because it's more eye-catching. The Spanish handcover is my next favourite because she looks like one creepy-ass doll. Maybe the Italian version would make more sense once I've read the book, since I have no clue what is on that girl's head. And the Portuguese version looks like a memoir or some kind. What do you guys think?