Published February 4, 2014
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Format: audiobook, purchased
Genre: young adult sci-fi/fantasy
To Buy: Amazon * Barnes & Noble
Rating: 5 STARS
(From Goodreads) 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.
Can I give Cress 5 MILLION stars? I mean, why not? It's my blog, right? Well, if I were to break my own rules for one book, this would be the one that would make it worth it. I have to tell you, I have never been as captivated by a book series as I am with The Lunar Chronicles.
Cinder and her band of merry men... and women... and androids have devised a plan to bring the evil Queen Levana down, but to make it work, they need the help of Cress, the lunar shell imprisoned on a satellite by herself. When things go horribly wrong in their rescue attempt, Cress and Thorne have to work together to survive the brutal desert, Cinder and Wolf have to overcome grief and frustration to find the help they need to get back on track, and Scarlet has to fight for her life. Meanwhile. Kai is struggling more than ever before as his wedding day draws near.
Marissa Meyer's mastery of this incredible story arc continues to amaze me. We are now three books deep in a four-book series - books that have each cleared 500-pages - and, a lot has happened. One would think that with better than 1,600 pages of story and POVs from more than a half-dozen characters that the reader would be confused most of the time.
Confusion is definitely not something that I'm experiencing. The genius of this story about a cyborg girl who needs to inherit an entire world in order to save another one is astounding. That concept in and of itself is something I would read. But, when you factor in the fractured fairy tale elements from Cinderella, The Little Red Riding Hood and now, Rapunzel, it adds a whole new layer of awesome for the reader to absorb.
Cress is a fantastic character. She's been sheltered her entire life, so her only experiences are limited to what she watched on TV. She's very shy and meek. And, yet, when she is faced with a deadly situation - being stranded in the desert with no shoes and limited water, her strength bubbles to the surface, and you find it is impossible to not only love her but respect her response to the adversity placed before her.
Captain Thorne - *sigh*. What a character you developed into in Cress. Whereas, in Scarlet, when we first met him, Thorne was painted as a superficial womanizer with little to no redeeming qualities. Cress took us beyond that mask, and the Thorne underneath it is most definitely someone to swoon at. His connection with Cress was adorable at first, and endearing and impressive later. I love Thorne HARD.
Of course there was a lot of perspective from Cinder as things are heating up for her in her attempts to stop Kai's wedding, thwart Levana's attempts to take over Earth, and reveal her true identity to the people of Luna. All in a day's work for a simple cyborg mechanic, right? Thankfully - THANKFULLY - in Cress, she gets some help from Kai. They finally share some screen time, and oh how sweet that was.
Once again, I opted to listen to the audio version of Cress, instead of reading the hard copy book. The narrator, Rebecca Soler, once again delivers a stunning performance. I think at least part of my infatuation with The Lunar Chronicles series has to do with her masterful delivery of all the characters. Even if you've already read the books, I recommend you listen the audio version - I think you'll gain a whole new appreciation for the series.
Cress has everything you could possibly want in a book. There's action, mystery, twists, turns, surprises, and epic love. The wait for Winter in early 2015 will be absolutely agonizing. But, that also means that I will have time to re-read the first three installments of this series a few more times.
I am listening to Cress. It is a fun experience. :)
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