Title: Cress (Lunar Chronicles #3)
by Marissa MeyerPublishing Info: February 4, 2014 by Macmillan
Genres: Fantasy, Science Fiction, Young Adult
Find it on the web: Buy from Amazon // GoodreadsDate Completed: September 14, 2013
Related Posts: Cinder (Lunar Chronicles #1), Scarlet (Lunar Chronicles #2), , Glitches (The Lunar Chronicles #0.5), The Queen's Army (The Lunar Chronicles #1.5), Carswell's Guide to Being Lucky (Lunar Chronicles #3.1), Cinder (The Lunar Chronicles #1), Scarlet (The Lunar Chronicles #2), Cress (The Lunar Chronicles, #3), Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4), Stars Above (A Lunar Chronicles Collection), Heartless, Wires and Nerve, Volume 1 (Wires and Nerve #1), Renegades (Renegades #1)
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.
How in the WORLD do I make it through this review without just straight up fangirling all over the place? Deep breaths… I will try to remain calm. Except for the fact that LEGITIMATELY CRESS may be the best book I have ever read. No exaggeration. Okay, okay, where do I start…
Let’s start off with Cress herself. I really loved her as a new addition to this cast of characters, which was all ready pretty amazing. Whereas Cinder and Scarlet are tough and take-charge, Cress has been kept naïve and obedient all of her life… Except for when she finally decides to take action and disobey her guardian Sybil Mira in order to help Cinder and her own personal idol and heartthrob, Carswell Thorne. I really appreciated how well done Cress’s character was! I think often times when characters are portrayed as naïve and innocent, it’s overplayed and the character becomes a caricature of themself, but Cress felt incredibly real and had a lovely range of emotions that made me really connect with her. She has an adorable crush on Thorne and that also really added to the depth of her character. She slowly begins to find out things about Thorne, about the Lunars, and even things about herself that really helps her grow as a person and come out of her shell. (No pun intended since she herself is a shell.)
Speaking of Thorne — I cannot even wait to talk about him. Normally I save my gushing over the romances for later it the review but nope. Can’t do it. Thorne absolutely stole my heart in CRESS and I’m so glad we got to see more of him! I had suspected in SCARLET that since he was partnering with Cinder, there was going to be a romantic development between the two of them, but I’m so glad we get to see that romantic side of him develop with Cress. I love the balance between the two characters and how well they work together. They both really learn a lot from each other and grow immensely since we’ve first seen them in the series. There are some SUPER SWOONY MOMENTS and my heart absolutely melted so many times. Eeee, just thinking about those super swoony moments sets my heart all a-flutter again!
Another thing I really enjoyed about CRESS was getting deeper into the history of the Lunars and seeing more Lunar characters. They absolutely fascinate me and I love learning more about their culture and history so that was definitely a big plus for this book! We’ve been learning more little by little as our heroes find out but CRESS featured them much more prominently and I was absolutely enthralled with their story lines. Their history and their characters provide some AMAZING twists and the way the histories of the characters are weaved… I’m absolutely floored when these twists are revealed. The plot of this series is genius and I love how each character adds a new layer to the story without leaving the other characters behind. Instead of battling for the spotlight, these characters fit together perfectly and create one fantastic series.
The action and adventure in this series is phenomenal. I don’t know why, but I often feel lost reading action scenes… Either they’re over explained or not detailed enough and I just end up getting a little lost in the melee, but Marissa Meyer does not have those issues at all. I felt like I was watching a movie the entire time I was reading CRESS and the action scenes did not let me down! Really, the whole book felt like a movie and I may be jumping the gun WAY too much, but this is a series I NEED to see as a movie or TV show. (I’m hoping for movie!) I would absolutely die to see this series on the big screen because dare I say it, but I agree with Stormy when she left a comment on my Top Ten Tuesday a while back — This is a series of Harry Potter proportions. I don’t think I’ve loved any series as much as this since Harry Potter and I would love to see it all come life off of the pages as well!
Okay, okay, time to talk about the rest of the romances. I love that we get to see more of Scarlet and Wolf’s relationship. They have something really special and you know what… I love that each romantic relationship in this book is so incredibly different. The characters are unique and yet they fit together perfectly. I know everyone was swooning over Prince Kai in CINDER and yes, I liked him, but I didn’t quite swoon until CRESS. There’s a big moment which obviously I won’t spoil but one thing that really bridged the gap between liking and loving Kai in CRESS and I went absolutely nuts for it!
CRESS is by far the best book I have read in a long time in the best series I have read in a long time. Marissa Meyer has gold with The Lunar Chronicles and CRESS just made me fall in love with the series that much more. Each new story we get just adds to my love more and more and as much as I had already loved the series, CRESS has solidified it as one of my favorite series of all time. The Lunar Chronicles definitely has a special place in my heart and you bet I will be HIGHLY anticipating the release of WINTER… Oh, the agony the waiting will be…
Cress // Character Obsessions: Technology, Carswell Thorne, helping Cinder.
Cress is adorable. She’s sweet, innocent, naïve, and completely lovable. She is a fantastic addition to this character ensemble and I totally fell in love with her story. She brings so much to this team and I’m so glad we get to see her story and how it fits in with the rest of the crew!
Carswell Thorne // Character Obsessions: Humor, flying, being a general outlaw, sarcasm.
DON’T EVEN LET ME START ON THORNE. I positively love him. I. swooned. HARD in CRESS. Thorne was witty, supportive, sly, romantic, adorable, smart… Oh lordy. He was just fantastic and I’m so so so glad he became even more of a main character in CRESS.
Kept Me Hooked On: EVERYTHING. The Lunar Chronicles. Sci-Fi, dystopian, fantasy, retellings, fairy tales. Action, adventure, romance, suspense, twists. I can’t even tell you how much I am in love with this series and CRESS just brought everything to the next level. This is serious business, folks.
Left Me Wanting More: EVERYTHING. CRESS was not lacking anything that I can possibly think of but it left me aching for of The Lunar Chronicles. I’m easily a Marissa Meyer fan for life and I very well may pass out when WINTER comes out. Just saying.
Addiction Rating
BUY IT! BUY THEM ALLLL
If you haven’t read any of The Lunar Chronicles yet, WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?!?! This is one of two series (*The Grisha Trilogy*ahem*) that I will book push at you until the end of time! Trust me, I was skeptical about a cyborg Cinderella too, but it is sooooo much more than that. TRY IT. YOU’LL LIKE IT. No, you’ll LOVE IT.
BOOKS LIKE CRESS
(Click the cover to see my review!)
26 thoughts on “Cress (The Lunar Chronicles #3) – Marissa Meyer”
I loved that Thorne and Cinder did not end up together. I mean Thorne and Cress = OTP of the year! When I read Scarlet, I already saw glimpses of the amazingness that is Thorne. Also his wit and humor added to the already grim tone of the book.
I’ve read Cinder, and’ve got Scarlet waiting for me on my shelves to read soon, so I would love to win Cress! 🙂
I just started on this series recently because I’m not that fond of sci-fi but after reading Cinder I felt like kicking myself for not starting earlier!! It’s just awesome!! Loved the, characters, writing and the way the plot flowed. By the looks of it, it just keeps getting better!! I’m dying to get started on Cress!!
I love reading your review. I can’t believe I have not find the time to read this yet!
I have not read this series but have the first two waiting to be read right now on my shelves. I have a funny tendency to try to collect an entire series before diving into it. I hate cliffhangers and fear them… mainly because they threaten my sanity. I have heard such wonderful things about this series. Great review!
“Marissa Meyer has gold with The Lunar Chronicles and CRESS just made me fall in love with the series that much more.” –> You basically have expressed my EXACT feelings for this book. I finished it last Saturday, and even though I was happy, I was also sad thinking that it would be another YEAR until we get Winter in our hands. Marissa is such a fantastic writer, and manages to reel all her readers in, and I truly think she deserves all the fangirling in the world from us fans!
So excited for my copy to come in a few weeks time! I will probably do a happy dance around the house that day. I am in love with this world that she has created. I can’t wait to officially meet Cress and learn more about the Lunars.
Marissa Meyer can do no wrong IMO. She is just so amazingly talented.
Wonderful, wonderful review that has me even more pumped!
Now I’m even more depressed that the ARC got lost. *sobs* I was so looking forward to reading this. Oh well. I guess I will just have to wait until February 4th with the rest of the world. Stupid post office. Or greedy neighbor. I would love to see this series as a movie as well!! I think it would translate so well on the big screen. But they have to do it right. If they messed this series up I would be pretty devastated. Definitely one of my all-time favorite series that I shove down anyone’s throat that is willing to listen.
AHHHH you have no idea how upset I am! I am SO SO SO sorry that it turned out this way!! I really wish we could find the ARC 🙁 🙁
I’ve been thinking about reading these books for quite some time and I think your enthusiasm for them has convinced me to read them. Plus, they sound like great reads for me to order for my library’s collection so my high school students can read them!
Oh YAYYY. They are so good! I don’t think you’ll be disappointed! 😀
I want this book sooooo bad now! Ahhhhh I can’t wait!
I can’t wait for you to read it! It’s so amazing! I already want to re-read haha
Wow, a series of Harry Potter proportions? I’m not sure if I can agree to that assessment just yet after only having read Cinder and Scarlet. Maybe I will after Cress? Regardless, I do agree it’s a fun series.
And YES about action scenes. I am the same way and have a difficult time visualizing them. If an author can make me really understand, then that’s super impressive. And from what I remember, Meyer is pretty good at those.
Cress sounds like a character I can really like, and I’m glad she doesn’t end up feeling like a caricature. I hope that I end up loving this book as much as you do, Brittany!
YESSSS. That’s how much I love this book & this series! I hope you end up adoring it!
Thanks for commenting!!
I just took a peek to see if you enjoyed the book. I haven’t read this trilogy yet. I know! I know! After the whole Allegiant fiasco, I decided to wait to see how everyone enjoyed the ENTIRE trilogy before starting it. I think this trilogy is a go for reading. 🙂
I really want to leave a long, thoughtful comment on this review(because it is fabulous!) but even time I try to start I just get so excited about this book! It makes me so happy that you love it so much, though, since I know we both really loved the first two, and if your love for this series just gets better with each book, I have a feeling I’ll feel similar about Cress!
Though, let’s be honest: How am I suppose to ship Cress with Thorne? Because I ship ME with Thorne. Just sayin’, haha. I know I’ve said before I have very few book crushes but Thorne is definitely one of them, and that’s only after reading SCARLET, so who knows how I’ll fangirl after Cress!
Oh my gosh, I know, Brittany. I know. Thorne is quite possibly the first character from a book who made me swoon. MULTIPLE TIMES. Oh my gosh, I loved him and Cress and this WHOLE BOOK. So much.
I don’t think I can adequately describe how excited I am for this book and you’ve just made me want it even more. February can not come quick enough.
Okay its offciail you’ve made the wait for this book about 100% worse. I was so worried for this ome because with the sddition of a new POV i was worried it would just seem like too much and i would get annoyed/bored but I don’t think thats the case!
Lily @ Lilysbookblog
I truly didn’t think it was possible, but now I am even MORE excited about reading Cress. I cannot wait for February 4.
Also, now I’m dying to get to that scene that made you love Prince Kai. Oh, and I’m excited about Cress as a character. I love when an author creates a naive character well.
Okay whoa I really have to get into these books now. When just “Cinder” was out it didn’t really strike me as something I’d want to read but as the series goes on I continue to see NOTHING but AMAZING reviews. Thanks for sharing!
Ok, I skimmed your review because I didn’t want to know anything about Cress, but I did get that you loved it and I can’t wait until it comes out! Just a month to go!
You did a wonderful job! I have attempted to write my review many times and just keep writing LOVE all over the place. Is there anyone that doesn’t love this series? Meyer has done such a beautiful job writing these books. They are just perfect in everyway and each one gets better than the last. I can’t WAIT until Winter comes out.
I can’t wait for Cress & I think you made it worse. I 100% agree this is one of the few must purchase all the book series I have. And they are amazing on audio too.