Review: Cress by Marissa Meyer

5 February, 2014 Reviews 32 comments

Cress is here! Cress is here! Cressity Cressity Cress is here!

While Rapunzel was never my absolute most favorite of the fairytales (Beauty and the Beast, duh) it was always near the top of the list. And then Tangled came out,

Flynn Rider
Ahem

and gave me a thousand and one more reasons to love the tale.

Flynn Rider smouldering
Though it only took one.

So, needless to say, when I heard that The Lunar Chronicles would feature a Rapunzel retelling, it quickly became the most impossible to wait for thing in all of the land of things (and I am not exactly good at waiting).

I mean, seriously, this series is already more or less the best ever, futuristic scifi fairytail retellings? Hello mashup of awesomeness. Throw in a fantastic cast of characters, spaceship hijinxs, genetically engineered wolf-hybrid ninja armies, you probably thought this this series couldn’t get any better, right?

Well you were WRONG. (Or at least, you were if you were me) because Cress is definitely my favorite of all the Lunar books so far.

First we have Cress. Dear, sweet, adorable, Cress. I love Cress, can you tell I love Cress? Cress is shy and a little weird and definitely a lot niave as a result of having spent most of her life floating around in a satellite with only a computer program she wrote for company (okay, and the internet, which, hello, that’s a life right there). She has this incredibly endearing and relatable tendency to pretend she’s someone else (example, a fearless explorer) when she’s nervous, to give herself the confidence to get through the situation. If I had one complaint, I would say that she adjusts to being around people pretty interesting, and I think there were some hilariously awkward possibilities that were missed there.

Tangled

 

And then there’s Throne. Well, there was already Throne, and we were already in love with Thorne but now there’s MORE THORNE. ALL THE THORNE. THORNE WITH A SIDE OF THORNE AND A LITTLE MORE THORNE SPRINKLED ON TOP. That right there should be enough to convince you to pick up the book. Thorne is in full Thorne in Cress. He’s sniping with Cinder, goofing around with Iko, and occasionally proving that he can actually be a pretty insightful, nice guy underneath all that swashbuckling, Thorney Thorne swagger.

Flynn Rider being awesome.

 

Amidst all the giggles and squees and delightful characters, there is some serious action going on. With a continually sprawling cast of shifting POVs there is a lot of stuff going down. Levana is closing in, the people of Earth are short viable solutions to deal with her and her terrifying army of mind-controlled super soldiers. The plot has most definitely thickened, my friends.

The advantage of this being book three is that the conflict, villains and world have all been pretty well established so the reader is dropped right into the middle of the action. I can’t tell you much because spoilers, but know that I was gasping and shrieking and sniffling and freaking out all over the place. Tense things, exciting things, sad things, OMGISTHATREALLYTHAPPENING things. Lots of things were happening is the takeaway bullet point here.

Loving a current series from book one is a tricky thing, you continually fear the next installment won’t live up and I am quite pleased to tell you that there are no worries here. Every book in the Lunar Chronicles skillfully builds on the previous to the point where I actually hyperventilate a little when I think about Winter and the long, long wait.

Loved  Cinder  and Scarlet? You’re going to love Cress. Haven’t started the Lunar Chronicles yet? What are you waiting for? Go! Now! Already read Cress?  OMG HOW BAD DO YOU NEED WINTER IN YOUR HANDS RIGHT THIS EXACT INSTANT?

32 Responses to “Review: Cress by Marissa Meyer”

  1. Amanda

    I’m only about a quarter of the way through and I’m pretty much experiencing the “OMGISTHATREALLYTHAPPENING” parts, as you so eloquently put it. Great review, I love this book so far and it seems that everyone else loves it too!

    • Meg Morley

      RIGHT? I definitely got a little hyperventilate-y a number of times while I read.

  4. Inky

    UM I NEED WINTER RIGHT THIS SECOND AND KIND OF HAVE FOR LIKE THREE MONTHS NOW. The one issue with Advance Copies…. Lol. JUST YES. I adore this fairytale and am SO happy with how Marissa did it justice! ALL THE FEELS. ALL THE SWOONING.

    I’ll take a THORNEY THORNE dish to go please!
    Inky

    • Meg Morley

      DEAR PUBS, CAN WE ALL HAVE WINTER RIGHT NOW? KTHXBYE! Seriously, how are we supposed to wait? HOW?!

    • Meg Morley

      Glad you liked the gifs, I briefly worried they were an obvious choice but quickly realized more Flynn Rider is never a bad thing.

  7. Cait

    I looove this series SO MUCH! *hugs copy of Cress* My copy of Scarlet just came in the mail today and I’m kind of dancing around the house with it (I’ve read it, but yeah, who cares? IT’S GORGEOUS). I love how the books keep getting better and better. And I ship Thorne/Cress SO HARD. They’re adorable…though creepily identical in personalities to Tangled. Not sure what to think about that….

    • Meg Morley

      Dance away! I totally know what you mean, I have all three in hardcover and sometimes I pull them off the shelf to pet them and admire them and maybe hug them a bit. I agree, this series just keep building, Winter will probably leave us all with month-long book hangovers.

    • Meg Morley

      Hahaha, every time I tried to think of a way to describe him, that popped in my head so I just went with it.

  11. Heather

    Wonderful review! I was SO excited for Cress! I really thought her and Thorne would be my favorite characters in the series. And while they are GREAT, am I the only one who is totally fangirling over Jacin? I did NOT expect to love him as much as I did. And now I’m especially excited for Winter. I am not a fan of Snow White, but I really think she’s going to end up my favorite.

    • Meg Morley

      YOU ARE NOT ALONE! I am totally on the Jacin fangirl train. I think Winter’s ship may end up being my favorite, we’ll see.

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  13. Natalie

    I CAN FINALLY READ YOUR REVIEW.

    Yeah, I loved Cress. And you mentioned something that I forgot to in my review – her pretending to be other people when nervous!! I LOVED that. It was such a great character detail.

    All the Thorne please. And all the Iko too.

    I think there was a lull in the middle of the book, and I think the characters got separated too early…but yeah, this series is awesome. And I almost wish I hadn’t started Cinder until Winter was already out because now I have to wait. BOO.

    • Meg Morley

      YAY!!! The pretending to be other people struck such a cord with me, it’s totally something I do.

      I see what you mean about splitting the characters off too early, we definitely missed out on some amazing group dynamics.

      The wait for Winter is going to be awful! I think it’s going to be epic and I’m already shipping 😀

  14. Lisa (Fic Talk)

    I only finished Cinder last night. Late last night. It was so worth the book hangover I am experiencing. Can’t wait to start Scarlet!

    #teamIko #teamPrinceKai #teamCinder <– I just LOVE THEM ALL.

    Also, we did get a quick glimpse of Cress but she wasn't mentioned by name but obvs I know it's her.

  15. Christina (A Reader of Fictions)

    Oh Megasus, you’re so cute.

    You are not good at waiting; I will vouch for you on this.

    “Hijinxs” <- that's interesting.

    YES, Cress is totally the best so far (despite my grumblings about the romance). I MEAN, HELLO THE MOST AWESOME PLOT EVER WITH CONSTANT ACTION.

    OMG, MEG. I LOVE YOU. Yes, how awesome would it have been if she had actually been awkward for more than that first video chat and part of the desert walk. I'm sorry, she should not be adjusted to "modern" life yet. Or, at the very least, she should have lots of wrong ideas because tv. Someone who has spent most of her life just talking to her seven-year-old self should not be all that well socialized.

    I still like him better when he's being Thorney than when he's all swoony. It just felt like he changed too much, and I want him to be more Wash and less Mal again in the next book, OKAY.

    WINTER IS COMING.

    WAY TOO SLOWLY

    AND THERE ARE NO ARCs

    (which is a totally logical thing for Macmillan to do and no judgment)

    BUT OMG THE WAIT WILL BE FOREVER LONG.

    INTERMINABLE

    *sobs*

  16. Far Far Away

    Dear Cuddlebuggery,

    Firstly, may I commend you on having such an eloquent name. I am pleased that cuddle comes first.

    While, I haven’t read Marissa Meyer’s fairy tale parodies, I do like to read what your world has to say about mine. In fact, so much so that I wrote letters to all of the inhabitants asking them to tell me of their daily lives so that I could get the truth.

    I have now started releasing their replies on Mondays and Fridays at my tavern. I’m currently telling the tale of The Apple Princess (which I believe is called “Snow White” in your world). I do hope you drop by!

    Yours,

    Far Far Away