Review: Cress by Marissa Meyer

Cress

Marissa Meyer

(The Lunar Chronicles #3)

Publication Date: February 4, 2014

Hardcover, 550 pages, Feiwel & Friends

Genres: YA, Sci-Fi

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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.

My Review

I put off reading this book for a very long time simply because I didn’t want to wait 12+ months until I could read Winter. But for some inexplicable reason, I really wanted to read Cress this month. So I did. And do I regret it? Not really.

This book had my emotions all over the place. I was holding my breath, shaking my head, and laughing all in less than fifty pages, every fifty pages. However, I didn’t love it as much as I enjoyed books one and two. Do I understand why? Nope. I’m wondering if maybe it’s because, while I like Thorne and Cress, I don’t love them like I do Cinder, Wolf, and Scarlet. I think they’re great, they’re just not as great. Ya feel me?

I don’t feel like there was a lot of character development in the book. Instead, there are more action scenes, which I’m okay with. Cinder does grow a little bit to brace herself for her new role, but Cress remains pretty much the same throughout the whole book. But Wolf’s character, god his scenes were like a knife to the heart. Poor Wolf…

I did like the new additions to the series, Jacin and Winter. Of course, we get to know very little about them, but I still liked them. I also enjoyed the doctor dude’s return (I can’t remember his name right now). His role in the story was very touching, but it was waaaaay too brief. This is saying a lot that I want more from him because I hated his chapters in Cinder. Oh, and speaking of hating chapters, I can’t stand the Kai point-of-view chapters. Why? Well, they’re boring. They’re mostly made up of Kai trying to figure out what the reader already knows. I don’t think they’re at all necessary.

Overall, I really liked Cress. I flew threw it, despite it being the longest of the books in the series so far (Did you hear that Winter is supposed to be 800+ pages???). I’m excited for Winter and I want to know how in the world Cinder and co. are going to beat the snot out of Levana.

*Note: I purchased this book myself.