In this third book in Marissa Meyer's bestselling Lunar Chronicles series, 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 prevent her army from invading Earth.
Their best hope lies with Cress, a girl trapped 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 being forced to work for Queen Levana, and she's just received orders to track down Cinder and her handsome accomplice.
When a daring rescue of Cress goes awry, the group is splintered. Cress finally has her freedom, but it comes at a higher price than she'd ever expected. Meanwhile, Queen Levana will let nothing prevent her marriage to Emperor Kai, especially the cyborg mechanic. Cress, Scarlet, and Cinder may not have signed up to save the world, but they may be the only hope the world has.
- Used Book in Good Condition
Customer Reviews
Most helpful customer reviews
25 of 26 people found the following review helpful.
LOVE it! It just gets better and better!
By TSherm
5+ StarsI love fairy tales. I also love SciFi. Marissa Meyer does such an excellent job in putting these two together! It is amazing to me as well that in this third book of her Lunar Chronicles series that she also handles multiple points of view and story-lines so seamlessly without losing my interest or confusing me. This is storytelling at its best!I don't know how she comes up with the back-stories for her characters that build these amazing plots, nor how she creatively takes a beloved fairy tale (Rapunzel) and creates this amazing story. I just know that she does it well. I was immediately drawn in to Cress's world, her joys, and her fears from the first page. None of the characters in this series are perfect, and Cress is no different. I would say, however, that all the characters are perfectly flawed and I wouldn't change a thing about them. They are all consistent and I felt they react as they should if they weren't just in a storybook world. I loved Cress! She is amazing! She isn't my favorite character. I think Cinder, Scarlet, and Thorne are all vying for that place, but I still love all of these characters. I can't say that I love the villains, which are Queen Lavana and Sybil, but they are very true to who they are and what they do.I just have to note here that I am very happy with Thorne's place in the whole plot. I felt he was meant specifically for someone and now I know that he is and I am very happy about it. :) Prince Kai redeems himself to me in this book. I loved him in Cinder, not so much in Scarlet, and I am falling back in love with him in Cress. We also meet another leading man and a new leading lady that I'm sure will be much more present in the fourth book. I'm really looking forward to it!The plot kept me turning the pages. Meyer doesn't let her characters off easy. She is actually pretty hard on all of them. They have a serious fight they have undertaken with serious decisions to be made that have major consequences. I'm glad that it hasn't been too easy, even though it was pretty difficult in spots. I was a little worried about what would happen and I'm glad that I'm happy with the way things are going. I'm really not sure what is going to unfold in the final book. I can figure out what needs to happen and probably what will happen, but I also know that it is going to be a tough journey for Cinder and her companions.If you enjoy reading fairy tales (or very creative twists on them), or SciFi, then I would highly recommend reading Cress! The series just seems to get better and better. If there was a higher rating than 5, this book would get that for me.Content: Clean (there is some innuendo and violence, but I would still consider this clean)Source: Purchased
17 of 17 people found the following review helpful.Review from Esther's Ever After
By Brenna
There aren't very many YA book series I recommend to everyone - but The Lunar Chronicles is one of them, and Cress convinced me of that!Cress is a great addition to Marissa Meyer's series, and fits in nicely with the first two books. On top of that, Cress stands out as its own book with its own story and characters - with this third book, you can readily see how different the characters are and how each book has a different "feel" to it!Reasons to Read:1. Complex, detailed plot development:You see hints of this in Cinder and Scarlet, but by the time we get to Cress it's becoming clearer how much detail and thought Marissa has put in to this story. There are all sorts of secrets and twists that begin to make a lot of sense!2. Cress' character stands out on her own:One of my favourite things about The Lunar Chronicles is how each female protagonist (Cinder, Scarlet, Cress so far) is so unique from the others. And Cress is so naive and anxious, yet such a dreamer! I kept telling my younger sister that she HAS to read this book because Cress reminds me so much of her - and I think Cress is going to resonate with many readers (particularly some younger ones is my guess) or for all of us with our awkward moments.3. Fantastic balancing of a large cast of characters:At this point, there are a lot of characters bouncing around in Cress and it would be very easy for them to become muddled and confused but amazingly, they aren't. The story is set up with each character in a very specific position with their own unique purpose. To me, this is the best way to appreciate so many different characters at once.Of course, the downside of having so many characters is that even with 500+ pages, some characters just won't get the attention I'd like them to have (Scarlet, for example). I think Marissa does a remarkable job of keeping this from happening too much.Overall, I think Cress is the perfect addition to The Lunar Chronicles and an incredible third book! There's plenty of action, intrigue, and romance to easily hold the reader's attention and I easily and quickly read through its many pages.ARC received from Macmillan for review; no other compensation was received.
16 of 17 people found the following review helpful.Cress Delivers!
By Melissa's Eclectic Bookshelf
Cress, the third in Marissa Meyer's Lunar Chronicles, more than delivers. This installment starts off quickly and the pace maintains a rapid speed straight through until the end.... leaving the reader breathless and wanting more. Marissa Meyer's writing style is concise and smooth...giving us just enough descriptives without bogging us down...and thus keeping the reader engaged and unwilling to put this one down.Not only do we get to know Cinder, Kai, Wolf and Scarlet better but we are introduced to Crescent Moon and really get to know "Captain" Thorne in this book. Cress is simply an adorable character...very innocent, very naive and also incredibly brilliant. To top it off she is a true romantic at heart:) A great combination. And then there is Thorne *sigh*. I'll admit that he grated on me a bit at first...but then little by little his true colors came out and I was quite captivated and charmed in spite of myself.The plot moves much further along in Cress and we even get a little bit of a tease for The Lunar Chronicles Book 4 -Winter at the end. I can't wait to see how this tale plays out, can't wait to get to know Winter and can't wait to see more of Scarlet and Wolf (my personal favorites). If you've enjoyed this series thus far, I guarantee that Cress delivers. You won't regret picking it up.NOTE: Review copy rcvd from publisher . All thoughts and opinions in this review are my own.
