Heartless by Marissa Meyer

"Stuff and nonsense," he whispered, the words cracking. "Nonsense and stuff and much of a muchness and nonsense all over again. We are all mad here, don't you know?"

We all know the Queen of Hearts from Alice in Wonderland. She has a temper and dislikes white roses. Her husband is tiny and ineffective. Her favorite phrase is, "Off with their heads!"

Heartless gives us a look at her origin story. The Queen was once a young girl named Catherine. She is a Lady, daughter of the Marquess and Marchioness of Rock Turtle Cove. Her passion in life is baking, and she dreams of opening a bakery with her maid Mary Ann.

Catherine's parents don't approve of her baking. They think it isn't a fitting hobby for a Lady, but it catches the King's attention. He is her biggest fan, and everyone believes that he will propose to Catherine any day. Her parents pressure her into accepting the proposal, but it isn't what she wants. She doesn't love the King, but her mother threatens to fire Mary Ann if she doesn't agree to marry him.

Everything becomes complicated when the King hires a new jester. His name is Jest, and Catherine falls hard for him. They have a moment together in the palace gardens, then Jest invites her out to Hatta's mad tea party. Catherine performs a story for them, impressing them with her rose macarons. The party is broken up by an attack from the jabberwocky, a horrible monster.

After that perfect night, Catherine plans to cut Jest out of her life completely. It isn't proper for a young lady to love a jester, especially not a young lady who is being courted by the King. Yet she can't stop thinking about the handsome young man with the golden eyes. Is it possible for her to get her happily ever after? Honestly, we already know the answer, but it's always good to see how we get there.

I loved Marissa Meyer's Lunar Chronicles. Therefore, I was excited to read her new book. Heartless  doesn't have the extra twist that the other books did, by which I mean that it is basically a straightforward reimagining. It's still really great. Catherine was a great character, and I really sympathized with the choices she faced (To an extent...she kind of sucked at the end. I'd say more, but there's some major spoilers involved). It's interesting to read a standalone (I believe?) novel in a new series by Ms. Meyer, and I look forward to seeing what she writes next.

I received my copy of Heartless from Edelweiss, courtesy of Feiwel & Friends. It's available for purchase now.

Stars Above by Marissa Meyer

Stars Above was the final title in my Lunar Chronicles marathon...kind of. I read about half the stories along the way, then finished my project with the remaining stories. The book is a bunch of short stories that don't have a lot of effect on the main series. They're fun, but not strictly necessary.

The stories are:

1. The Little Android
This is a retelling of The Little Mermaid where an android falls in love with a human after saving his life. There is a short appearance by Cinder. This was previously released online.
2. Glitches
We see Cinder first arriving at her new home. I would have liked to have seen more of this, honestly. This story was in the back of my paperback copy of Cinder.
3. The Queen's Army
This one shows Wolf taken from his family to train for Levana's army. The story was in the back of my paperback copy of Scarlet.
4. Carswell's Guide to Being Lucky
Cress asked him about this story, where a young Carswell defends a girl being picked on at school. She thought it showed how good he truly is, but he had ulterior motives. You could get the story by subscribing to Marissa Meyer's newsletter.
5. The Keeper
A new story that shows a little of Scarlet's grandmother, Michelle Benoit, and how she became Cinder's guardian.
6. After Sunshine Passes By
Another new story, it shows a little of Cress' time with the other shells before she is placed on her satellite. 
7. The Princess and the Guard
New, we get to see Winter and Jacin growing up together. We also get to see the sad events that made Winter decide not to use her gifts anymore.
8. The Mechanic
New, it shows Cinder and Kai meeting from Kai's perspective. It's tragically short.
9. Something Old, Something New
A brand-new story that shows a little of what happens after Winter. Someone's getting married!

With this book, the Lunar Chronicles is complete. I really do like these books, and I enjoyed spending a couple months reading them all. 

Winter by Marissa Meyer

“And they all lived happily to the end of their days...”

Finally, we come to the end (Other than Stars Above). You can read the rest of the series here: Cinder, Scarlet, Cress, and Fairest.

Winter is Levana's stepdaughter, cousin to Cinder/Princess Selene. Many Lunars believe that she is the legitimate heir to the throne, and the people love her, so Levana hates her. Winter doesn't use her Lunar gift so she is slowly going mad. In order to get her to break, Levana manipulated her into cutting her face. Winter didn't break, and she still has the scars on her face.

Winter is in love with her childhood friend Jacin Clay. He joined Team Cinder last book, betrayed them at the end, but is kinda on their side anyways. His true allegiance lies with Winter. Winter asks for Scarlet as a pet, and gets to keep the poor girl. They form a strange friendship.

Meanwhile, Team Cinder decides to return Kai. Their new plan is to change the wedding venue to Luna. They will then sneak onto the planet and rally the poor, working class Lunars into fighting Levana. What they don't count on is an outbreak of Letumosis, which we just found out in Cress can infect Lunars now.

So the whole gang is on Luna, reuniting as the story goes. There's some angsty stuff about how far you can go before becoming like your enemy, how much you should sacrifice for the greater good, all that good stuff. We do have a lot of characters at the end, and a lot of plotlines to cover, but I think they are handled well. It was a satisfying conclusion for me, and I'll miss the characters I've come to know.

Fairest by Marissa Meyer

Continuing my Lunar Chronicles marathon, I read Fairest. It tells Queen Levana's origin story. We knew about most of the events in the book, we just get to read about them happening first hand.

The book starts just after Levana's parents died and her older sister, Channery, became Queen. Channery was cruel and spiteful. She used her Lunar gifts to hurt others, including her younger sister. Levana always uses a glamor to cover up her appearance, which is covered in scars from a childhood accident. Her sister mocks her, exposes her true self, is generally a bitch.

Levana is still a teenager when she falls in love with a guard. Unfortunately, he is married and his wife is about to have his baby. She dies after childbirth, and Levana uses her gifts to get the guard to fall in love with her. They marry, and his daughter becomes hers.

Not to be outdone, Channery becomes pregnant and gives birth to a girl named Selene, who we come to know as Cinder. Selene and Levana's stepdaughter Winter grow up together. Channery dies from a mysterious illness, leaving Luna for Selene to rule when she is old enough. Levana serves as regent and starts to think that maybe it would be for the best if she was Queen permanently. There's only the problem of her pesky niece in the way...

I hope that Fairest wasn't supposed to make me feel sympathy for Levana, because I didn't. A lot of terrible things were done to her by her sister, but she ended up doing just as many terrible things, if not more. The book did make me wonder about the Lunar powers. Levana saw herself as good, as knowing what's best for those around her. What if she wasn't just controlling those around her, but was also manipulating herself to act worse and worse, to believe that the horrible things were all for the best? I don't know if this has any basis, it just intrigued me.

Cress by Marissa Meyer

At the end of 2015, I challenged myself to read the entire Lunar Chronicles series, according to Marissa Meyer's recommendations. I had hoped to finish the series by the end of the year, but came a little short. I reread Cinder and Scarlet, as well as the novellas in between the books, and managed to finish Cress just after the new year.

You can read my reviews of Cinder and Scarlet through the links. I am somewhat ashamed that it took me so long to read Cress, but that's the way books are: too many titles, too little time.

The Lunar Chronicles is a fairy tale-science fiction mash-up. Cinderella is part cyborg and Red Riding Hood is in love with a genetically modified super soldier. The earth is being decimated by plague and the only salvation is from Lunar (As in from the moon) Queen Levana, who is evil. In the third installment, we meet our Rapunzel, Cress.

Cress is a Lunar, but she doesn't have any powers. (Normally, Lunars can control other people with their minds.) Since Cress can't control or be controlled, she is labelled a shell. Shells are traditionally rounded up and killed, but Cress ended up being sent to live on a satellite. She has all kinds of technological training and hacking skills and she does lots of secret work for her Mistress, Sybil, the head Thaumaturge/bodyguard for Levana.

All Cress thinks about is the world outside her tiny satellite. She watches videos, looks at pictures, and listens to music from earth, dreaming that she might experience earth firsthand. She also develops a huge crush on Carswell Thorne, the cocky criminal who escaped from prison with Cinder. She read about his various crimes through the years and considers him to be misunderstood.

Thorne, Cinder, Scarlet, and Wolf are all traveling on his (stolen) ship the Rampion when they contact Cress to get some hard evidence of Levana's plans (At the end of the first book, Cress had been the girl in the android's file who warned Cinder about Levana's bad intentions towards earth). They decide to rescue the stranded girl, but are interrupted by Sybil. Team Cinder escapes, but Sybil captures Scarlet and takes her back to Luna. They also end up with Jacin Clay, Sybil's pilot. Unfortunately, Sybil sends the satellite plummeting to earth...with Thorne and Cress still on board!

Fortunately, Cress was able to slow their landing, and the pair end up wandering through the desert. Thorne can't see because of the crash, and they have a terrible time between the hunger, thirst, and foot pain. They eventually come across a caravan of helpful people who escort them to a city. Thorne ends up disappointing Cress by gambling and flirting with an android escort, which gives their rescuers the chance to kidnap Cress and sell her to someone buying Lunars.

Meanwhile, the Rampion crew heads to Africa to meet up with Dr. Erland, the secret Lunar. Erland ends up being the guy buying Lunars, and he is also Cress' father. Team Cinder decides to stop the wedding and save earth by kidnapping Kai. There's some minor betrayal, but it all goes off without a hitch otherwise.

I remember the first time that I read Scarlet, it was sometimes hard to follow the story because I had trouble keeping track of whether the narrator was Scarlet or Cinder. It was easier the second read, but I have a bit more trouble with Cinder/Cress here. I am still a fan of Cress and Carswell Thorne is fantastic, so I love this book. We even get a glimpse of Miss Winter towards the end to gear us up for the last book.

 

Special Guest Post: Cinder by Marissa Meyer

Here is the special guest post of Cinder, by my esteemed friend Alex:

I've been wanting to start this series for forever...but I kept pushing it aside until a friend lent me the book. I really enjoyed the retelling of this classic fairy tale. I thought the big reveal was a bit obvious at the beginning of the book, but I think doing it that way made me enjoy the rest of it a bit more. I didn't have to play a guessing game at what was going on and where the story was headed. I loved that Cinder, the main character was a real snarky fighter. She never gives up or whines about her situation/predicaments even though she certainly has a right to. The side characters around her really made the story funny and the romance entanglement wasn't too much or not enough. Meyer gave me just enough of everything to make this book pretty good. I enjoyed that Meyer twisted it around and didn't stick to the original story.(It was nice for once to actually have at least one nice stepsister!) It kept me engaged the whole time. Excited to move on to Scarlet now!

Thanks, Alex! Full disclosure: this review was originally published on Goodreads and printed at my blog with permission from Ms. Alex Moore.

This guest post is sponsored by my insane desire to read the third book in the Lunar Chronicles, Cress. Details on that are here.

Shameless Ploy to Acquire Book

So, I am a big fan of the Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer. I have already read the first two, Cinder and Scarlet (Links go to my reviews of the books). The third book, Cress, is coming out in February. This is WAY too far away. Hence, I am shamelessly trying to win an ARC of the book.

In order to win the coveted book, I lent my copy of Cinder to my friend Alex. There is a promotion called Give the Gift of Cinder. You lend the book to a friend, share the friend's review, and then post links at the site. Twenty lucky people will be getting ARCs of Cress.

Now, why did I lend Cinder to Alex? We both work at Barnes & Noble together. Alex and I both love to read Teen books, and we recommend books to each other all the time. I know that she likes books with action and fantasy, as well as fairy tale retellings. Because of that, I am sure that she will like Cinder.

I will be posting her review here very soon (And hopefully I will be getting that book! :)

Scarlet by Marissa Meyer

My review of Cinder can be found here.

Spoilers for Cinder follow
In the first installment of the Lunar Chronicles, we met Cinder. She is part cyborg, and as it turned out, a Lunar. Actually, Cinder is the presumed dead Princess Selene, rightful heir of the throne until her aunt tried to kill her. Because of the extensive injuries from the fire, Cinder ended up a cyborg with a metal leg and hand. After the eventful ball in the first book, Cinder ended up in jail. Prince Kai felt betrayed upon learning the truth about Cinder, but he still pretty much loves her. The only problem is that a treaty with the Lunars makes it so that any unauthorized immigrants must be executed. Cinder is locked away in jail until then.

Meanwhile, a girl named Scarlet is worried about her grandmother. Michelle Benoit has been missing for two weeks, and the French police have given up searching. Scarlet's deadbeat father shows up and tells her how strange men kidnapped him. They tortured them to get grandma to talk, but she never did. Now, he is tearing the farmhouse apart to find whatever it is that the men were seeking. All he knows is that the men had strange tattoos on their arms, tattoos like the one on Scarlet's new friend Wolf.

Cinder escapes from jail, taking along an arrogant and funny captain named Thorne. They commandeer his stolen airship, and they are off to find the truth behind Princess Selene's origins, from a woman named Michelle Benoit (Sound familiar?). It's awesome that Cinder puts Iko's personality chip in the ship (Iko was the family's android, she was awesome and boy crazy and wore lipstick because she wanted to be human; the mother had her dismantled to punish Cinder and it was heartbreaking), so we get both her and Thorne for some humor.

In yet another storyline, Kai has to deal with Queen Levana. She is threatening to attack the earth unless Cinder is found and executed. We don't hear a whole lot from him, mostly how he doesn't really hate Cinder. His job sounds really stressful, and I feel great sympathy for what he has to do at the end of the book. Poor Kai.

Cinder and Scarlet do eventually meet, and they're most likely going to meet more fairy tale characters in books three and four. The rest of the story is Scarlet figuring out whether or not she can trust the mysterious Wolf (Yes, and no, but also yes- it's complicated), and Cinder coming to terms with being Lunar. She has powers to manipulate people, but she's afraid of hurting people like her aunt does. I still really like Cinder. In the last book, she was fitted with a fancy new hand that has a screwdriver and darts, so she is extra-tough for fighting. I'm ultra-excited to see her fight back for her throne in the next book, though I do wish we got to see more of that here. The story was still awesome and action packed. My only problem now is the lo-o-ong wait until the next book comes out!

Cinder by Marissa Meyer

At last, we have the book that asks the question we didn't know we wanted answered: What if Cinderella was a cyborg? The answer makes for a pretty solid young adult novel.

Once upon a time, there was a girl named Cinder who was part human and part machine. She was adopted by a kindly man who later died of Letumosis, a contagious plague that is killing the population of earth en masse. She is treated as a servant by her adopted mother, and as a second class citizen by the rest of the world.

Cinder works as a mechanic by trade, and one day is tasked with fixing a robot for the royal prince. Kai is taken with Cinder, though she is a lowly mechanic. He has no idea that she is also a cyborg, and though Cinder finds herself falling for him, she is afraid of how he will react when he discovers the truth.

In the meantime, Cinder's sister Peony, the nicer sister, falls ill with Letumosis. Their mother sends Cinder away for plague research, but instead of ending up dead, Cinder learns about who, and what, she actually is.

Finally, in yet another plot, the earth is also on the cusp of war with the Lunars. Lunars are powerful people from the moon and they are ready to go to war unless Prince Kai marries their Queen Levana. There are stories that Levana had the rightful Lunar heir, Princess Selene, killed. Nobody ever found the child's body, and there are rumors that she was smuggled to earth and adopted. The Prince has been doing research on Princess Selene, secret research that could mean trouble with the Lunars if Levana were to find out.

I very much enjoyed this retelling of Cinderella. Cinder was a great character, admirably strong and determined no matter how much adversity she faces (Which is a lot). I loved the romance between Cinder and Kai, and Kai made me laugh out loud several times. The whole Princess Selene subplot was incredibly predictable (It's obvious from the very beginning), but thankfully it doesn't detract from the story. All the elements of Cinder add up to a great read, and I for one am anticipating great things for the rest of the Lunar Chronicles.


I received my copy of Cinder from Netgalley. It will be released on January 3rd, 2012.