Published: January 27, 2015
Pages: 220
Source: Gifted
Rating: 3.5 Stars
In this stunning bridge book between Cress and Winter in the bestselling Lunar Chronicles, Queen Levana’s story is finally told.
Mirror, mirror on the wall, Who is the fairest of them all?
Fans of the Lunar Chronicles know Queen Levana as a ruler who uses her “glamour” to gain power. But long before she crossed paths with Cinder, Scarlet, and Cress, Levana lived a very different story – a story that has never been told . . . until now.
Marissa Meyer spins yet another unforgettable tale about love and war, deceit and death. This extraordinary book includes full-color art and an excerpt from Winter, the next book in the Lunar Chronicles series.
Mirror, mirror on the wall, Who is the fairest of them all?
Fans of the Lunar Chronicles know Queen Levana as a ruler who uses her “glamour” to gain power. But long before she crossed paths with Cinder, Scarlet, and Cress, Levana lived a very different story – a story that has never been told . . . until now.
Marissa Meyer spins yet another unforgettable tale about love and war, deceit and death. This extraordinary book includes full-color art and an excerpt from Winter, the next book in the Lunar Chronicles series.
In short: Fairest by Marissa Meyer is a fascinating - and tragic - look into Levana's backstory.
It did make for a pretty fascinating read, after all. Fairest tells a pretty tragic story about Levana, everything from her disfigurement and self-esteem issues to an especially bitter tale of unrequited love. It's pretty disquieting to read about such awful turmoil and the heartbreak that Levana faces as part of her origin story and it almost makes you feel sympathetic to her plight. Almost. She's still an altogether terrible person. And a disempathetic-type sociopath.
Fairest is largely about Levana and her backstory, but we also get a look into the foundation of the virus, beasts, shells, etc., that make up the groundwork for the premise and conflict in the series, so that was pretty interesting, albeit perhaps a little lacking in nuance in the way it was communicated. Overall, though I don't think Fairest was mind-blowing in any significant way, I did really like getting some insight into Levana's mind and Luna's motive.
Previously, my reviews of Cinder, Scarlet, and Cress.
Other Reviews:
Carina's Books
Megan Likes Books
Time Turning Reads
Author Links:
Website
Blog
Goodreads
I haven't still started this series sadly and everyone seems to be raving about this series!! The characters look amazing! Nice review!
ReplyDeleteHaniya
booknauthors.blogspot.com
Ohh, you should get to it soon!
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ReplyDeleteI'm reading this next.
ReplyDeleteGreat review:)
Aparajita @Le' Grande Codex
Excellent :)
DeleteI liked peeking into Levana's warped mind. I did feel sorry for her for a little while but she left a bad taste in my mouth by the end of the novella. I can't wait for Winter to come out!
ReplyDeleteYes, I started out feeling a bit sorry for her, but I really couldn't keep that up for long considering her actions. Winter!!
DeleteWe rated this one exactly the same! It was compelling enough that I read the entire thing in one afternoon but I couldn't for the life of me find any sympathy for Levana, as other readers seemed to. She was in total denial from the start when it came to her 'romance' and I just wished someone would shake her out of her fantasy. I knew they wouldn't though, of course. My favorite bits were in fact the background on Luna, the viruses, and Cinder and Winter!
ReplyDeleteIt's true, it's like people who feel complete sympathy for Snape despite his abominable decisions. Not that I blame her entirely for her thought processes if she had been raised to believe that way.
DeleteI still need to read this one, but I am curious about learning more back story in terms of Levanna and this world. Thanks for sharing your honest thoughts. I'm excited for Winter!!
ReplyDelete-Lauren
I would recommend reading this one before Winter comes out as it has some interesting backstory on Levana's stepdaughter!
DeleteThis is another series I haven't gotten to, yet. It's nice that you're liking it. And tragic stories make for the greatest stories. Winter is the next book in the series, right? I hope you love it more! Nice review.
ReplyDeleteSarika @ The Readdicts
Awesome review Aylee. <3 So happy that you enjoyed this one :D But aw, I'm sorry that you didn't fully love it :\ but yay for still enjoying it a lot. <3 Levana is an awesome villain. Just, ugh. I want Winter already :) And eeek! Thank you so so much for linking to my review :D You are the sweetest. <3 Hugs. Thank you for sharing your thoughts about Fairest :)
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