Cress by Marissa Meyer

Cress is the third book in the Lunar Chronicles series. Told from the point of view of almost every character in the story, the complicated storyline begins to solidify. Cress fits seamlessly into the fold of the story, just as Wolf and Scarlet did. Any reservations about another character being added should be cast aside, because the almost 500 page book doesn't leave anything out. Cinder even gets a little romance *wink wink*.

Anyone who's read my reviews about the first two books will know how much I adore this series. Even with those high expectations, Cress absolutely did not disappoint. In fact, this is probably the best book in the series so far. There is a lot of action, and each character goes through a different part of the journey, so it never seems tedious. The twists are nonstop, but it isn't ridiculous. Loose ends that are all but forgotten from previous books jump into place, and resolve themselves perfectly. The planning that must have gone into this series is incredible, because not only does it have a creative and original storyline, but it ties in the traditional fairytale stories as well.

The romance is subtle, but that's something to be appreciated in itself. Since most of the original fairytales consist of the protagonists falling hopelessly in love with each other at first sight, it's important to reserve the reality factor in retellings. Thus while the romance may seem slow, it's a subtle undercurrent throughout the entire book, and is just enough to keep you satisfied. While the characters all mirror their ancient origins, Meyer has managed to thoughtfully bring a new dimension to their actions and words that brings them to life more realistically than the original stories.

Since this is the third book in the series I'm trying to be very careful about not revealing andy spoilers, because a lot changes in this book from the second. I would absolutely recommend this book to anyone who has the time to dedicate to really sitting down and reading this series. The only thing that I find a little disappointing is that because of the complexity of the storyline, I imagine it will take more than a year for the next book to come out. A quick search has revealed a late 2015 release date on November 10th. The title is Winter, without an illustration yet. It will be interesting to find out if there will be another princess added to the story, or if the main cast will remain the same. Based on the title, I believe we will be seeing more of Queen Levana's stepdaughter, the frail princess who we were briefly introduced to in Cress.

Four Stars

Rosalie Williams

Cress on Goodreads

Greta and the Goblin King by Chloe Jacobs

This is the kind of book you would never admit to liking. The name, Greta and the Goblin King, implies a kind of cheesy-ness that makes you embarrassed just to say the name. But despite the self-eplanatory name and poorly marketed cover art, I actually enjoyed this book a lot.

The goblin king, Isaac, had the strong willed determination that is often lacking in the heroes of YA literature these days. In a time that is fiercely promoting female heroes and strong heroines, I find myself missing the knights in shining armor. But what stood out about this book is that it had a strong heroin and a knight! Not only that but there was romance and a brief love triangle!

I would say the biggest turn-off about this book was a lot of the plot contained simply this: Isaac chases Greta, trying to convince her to trust him. She kisses him and almost believes him, the goes all defensive and runs away. Repeat several times.

That was frustrating because I really liked Isaac and I wanted to scream at Greta to get herself together! But in the end she managed to straighten everything out, and even saved some people! I think the finale was fitting for the story, and she even admitted her feelings in the end which was a nice change from the stubbornness that she maintained throughout the entire story.

While it wasn't one of those breathtaking books that changes your life, I enjoyed it. Despite some heavier material in the plot, it felt light, like I wasn't taking on some great burden that will weigh down my soul as I read. It was a feel-good read with fun characters and a vivid new world. If there is a sequel I am looking forward very much to reading it.

The creativity of Ms. Jacobs is extremely refreshing, and it was nice to not be able to predict a plot for once. While the stubbornheadedness of Greta did sometimes get on my nerves, she was a good person all around, and a real person. I think the maturity that the characters showed really elevated the storyline. It wasn't a bunch of hormone ridden teens making rash decisions and professing undying love to each other after knowing each other for a day. This was a real plot, with excitement and fantasy. Really a perfect book if you enjoy the genre as much as I do.

I would highly recommend this book if you can get over the cover and the old-world title, because it truly is a wonderful story.

Four Stars.

Rosalie

Greta and the Goblin King on Goodreads

Scarlet by Marissa Meyer

After a confusing reaction to the first book, I had a lot of trouble convincing myself to read the second. I'll admit that after retrieving it from the library I allowed it to sit dormant on my shelf for a week or so. I can't hide that I was procrastinating reading it. But now that I have I am very glad that I did.

First I've come to the conclusion that the reason the first book left such an unsatisfying aftertaste in my mouth is because of the romance that I witnessed. Prince Kai was pretty great, but as soon as he became emperor he lost all his freedom, and so the romance in the book failed pretty miserably. But I am happy to say that the romance in the second is much better.

Another apprehension I had about Scarlet is I didn't like the idea of new characters being introduced into the story. But in the end I can say I like Scarlet and Wolf's story more than I liked Cinder's. Cinder had a rather boring tale throughout this book, but Wolf and Scarlet were thrilling and so much fun to read.

At one point something happened that upset me so much I put the book down and didn't pick it up again for a solid two days. I was so afraid that what happened in the first book was happening again in the second–the romance was being ruined. But in the end that moment only made the ending more exciting, and so much better when Scarlet and Wolf resolved themselves.

It's a long book, I will say that. There's a lot of plot and character development throughout it though. It's basically two stories in one, so it makes sense to be so long. The font is rather wide and big, so it doesn't actually take too long to get through. The story is so interesting that you can blow through fifty pages without even realizing it, I assure you that.

Meyer did a good job of balancing the stories. Sometimes with story and personality breaks, the author will cut at the climax of one person's story, to something less interesting going on with another character. This is a dire pitfall because then the reader is tempted to skip that chapter (as I will admit to doing more than once), and in good writing every chapter should be important, and the reader unable to skip a chapter. As I said Meyer did a good job of avoiding this, and keeping the reader engaged.

There are two more books in the series, or that's what I've been told. I can say I am much more excited going into the third than I was going into the second. Meyer is a gifted writing, crafting a world wonderful, exciting and imaginative, that you can't help but fall in love with. If the next two books are as good as this one was, I think it's safe to say this will be one of the best works of YA writing we've seen in the current decade.

Four Stars.

Rosalie

Scarlet on Goodreads

Cinder by Marissa Meyer

Cinder was a hard sell for me, and even finished I can't decide whether or not it's a winner. Fairytale retellings are like candy to me, so much fun and yet so romantic and lovely following those original story lines. Classic princess tales like Beauty and the Beast, the Little Mermaid, will leave be crying every time. So I was very excited about a Cinderella retelling. But I'll say this book left me with very mixed feelings. I don't usually lay things out in lists like this, but I feel it's the only way to organize my very muddled thoughts in this case. So here goes! Things I did not like: 1. The cyborg issue-Obviously she's still mostly human. We have people nowadays with prosthetic limbs, and they aren't treated like minorities… 2. The ending—She shows up in a gross dress with gross gloves. I get that it's supposed to show how much of an underdog she is and how what else could she do and all. But come on. Cinderella is supposed to show up and surprise everyone with her beauty, not like she crawled out of the gutter. 3. Her reasons for not attending the ball—Even now I'm not quite sure what they are. I guess she wanted to escape that night, but Prince Kai asked her to go! Why not leave the next night? 4. The whole immunity scam by the doctor—Had the doctor not lied to her the whole time and just straight up told her she was the missing princess, a lot of things could have been avoided. 5. Prince Kai—Okay he was sweet, but really he kind of annoyed me. I think his character lacked personality. 6. Decision making—Decision making in this book was down the drain. Half the choices Cinder made ahd me slapping my forehead in disbelief. Come on hun, have some common sense please! For example, not telling Prince Kai you're the lost princess…really dumb my friend. Things I did like: 1. The lunar thing—Okay, that was brilliant. A branched off race of human evolution living on the moon? Bravo. Original, and very possible. I wish she had gone into their society deeper. 2. Lost princess—Even though I called it from the beginning, I still really liked it! 3. Mechanic aspect—I liked that about Cinder's character. I think it added an edge to the story that made it more fun than if she'd been a baker or something. 4. Science—As a Medical buff I enjoyed the little bit of science we got exposed to. So as you can see the did not like list is longer than the liked list. But that's human nature, isn't it? We can always complain better than we can compliment. Either way, I enjoyed the book, but I was a little off put throughout the entire story. I am planning on reading the next book, and I am looking forward to it, although I do have my reservations. I think the conclusion to this story could either be fantastic or a total train wreck. Three Stars Rosalie Cinder on Goodreads