By Marissa Meyer
Genre YA fantasy/scifi
Pages 222
Synopsis
This bridge book between Cress and Winter tells the story of Queen Levana and how she became the unassuming sister to the heir of Luna to its cold-hearted queen.
First Sentence
She was lying on a burning pyre, hot coals beneath her back.
What it has going for it
To be honest with you, even though I adore this series, I didn't have high hopes for this one. I didn't think it would be awful or hard to read but I just wasn't looking forward to it. Well, I sat down to read a few chapters and ended up reading the whole book. Of course I loved it! Don't get me wrong, it's hard to watch poor Levana become the cold-hearted beotch she is at the beginning of Cinder, but it was still entertaining. And interesting. I liked seeing how everything is fitting together. I loved seeing the start of the plague and the wolf soldiers. I loved getting a small glimpse of Winter and seeing where she falls into things. I can't wait to read her story. Meyer is an expert at weaving all the little details together into a beautiful piece of art and this book was no exception.
What's lacking
You can't really root for anyone is this story. It's Levana, for heavens sake! Seeing where she's coming from makes you a little sympathetic but she's still pretty awful. It's hard to read a book where you're not rooting for the MC.
Yea or Nay?
Is this one necessary to enjoy the series as a whole? I haven't read Winter yet, so I can't say for sure but I definitely would recommend it. It's very interesting to have all the little details that are only hinted at in the other books explained in full.
Yeah, I need to read this one before I move on to WINTER. I've had it for months -- not sure why I'm hesitating to actually read it. Maybe because it's about mean, nasty Levana? Probably that. I just need to bite the bullet. I'm sure FAIREST will be just as compelling as all the rest of the books in this series!
ReplyDeleteIt was. You'd have it read so fast. I put it off for awhile too but now that Winter is out I figured I better hurry.
DeleteFor some reason I was convinced I wouldn't like Fairest, so I ended up reading the Recaptains summary and then moved straight on to Winter (which I loved). I think I will go back to read it at some point though. I am definitely intrigued by the little details you've mentioned, especially since I only have a broad understanding of what happened. Thanks for the review!
ReplyDeleteI don't think you have to read it but I don't think you'd mind it either. I'm sure you'd enjoy it. I can't wait to get to Winter.
DeleteI love getting backstory of the villain. I think I'll like this one. I'm just trying to decide if I want to read it before or after I read the rest of the series. I've read Cinder and I kind of liked not knowing that much about Levana. Hmmm.
ReplyDeleteAs you read the others you might change your mind. I don't think you're missing anything important if you skip it but good writing and interestin details.
DeleteI'm glad you ended up enjoying this one more than you thought you would! It's great when authors can write from the POV of the villain and still make then sympathetic despite the terrible things they've done.
ReplyDeleteI'll be reading this one soon... very very soon...
ReplyDeleteI was debating skipping this one because I'm usually not a fan of .5 novellas or differing POVs, but you've sold me! I'll have to check it out now!
ReplyDeleteI've tried so hard with this series but it just didn't work for me. Then again, retellings never do. I'm glad you're liking it though.
ReplyDeleteI've only read the first book so really need to catch up. Good to know that this one is worth reading!
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you enjoyed it. Much as I love this entire series (well, the other four books), I just can't get enthused to read this one. But I'm still glad to know you liked it! :)
ReplyDelete