Fairest (The Lunar Chronicles #3.5) by Marissa Meyer

The story of what made Queen Levana a monster.  From her parents, to her childhood, her relationship with her sister, and her marriage, this book really shows you how Levana came to be the way she is in the 3 previous books.




















I usually don't review novellas, BUT this didn't feel like your typical novella to me.  It's longer, and I think very important to the overall series.  Sure, you probably don't HAVE to read it to understand the next book, but man things make so much more SENSE than they did before.

We get to see (or hear about) a lot of our favorite characters.  This takes place when Levana is 16- through the next 10 years or so.  We see Winter and Cinder (or Princess Selene as she's called) as babies and toddlers, Sybil and Jacin, we hear of Kai, Dr. Erland, and the genetic mutants (one of which would become Wolf).  We also get to learn a lot about things on Luna, how the society functions and what their problems are.

I was really impressed by this book.  I didn't think there would be as much content as there was.  I didn't think I would actually feel SORRY for a psycho like Levana, but I DID!!... at first anyway.  I really got to see why Levana became the person she did (not that it's right or anything).  Her traumatic childhood accident, the way her parents couldn't be bothered with their kids, her intense feelings of shame and not being good enough, it all built up until she slowly began to crack.  And by crack, I guess I mean she got hardened to her feelings, deciding that being a leader to her people and improving Luna's political position versus Earth was the most important thing... at all costs.  She became the villain that the Lunar Chronicles needs to have a really good story.  She became the Wicked Queen from all those fairy tales.

I really didn't want this book to end.  It was so interesting and I really feel like it could have been a 300 page novel.  I loved hearing about the history of Luna and wanted even MORE about what life there was like.

I now feel really prepared to read Winter (why isn't it here yet???).  At the end of Cress I was a little confused about Winter and Jacin and why he was loyal to her.  I was also slightly confused about her delusions and being a bit (or a lot) crazy, but now I'm totally getting it, and I can go into Winter feeling like I already know what makes her tick.

OVERALL:  A definite must in my eyes if you are as addicted to this series as most of us seem to be.  Hands-down it was the best novella I've ever read, I was wishing it would never end.  Now I want to read WINTER!!!

This Book Contains:

• Politics
• Murder
• Blood
• Unrequited "love"
• Many characters from the previous books
• Life on Luna

Add it to your To-Read List!!

My Rating: 4/4

How I got this book: It was a gift

Date Published: 1/27/2014