Review: Cress (Lunar Chronicles #3) by Marissa Meyer

Release date: February 4, 2014
Author info: Website | Twitter | Facebook
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Pages: 560
Format: ARC
Source: Publisher
Buy the book: Barnes & Noble | Amazon | The Book Depository

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.

Going in, I knew I was going to love Cress. Between my love of the first two books in the series and the rave reviews I'd been reading, it was obvious. And that was completely true, but what's more is that I am so engrossed and in awe of the world and characters Marissa Meyer has created. I mean, I loved the first two books, but something about Cress made me realize the scope of what Marissa Meyer has written. It's almost incomprehensible, but also so wonderful.

With each book, the world is expanding and we're getting to know more and more characters. Each plot line is being intricately pulled in, showing the depth of story and leading up to what will ultimately a knock-down drag-out of a finale in Winter. In Cress, we meet Crescent Moon, the brilliant hacker Lunar girl who's been locked in a satellite orbiting Earth for years. She's naive and inexperienced, but she sees past the lies of Levana and tries her best to help those on Earth, though there's only so much she can do from her vantage point. Soon, she is able to leave her satellite, but her dream of going to Earth comes with a price and a whole new set of challenges. Here, she seems like she'd wilt under the pressure--and really almost does at times--but she keeps fighting.

And while Cress' strength is not the same kind of strengths of Cinder or Scarlet, that's what's largely so endearing and appealing about her. She's not physically strong, but she's smart and optimistic. The girl can hack into just about anything. She's loving and always wants to see the best of people. A strong female character is not necessarily one who can beat up people but is instead one who has courage in the face of adversity, who fights for those she loves--even if she isn't physically strong. I love the mix of strong female characters is this series.

Cress is an absolutely fantastic addition to an already outstanding series. I've given each book thus far five stars, but I think this one is my favorite so far. With so much going on and so many characters narrating and doing so many things, you'd think it'd get confusing or overwhelming, but that never happens. Each character is fully imagined and so easy to root for. The writing is lovely. And y'all, THE ENDING. I absolutely cannot wait to read Winter, though seeing this series end will be difficult.

About the author:

Marissa Meyer's first two books in the Lunar Chronicles, CINDER and SCARLET, debuted on the New York Times bestseller list. Marissa lives in Tacoma, Washington, with her husband and their three cats. Visit her at www.marissameyer.com.