Book Review: Cress by Marissa Meyer

Cress (The Lunar Chronicles #3)

Marissa Meyer

Review of Scarlet (The Lunar Chronicles #2)
Review of Cinder (The Lunar Chronicles #1)

Publication Date: February 4th 2014

Publisher: Feiwel and Friends

Pages: 550

Genre:  Fairytale, Scifi, Adventure, Young Adult

In this third book in the Lunar Chronicles, Cinder and Captain Thorne are fugitives on the run, now with Scarlet and Wolf in tow. Together, they’re plotting to overthrow Queen Levana and her army. 

Their best hope lies with Cress, a girl imprisoned on a satellite since childhood who's only ever had 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 of Cress goes awry, the group is separated. Cress finally has her freedom, but it comes at a high price. Meanwhile, Queen Levana will let nothing prevent her marriage to Emperor Kai. Cress, Scarlet, and Cinder may not have signed up to save the world, but they may be the only hope the world has

Finishing Cress left me with a similar sensation to the first time I read Scarlet, that I liked it, but not as much as I hoped I would. I think for me, the Lunar Chronicles are a series I have to reread, because for some reason I enjoy them better the second time around. Honestly this makes them more valuable as books than those that I read once, enjoy immensely and never pick up again. These books have a lasting power.

Cress sees the continuation of the overreaching plotline from Cinder with the addition of the characters from Scarlet, plus the new plotline taken from the fairy tale "Rapunzel". "Rapunzel" happens to be one of my favourite fairy tales, though I still don't know why. I remembered watching closely when I heard Disney were going to get their hands into it (long before the general public knew), the pain when it got shelved again and the joy when it was brought back and designs were released. I went to see it opening night. I also wrote my own interpretation of the story in the story telling medium of Visual Novels.

One interesting thing that I have taken from these different versions is that Rapunzel ends up being characterized the same way: naive and awkward. But really, realistically how else is a girl supposed to be when trapped in a tower for so long? Cress is certainly my favourite version I have read. The way she is written and presented as a character once again solidifies what I stated in my review of Scarlet, that Meyer does characters strong and well. The relationship is also my favourite of the three presented so far in the series, it's adorable, quirky and tentative. Both of them are out of their depths and it's wonderful.

Though the characters are the stars of the books, the plot also continues to hold my attention, which after three books of it is not an easy task.

The biggest issue I had while reading the book can only get worse, unfortunately with the final installment. With each book, there is an increase of characters and plotlines. Last book, the balance was perfect. This time around, with Cress I started to feel a little overwhelmed. The story of Rapunzel got shafted a bit in the end, having to bow to getting the characters to where they're supposed to do so the main plot doesn't fall apart. Unlike in the first two books, this time I can see obviously where bits from the fairy tale were forced it. It was less natural.

I do think that this is something that will improve upon rereading and honestly I'm being a bit strict, perhaps, but I feel as though Cinder and Scarlet have set a bar.

All of that said, I am incredibly intrugued by the charactera of Winter and her probably beau and cannot wait to read them.

The bit that is the most awkward for me in the book was Cress's kidnapping just having her end up in a safe place. I get we needed to get them back with the group, but I felt like so much that could have been was cut out, because of all the other stuff that needed to be put in the book. Meyer had to make decisions involving pacing and length, and although I'm sure most would read an 800-page book by her at this point, her publishers probably wouldn't have been so keen on it. And I don't know how that would have affected the pacing of the rest of the book. There was already a slight feeling of the book being put on pause so that desert time could be squished in.

On a plus note, I love that Iko has a body now! And I love that it's so realistic. I want Iko to have a story! I want her to have lovey dovey time. I'm also really interested in how she has gotten so much personality. What in her programming has allowed her to create such a realistic AI.

Ah! The kiss. The kiss was so cute and I loved that he remembered her desert fever babblings. I love how Cress in general kept making Thorne control himself, and through controlling himself he realizes when he starts to become fond of her that he wants to be careful and learn how to do things right and not just spurt words of meaningless love. Cress realizing he is more than a "hero" like she thought is also really nice to see.

I wish I had been surprised when I'd learned that Cress was the doctor's daughter, but I had been spoiled for that by a review on Goodreads.

Are you not reading this series yet? Seriously? Get on it! Even if you're not a fairy tale person, it's a great YA Scifi story. Though of course loving fairy tales increases it's enjoyability. I'm also starting to believe that very few authors do characters as well as she does. Pretty much I recommend this to everyone. Read it!

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