Review: Cress by Marissa Meyer

Cress by Marissa Meyer

the third book in the Lunar Chronicles series
published on February 4, 2014 by Feiwel & Friends
fantasy | science fiction |romance

Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository
haven’t read the other books in the series? check out my double review of Cinder and Scarlet!

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.

–

“You know, when I was a kid, I was tricked into thinking that princesses wore tiaras and hosted tea parties. Now that I’ve met a real princess, I must say, I’m kind of disappointed.”

Wit, charm and charisma? This book has it all, folks. In the third installment to the series, we reunite with previous heroes and heroines with a new addition to our league! Cress (Rapunzel) is introduced to us as a hacker–also a damsel in distress. Stuck within a satellite, she longs to be free and to help Cinder, as well as the gorgeous (YES–absolutely gorgeous) Captain Carswell Thorne.

Okay, wait, let’s talk about each of the characters and their development. First we have Cinder and Kai who were introduced to us from the first novel. I really thought that Cinder grew on me in this one–I didn’t love her in Cinder, but now? Freakin’ love her. She really showed that she can be a tough, determined leader who isn’t afraid to get her hands dirty. And then Kai, her love interest… I still don’t know. In contrast to everyone loving Kai, I kind of think he’s a bit plain and slightly boring. It might just be me… (It’s just like me thinking Prince Maxon’s a snoozefest while everyone gushes over him.)

And then we have Scarlet and Wolf. I loved them in this novel! I guess I got attached to Wolf on this one. He showed a lot of emotion, and he had this really cute side that I wanted to cuddle. His love and care for Scarlet was just amazing. Scarlet was pretty awesome as well! I thought we could’ve had a bit more time with her character, but she was pretty badass in the chapters that featured her. It’s also realistic that she still can’t come to terms with her feelings for Wolf. (But I hope they live happily ever after with a million min-Wolfs.)

There’s also Cress, our new girl, and Thorne (who was introduced in Scarlet, but he had a lot more publicity in this one), my one true love. Cress was cute. And smart. She was a genius, basically, who could work magic with technology. I also liked how she accepted that she was in dire need of help, rather than feeling tough but not showing it. Of course, Thorne was amazing in this one. He was so charismatic and charming, but he also had a soft, more caring side–one of my all-time favorite book boyfriends, maybe.

The plot was just pure genius and the pacing made the book unputdownable. I love, love, love Marissa’s writing and the world she has created. I love how the characters were separated and were individually resourceful and independent enough to survive, finding ways to stop Levana and all those other badass things. There were also a few twists, and maybe they weren’t told in a “shit, didn’t see that coming” way, they were still twists. And I love twists. Or maybe I’m the only clueless one who didn’t see them coming? Oh, well. Better try harder at guessing stuff.

While I basically raved in this review, this one lacked the love I felt for a lot of other books, so I couldn’t really give it 5 stars even if I want to. Maybe it was because of the slow-ish beginning, or how I couldn’t see what’s so good about Kai? I don’t know. Still, this was a pretty entertaining read! If you haven’t read this series yet, go read it now! 

Other Reviews

1. Jeann @ Happy Indulgence says that Marissa Meyer is a genius and that Cress was a magnificent, flawless story. Check out her review here.

2. Giselle @ Xpresso Reads loved the novel and said that it was her favorite of the series so far! Check out her review here.

Let’s discuss! Have you read this book? If you have, what did you think of it? If you haven’t, will you be picking it up anytime soon?