Review: Stars Above by Marissa Meyer

Stars Above (The Lunar Chronicles) by Marissa Meyer (Feb. 2, 2016)
369 pages
Genre: Young Adult Fantasy
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Source: I bought it!
Purchase: Barnes & Noble | The Book Depository | Amazon
My Rating:

Goodreads Summary: The enchantment continues....

The universe of the Lunar Chronicles holds stories—and secrets—that are wondrous, vicious, and romantic. How did Cinder first arrive in New Beijing? How did the brooding soldier Wolf transform from young man to killer? When did Princess Winter and the palace guard Jacin realize their destinies?

With nine stories—five of which have never before been published—and an exclusive never-before-seen excerpt from Marissa Meyer’s upcoming novel, Heartless, about the Queen of Hearts from Alice in Wonderland, Stars Above is essential for fans of the bestselling and beloved Lunar Chronicles.

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My Review

The Keeper: This was the perfect story to kick-start this collection. I loved getting to read more about Scarlet's grandmother and Scarlet's life when she was younger. I also really enjoyed getting to read about this story first hand, the story where Cinder first makes her appearance on earth. I can't wait to read the next story. I already have so many feels!

Glitches: I don't think there is going to be a single story I won't enjoy in this collection. This story really sets up Cinder's life with her stepmother. I am glad I got to see a little bit into her past. Plus, spending more time with Peony was beautiful and heartbreaking. What a lovely girl.

The Queen's Army: This story wasn't as strong as the other two. The events that took place were nothing surprising, and I think that is why I didn't enjoy it as much. It did give me more respect for Wolf, but that is about it. I did like the story, but I am not sure it brought anything new to The Lunar Chronicles like the other ones have so far.

Carswell's Guide to Being Lucky: I can never get enough page time with Thorne. He was just as cocky and adorable when he was 13. This was a sweet story that highlighted a little bit of how Thorne grew up. I enjoyed getting to meet his parents. If only all the short stories were about Thorne's entire life, then I would be even more happy. ;) He is too charming for his own good.

After Sunshine Passes By: This story features Cress, who just so happens to be as cute and lovable as ever. We get a short glimpse of her life as a shell before she was stationed in the Satellite. My heart goes out to her. I liked this one a lot.

The Princess and the Guard: Honestly, Winter is the best. She is cute, captivating, and broken, yet stronger than anyone. Seeing Jacin and her together always makes me smile. This may be my favorite short story to date. I loved getting to see these two friends when they were younger. I really enjoyed getting to know them both a little better.

The Little Android: I am not sure how to put my feelings into words for this one. It was really good, and nothing like what I was expecting. This story isn't about any of the main characters from the series but a whole new one. It was interesting.

The Mechanic: I totally forgot there was going to be a short story where Cinder and Kai meet for the first time but is written from Kai's point of view! I do adore him so. This story just made me want to go back and read the whole series all over again!

Something Old, Something New: Sweet. Beautiful. Enchanting. Charming. Hilarious. I WANT MORE! I am forever thankful that Marissa Meyer gave us this little epilogue wedding story, but it still didn't fully fill my cravings for these characters. However, it really was a magical ending to a long and hard and wonderful series. I will miss these characters. Luckily I can always read the series again.

In the end... you are going to want to add this book to your collection! Don't miss out on these wonderful short stories. Who wouldn't want more time with these memorable characters? Read it. Read it now!

Review: Winter by Marissa Meyer

Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) by Marissa Meyer
827 pages
Genre: Young Adult/Fantasy/Fairy Tale Retelling
Publisher: Feiwel and Friends
Source: The library
Purchase: Barnes & Noble | The Book Depository | Amazon
My Rating:

Goodreads Summary: 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?

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My Review

Winter is here. It is finally here! I put this baby on hold at the library months in advance so I would be sure to get the book first. I got it. I read it. I freaking loved it.

I have no idea if this review will be easy to understand or if it will be anything other than me gushing about this series, but I had to write one. I had to fangirl for Cress and Thorne with all the other shippers out there. 

Winter is a long book so it took me almost a week to read. At 827 pages, I am beyond happy to report that there was never a dull moment. Winter is a stunning conclusion to the wonder Lunar Chronicles series. I already want to re-read this series and I plan to as soon as I get these beauties for Christmas. ;)

There are a lot of lovable characters that adorn the pages of Winter. I can't even being to pick a favorite. I loved them all and I loved all the point of views. Even though I usually am not a fan of an abundance of point of views, I adored every single one, and together the main characters make one hell of a team. Winter is kind. Thorne is charming. Jacin is loyal. Cinder is dedicated. Cress is brave. Kai is smart. Iko is unique. Scarlet is fierce. Wolf is strong. As for Levana... she is insane.  As for the ships... I LOVE ALL THE SHIPS!!!!!  I am sure you will be enthralled by these character's story just as I was.

If you have enjoyed the previous books in this series I am sure you will enjoy this one as well. A lot happened in this book. There are ups and downs and lots of close calls. There are even some spectacular fairy tale moments. I can't wait to see what you all think of this one! I am very sad the series is over, but I plan to relive it again and again.

Review: Fairest by Marissa Meyer

Fairest by Marissa Meyer (Lunar Chronicles #3.5) (Jan. 2015)
222 pages
Genre: Young Adult/ Sci-Fi/Fantasy
Publisher:Feiwel & Friends
Source: The Library.
Purchase:Barnes & Noble|The Book Depository|Amazon

Goodreads Summary: 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.

MY REVIEW

Fairest is a must read for all of those Lunar Chronicles fans out there. If anything you should read this book just to help ease the pain of having to wait until winter for Winter to come out since it isn't set to release until November. November! Sigh. I miss me some Thorne. Anyway...

Were you ever curious about Queen Levana? Seriously though, who isn't? I mean how can someone be that crazy? That mean? That straight up evil? Read Fairest and see for yourself who Levana really is.

I originally was expecting Meyer to use this book to try to get us fans to feel differently for Levana. Maybe even get us to dole out the sympathy card for her. My dear friends, that just doesn't happen. Even at times when you think just maybe you can understand where Levana is coming from, you really can't.

"There was an ache in her stomach, perhaps left over from the horrible dream. Or she supposed it could have been sadness, but that was doubtful." - pg. 7

Fairest shows us just how twisted, lonely, sad, and crazy Levana really is. I loved getting to know her when she was younger. I think she starts out at the age of 15 in Fairest. I just wanted to shake some sense into that girl, but I did really like getting this background on her. I liked getting to really know the evil Queen. This was a solid addition to the series.

Read Fairest and see how twisted Levana really is. See where she came from. It may not be as epic as the other books in this series, but you won't regret reading Fairest.

Review: Cress by: Marissa Meyer

Cress (The Lunar Chronicles #3) by: Marissa Meyer (Feb. 2014)

550 pages

Genre: YA/Sci-Fi/Fairy Tale Retelling

Publisher: Feiwel & Friends

Source: The Library

Purchase: Barnes and Noble | The Book Depository

Goodreads Summary: 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.

My Review

Cress is by far the best book in the Lunar Chronicles series. Cinder was just a nice read, Scarlet was a great read, and Cress was an amazing read. Each book just keeps getting better and better. I can’t wait to see what Winter brings to the table.

My very short review: SO MANY FEELS and the BEST SHIP EVER! (Obviously this review is going to be a big mash-up of praise and love and swoons.)

If you haven’t read this series I have no idea what you are waiting for. Cress will make you swoon, shock you, make you laugh, give you even more answers to what is going on, introduce you to new characters and bring back the best, and give you so many intense feels. You know what is even better? Cress is pretty long at over 500 pages. Sadly, it doesn't even feel that long because it just flies by, but it was nice to get a lot of fantastic time with the lovely characters. 

Cress is adorable. She made me laugh and smile and I want her to be my friend. Cinder is really starting to grow on me. I heart Wolf so hard, and I wish I could go into the pages and hug him for so many reasons. The readers also get a little more face time with Kai, which is never a bad thing, and more of the amusing Iko. Now let’s talk about the most important, best ship ever, the one that has me salivating, the one that kills me when I can’t continue reading about them, Cress and Thorne. I loved getting to find out even more about the people who are Thorne and Cress. I really hope they play a huge role in Winter, because I need more. I think Thorne is my new drug.

I don’t know if this even makes sense, but Meyer manages to be an even better story teller the third time around. I was completely immersed in the world she created, there are twists and turns I didn’t expect, (she is sneaky) and most importantly, she makes the characters come alive. I’m not going to go into the plot any further because I refuse to spoil it for you if you have yet to read it.

After reading this review I’m sure you know who I would recommend this book to…EVERYONE. After all of the books in the series are published I plan to buy a gorgeous set of them and put them proudly on my shelf.

Mini Reviews: Cinder & Scarlet by: Marissa Meyer

Cinder (Lunar Chronicles #1) by: Marissa Meyer (2012)

387 pages

Genre: YA/Sci-Fi/Fantasy

Publisher: Feiwel & Friends

Source: The Library

Purchase: Barnes and Noble | The Book Depository 

Goodreads Summary: 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.

My Review: I really enjoy a well done fairy tell retelling and although slightly too weird for my tastes, Cinder didn’t disappoint. All of the characters are interesting and I enjoyed the setting. Cinder, a cyborg, is an interesting character that is easy to feel for, I mean she does have an evil stepmother and an evil stepsister and they treat her like crap, so who wouldn’t feel for this young girl? I love that Cinder has a built in lie detector, I would love that, or maybe I wouldn’t, but either way it is pretty neat. I love her friend/android Iko. I was intrigued by the prince and found him to be quite cute, and all the other minor characters were pretty nicely fleshed out as well. I enjoyed Cinder and have no problem recommending it to other fairy tale retelling fans out there, but I would warn them that it is pretty sci-fi, because I just wasn’t expecting the book to be so weird. Overall, Cinder was a fun read.

My Rating: 3.5/5 

Scarlet (Lunar Chronicles #2) by: Marissa Meyer (2012)

454 pages

Genre: YA/Sci-Fi/Fantasy

Publisher: Feiwel & Friends

Source: The Library

Purchase: Barnes and Noble | The Book Depository 

Goodreads Summary: 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.

My Review: Scarlet is even better than Cinder. I wasn’t a huge fan of Cinder, but I’m a huge fan of Scarlet. Part of the reason as to why I liked this book more than the first is because I was prepared for all the weirdness (people from the moon with magical powers, cyborgs, etc.) this time. Not to mention that I loved the new characters that we are introduced to in this second book in the Lunar Chronicles series. Thorne is a little smart ass devilishly handsome man, Wolf is a delicious bad boy incarnate, Scarlet is that strong female heroine I love in my books, and Cinder is also back. I love how Meyer wove the Little Red Ridding Hood fairy tale into this book, it was definitely unique. There was more adventure in Scarlet, which is a major plus for me. At first I was worried this book was going to be way too predictable, but I was proven wrong the more I kept reading, boy was I not disappointed. I enjoyed this book so much more than Cinder that I would recommend people read this series solely based off the awesomeness that is Scarlet. Scarlet has better characters, more adventure, better/less predictable twists, and like I mentioned earlier, the retelling of Little Red Riding Hood fairy tale was by far superior to the Cinderella one. 

My Rating: 4.5/5 

Book Recommendation Friday #2: If you liked Cinder by: Marissa Meyer...

Book Recommendation Friday is back! 

I will try to come up with different and unique reading suggestions for each post. I only recommend books that I have already read unless noted.

The books I suggest aren't always necessarily the same genre/plot so much as they have the same feel... and are great reads of course.  

Click on the book title to find out more about each one. Enjoy!

If you liked Cinder by: Marissa Meyer...then you should read...

1. Rapunzel Untangled by: Cindy C. Bennet
2. Beastly by: Alex Flinn
3. Wolf Tower by: Tanith Lee 
4. The Pledge by: Kimberly Detring
5. Wicked Lovely by: Melissa Marr
6. Mermaid: A Twist on the Classic Tale by: Carolyn Turgeon (I have not read this one yet.)

For other reccomendations check out my If you liked...then read... page!

Do you have any books to add to this list or do you have any requests on what book I should feature next? Share below!