Review - Cress by Marissa Meyer

by Marissa Meyer
publisher: Feiwel & Friends
date of publication: February 4, 2014
format: ARC
pages: 550
source: publisher
series: The Lunar Chronicles (#3)
buy it: Cress (Lunar Chronicles)

From Goodreads:

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.

Things in the Lunar Chronicles universe are really starting to get exciting.  After Scarlet and Wolf's narrow escape, Cinder and company were left to orbit earth in order to avoid the authorities.  Enter Cress, computer hacker extraordinaire and prisoner of the Lunar crown.  Her biggest wish is to be released from her exile in space and to experience the planet she sees from her satellite's port window everyday: Earth.  Little does she know, her chance is about to arrive.

Cress was a very surprising character.  Usually when a girl in a story is daydreaming of being rescued, I'm silently yelling, "Save yourself, girl!"  This time, however, I was surprisingly patient about it.  That's probably due to the location of her prison (space) and the fact that she wasn't exclusively waiting on a prince-like figure to come save her.  While she was attracted to Captain Thorne, she was also aware that Cinder and her cohorts would play a large part in her release from the satellite.  When you take her naivete into account, it makes even more sense.  Here is a girl who has been isolated from interactions with all but one living being.  Her only company is a computer generated voice that she programmed to be her friend, after a fashion.  Seeing her learn her way through life outside the satellite is all the more fascinating because of all the aforementioned reasons.

The plot in Cress is really cooking now.  Here is where all planning ceases to be plans and becomes action.  Here is where Cinder and crew prepare to make their move.  Everything is on the line and the tension is just what it should be.  The world at large is nothing short of spectacular.  It takes on a special emphasis when you observe the characters moving about in it.  All in all, Cress absolutely comes alive.  You can't help but jump right in and get lost for a while.

This series continues to amaze me.  Each book is better than the last.  Cress is no exception.  I can only imagine what book 4, Winter, has in store.  If these past 3 books are indication, it's going to be phenomenal.  If you have yet to pick up book 1, Cinder, trust me.  You must read these books, especially if you enjoy science fiction and/or fairy tales.  The nuances the adaptation of each fairy tale lends to the story overall makes it something you won't want to miss.

Review - Scarlet by Marissa Meyer

by Marissa Meyer
publisher: Feiwel & Friends
date of publication: February 5, 2013
format: ARC
source: from the publisher for review
pages: 464

From Goodreads:

Cinder returns in the second thrilling installment of the New York Times-bestselling Lunar Chronicles. She’s trying to break out of prison—even though if she succeeds, she’ll be the Commonwealth’s most wanted fugitive.

Halfway around the world, Scarlet Benoit’s grandmother is missing. It turns out there are many things Scarlet doesn’t know about her grandmother and the grave danger she has lived in her whole life. When Scarlet encounters Wolf, a street fighter who may have information as to her grandmother’s whereabouts, she has no choice but to trust him, though he clearly has a few dark secrets of his own.

As Scarlet and Wolf work to unravel one mystery, they find another when they cross paths with Cinder. Together, they must stay one step ahead of the vicious Lunar Queen who will do anything to make Prince Kai her husband, her king, her prisoner.

Picking up right where Cinder leaves off, Scarlet takes an already fantastic story and runs with it, all the while introducing more characters and creating even more nuances for what is already an intriguing and fully engaging story.  This isn't the Little Red Riding Hood you may remember from your childhood.  Instead, you get to experience a futuristic, suspenseful adventure that will render you speechless.

Not only do we get to continue with Cinder (who we already know is an awesome character), we also meet a new character, Scarlet, who has her own challenges and her own objective.  In some ways, Scarlet has a lot in common with Cinder.  She was brought up by someone other than her parents and has a fiery demeanor that keeps those around her on their toes.  Unlike Cinder, however, Scarlet is much more stubborn, leaving her with little patience and a great deal of trouble.  Add a mysterious stranger in the form of Wolf and an egotistical, self-styled space captain and you have the makings for a rousing adventure with many twists and turns.

Plot-wise, Scarlet is every bit as riveting and surprising as Cinder.  The addition of new settings and storyline shifts keeps the story from becoming stale.  Instead, Scarlet picks up the pace and carries you away with its ever-increasing intensity.  If you thought Cinder introduced everything there was to know about the world of the Lunar Chronicles, think again.  You haven't seen anything yet.

With Scarlet, The Lunar Chronicles just got even better.  If Cinder and Scarlet are this good, I can only imagine how Cress and Winter will turn out.  Whether or not you have already read and enjoyed Cinder, trust me when I say that Scarlet is well worth the read.  If you haven't read Cinder, do so.  You need to read Scarlet as soon as humanly possible.  Know that Scarlet is no wolf in grandma's clothing.  This series is well worth your time and attention. 

Buy Scarlet at the Following Locations:

Amazon / IndieBound / B&N / The Book Depository

Obligatory legal statement: This advance review copy was provided to me free of charge by the publisher for review purposes. No monetary compensation was received in exchange for this fair and unbiased review.

Review - Monument 14

by Emmy Laybourne
publisher: Feiwel and Friends
date of publication: June 5, 2012
format: ARC
pages: 294
source: from the publisher; Fierce Reads campaign

From Goodreads:

Your mother hollers that you’re going to miss the bus. She can see it coming down the street. You don’t stop and hug her and tell her you love her. You don’t thank her for being a good, kind, patient mother. Of course not—you launch yourself down the stairs and make a run for the corner.

Only, if it’s the last time you’ll ever see your mother, you sort of start to wish you’d stopped and did those things. Maybe even missed the bus.But the bus was barreling down our street, so I ran.

Fourteen kids. One superstore. A million things that go wrong.

In Emmy Laybourne’s action-packed debut novel, six high school kids (some popular, some not), two eighth graders (one a tech genius), and six little kids trapped together in a chain superstore build a refuge for themselves inside. While outside, a series of escalating disasters, beginning with a monster hailstorm and ending with a chemical weapons spill, seems to be tearing the world—as they know it—apart.

 

From the very first page, Monument 14 succeeds in instilling a sense of foreboding.  The opening words are the epitome of words left unsaid and, upon reading them, you just know that there is a lot of heartbreak on the way.  What ensues is a chain reaction of events that will rock the characters in the story to their very cores and leave you, the reader, shell-shocked beyond belief.  From cover to cover, Monument 14 delivers with trials, tribulations, emotions, and enough action to keep you on the edge of your seat.

The cast of characters that make up Monument 14 are as varied in temperament as they are in age.  From the 5 year old twins to the 18 year old high school seniors, attitudes differ, emotions run amok, and conflicts arise.  Shy, gawky Dean, the narrator and our guide through life in the Greenway in apocalyptic Monument, Colorado, is as flawed as he is endearing.  You can't help but feel for the guy but, at the same time, he does mess up.  A lot.  Unlike characters from other books, however, Dean's mistakes aren't simply a nuisance to the reader.  They add an edge to all of the other things going on in the story and make reading about the situation all the more intense.  Dean's reactions to the various occurrences are nothing short of fascinating and I my attention was definitely held by both his point of view and the events as shown through his eyes.

I don't know what it is about apocalyptic settings that I find to be so intriguing, but the setting for Monument 14 especially delivered for me.  The storyline was captivating and the pace was brisk enough to add a higher level of urgency to the book's atmosphere.  It was so easy to get a sense of who everyone was thanks to the dialog and the descriptions of both the kids' surroundings and the events that take place are vivid.  It almost felt like I was right there alongside them, trying to figure out how to get the pizza oven to work properly and keep the little kids out of trouble (as if I don't get enough of that in my day-to-day life; ha!).

Monument 14 is one of those books that refuses to let you out of its grasp.  I found myself staying awake until the sun started to appear in the horizon because I simply could not stop reading.  I expect I could have finished it in 12 hours if I hadn't needed sleep.  It was that enthralling.  If you're in need of a book with lots of action and the complexities of human reaction, look no further.  Emmy Laybourne's debut, simply put, knocked my socks off.  I'm going to be anxiously awaiting the next book.  I just can't get enough!

Buy Monument 14 at the Following Locations:

Amazon/  IndieBound  /  B&N  /  The Book Depository

Obligatory legal statement: This advance review copy was provided to me free of charge by the publisher.  No monetary compensation was received in exchange for this fair and unbiased review.

Review - Of Poseidon

by Anna Banks
publisher: Feiwel & Friends
date of publication: May 22, 2012
format: ARC
pages: 324
source: from the publisher as part of the Fierce Reads campaign
read it in: 2 days

From Goodreads:

Galen, a Syrena prince, searches land for a girl he's heard can communicate with fish. It’s while Emma is on vacation at the beach that she meets Galen. Although their connection is immediate and powerful, Galen's not fully convinced that Emma's the one he's been looking for. That is, until a deadly encounter with a shark proves  that Emma and her Gift may be the only thing that can save his kingdom. He needs her help--no matter what the risk.

Emma doesn't know what hit her (or rather, what she just hit) when she stumbles into a gorgeous boy on the beach.  Little does she know, Galen's not just any boy: he's a Syrena prince, and he's searching for a girl with a very rare power.  When tragedy strikes and a startling talent is revealed, Emma's world begins to change in ways she could never have expected.  As the two begin to develop feelings for each other, both will have to come to terms with what all that they thought they knew.  Will things work out in end... or will it all be for nothing?

Emma is such a fun character to read about.  Much of her dialog is just plain funny and I found myself laughing at her quips from the very first page.  She's also stubborn and far more temperamental than she initially gives herself credit for, which gives you the sense of knowing her more than she knows herself, sometimes.  She is very much a firecracker and she can definitely keep you on your toes just as much as she keeps Galen on his!  As for Galen, he does have some irritating, macho qualities, but he does seem to be learning ever so slowly by the end of the book.  Keep it up, Galen!

I really enjoyed the way in which Of Poseidon was written.  The dialog was witty and fast-paced, which made for a smooth ride through the story.  I know some have been thrown off by the transition from first person narration to third person omniscient, but I didn't have any issues with it and think I may even see where Ms. Banks is coming from with it.  The first person narration, in this case depicting Emma's point of view, works as a means of telling the story from the main character's perspective, whereas the third person omniscient narration shows us what Galen is thinking and feeling without adding a second distinctive voice.  It made for an interesting change from what you usually see with dual perspective novels, one which I rather liked.  The only problem I encountered was a minor one in that I kept waiting for a huge threat to be revealed, since there were some allusions made to such an event.  What was revealed was shocking, but not quite what I expected.  If this is the only problem, however, I think it's safe to say that this is an amazing book and I very happy when all was said and done.

Of Poseidon is a delightfully fun read with great banter and an awesome premise.  The characters were easy to get into and the mystery element is imaginative and well laid out.  There's nothing quite like a good story and I can definitely say that Anna Banks has delivered with her oceanic offering.  The cliff-hanger ending left me wanting to keep right on reading and I can't wait to read the second installment.  Of Poseidon is one of my favorite "merpeople-centric" books, so far.  This will be a series to keep an eye on.

Buy Of Poseidon at the Following Locations

Amazon / IndieBound / B&N / The Book Depository

Obligatory legal statement: This ARC was provided to me free of charge by the publisher as part of the Fierce Reads campaign. No monetary compensation was received in exchange for this fair and unbiased review.

Review - Cinder

by Marissa Meyer
publisher: Feiwel & Friends
date of publication: January 3, 2012
format: ARC
pages: 387
source: from the publisher
Amazon / Goodreads / B&N

From Goodreads:

Humans and androids crowd the raucous streets of New Beijing. A deadly plague ravages the population. From space, a ruthless lunar people watch, waiting to make their move. No one knows that Earth’s fate hinges on one girl. . . .

Cinder, a gifted mechanic, is a cyborg. She’s a second-class citizen with a mysterious past, reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsister’s illness. But when her life becomes intertwined with the handsome Prince Kai’s, she suddenly finds herself at the center of an intergalactic struggle, and a forbidden attraction. Caught between duty and freedom, loyalty and betrayal, she must uncover secrets about her past in order to protect her world’s future.

In this thrilling debut young adult novel, the first of a quartet, Marissa Meyer introduces readers to an unforgettable heroine and a masterfully crafted new world that’s enthralling.

What I Thought

When I first read the plot description, I was caught somewhere between bewilderment and intrigue.  I am a sucker for a good fairytale variation.  However, I was surprised to see mention of androids and cyborgs.  However, feeling adventurous, I knew that I had to try this book.  I am very glad that I did.  Not only did Cinder satisfy my craving for a unique Cinderella variation, it also piqued my interest in a genre that I typically don't read very often.  That speaks very well for the book, already.

Though I took a little time to warm up to the idea of a cyborg as a main character, I quickly grew to love Linh Cinder.  Not only is she unique, she is also tough, witty, and sarcastic, all qualities that I enjoy in a lead character.  This isn't your mama's Cinderella figure.  Instead of a damsel in distress, Cinder gets herself out of any scrape she gets into on her own and all the better for it.  I found it really refreshing that she didn't need saving by her prince.  Instead, it's up to her to save the prince from a terrible fate, something which I found to be a great change of pace.  That's not to say that Prince Kai is a weakling.  On the contrary.  While he has his doubts about his imminent ascension to the role of Emperor, he is no pushover.  There's no weakness to be found from the main characters, something which I adored about this book.  As for the "bad guys," there are plenty.  Cinder's stepmother and the evil Lunar queen Levana are some of the most infuriating antagonists I've read in quite a while.  I was positively seething when I read about the stepmother's treatment of Cinder.  As for Levana, I wouldn't have been at all surprised to found out that she was the cyborg manifestation of some murderous dictator in disguise.  She was that evil.  You definitely won't be left lacking for in-your-face characters.

The setting for Cinder was probably the biggest adjustment for me to make.  It is very futuristic in an almost bleak way.  You really get the sense that though technology has made vast advancements, these advances have come about as the result of some terrible things.  New Beijing is described as half-way between budding wasteland and bustling metropolis, something I found to be difficult to picture.  It was actually very much a dystopian setting, something that I hadn't quite anticipated.  Eventually, though, I was caught up and it all became an integral part of the story.  I enjoyed every bit of it in the end.

Cinder is one of the most unique variations I have ever read.  When I couldn't stop thinking about the book after I finished reading it, I knew that I had read something very awesome.  Whether you are a fan of science fiction or not, give this one a try.  Marissa Meyer doesn't disappoint with her vivid imagination and detailed world-building.  Cinder gets a 5 hoot rating for its fresh and riveting storyline.

Obligatory legal statement: This ARC was provided to me free of charge by the publisher. No monetary compensation was received in exchange for this fair and unbiased review.