Rapunzel, Rapunzel…Let down your hair ;)

Cress – 5/5 

Yes…you saw that right. 5 STARS OUT OF 5 STARS!!! 🙂 I am so happy that I was finally able to pick up this next installment in the Lunar Chronicles!! WARNING: Due to this being part of a series, there will be SPOILERS in this review. The first part of this review will be spoiler free and I will let you know when the spoilers begin.

“Cress” is part of the Lunar Chronicles, which is a fantasy/science fiction fairy tale retelling. I mean, how are you NOT interested in this?!?! If you could not tell from the title of this blog post, “Cress” is a Rapunzel fairy tale retelling, and it was done oh so well! I feel like, of the three, this one was the most science fiction-y, which was super cool!

“Cinder” (the first book) was one of my top 5 books of 2014, so I clearly loved the first two books, as well. “Cress” is definitely my favorite, thus far! So so good! I was sucked right in and it held my attention the entire time! Super action packed! I loved it.

So…after thinking about it, this is probably the most I can say without spoiling anything – so, before I get into the spoiler section of this review, let me tell you!!! READ. THIS. SERIES! It’s so great! A fantastic YA fantasy/science fiction series that have some strong female protagonists, an incredibly creative world, and super duper action packed! As much as I hesitate with book to movie adaptations, this is definitely a series that I would LOVE to see adapted to film! So, here we go! Good-bye to all of you who have not read this series quite yet – I can’t wait for you all enjoy this series!! 😀

****************** SPOILER SECTION ********************** 

AAAHH!!! 🙂 I cannot even tell you! Y’all – I LOVED THIS INSTALLMENT!!! It was so action packed…the ENTIRE WAY THROUGH!!! I was so impressed. Marissa Meyer wrote this book from multiple POV’s, and I thought it was done so well! It was so great to see the different adventures happening in Africa between Farafra and the Sahara Desert, the Commonwealth with Kai, and Luna with Scarlet (unfortunately). I was most interested in hearing more about Luna and let me tell you, it was terrifying!!! 😥 Poor Scarlet.

Now introducing…Cress!! I. LOVED. HER!!! Loved this addition to the gang! Obviously the fairy retelling was Cress being trapped in the satellite, but something that I loved about her character was how smart she was! She is this genius hacker and I loved that about her! I love how each female addition to the series are strong and empowered in their own right, and Cress definitely lived up to the line of other strong women in the series. From being trapped in the satellite for seven years, I loved how in love with the Earth she was and how enthralled with everything she was. She was genuinely in awe of everything around her and I especially loved watching her relationship with Thorne unfold because she was so genuine, so naive, and so trusting. But, I loved it! I think it made her a perfect companion for a guy like Thorne – who is a bit more…not all those things…haha!! Aw Cress…I loved it.

Cinder is still definitely my favorite – especially now that she not only knows she is Princess Selene, but also because she has accepted her new identity. I am so excited to see the rebellion that Cinder leads on Luna, in order to take back the throne from Queen Levana. Cinder made a lot of difficult decisions in this book and I especially loved seeing her struggle with her Lunar gift. Cinder went back and forth throughout the entire book, learning how to best use her Lunar gift without stooping to Queen Levana’s level (aside from what happened with Sybil). Oh jeez…her relationship with Kai…swoon! Love it! I love that this is one of the few YA series that do not have insta-love! YES!!!! I cannot stand insta-love, as it creates such a false perception of building healthy relationships and healthy self-perceptions for younger readers.

Scarlet!!! 😥 My heart weeps for her!!! I was crushed when she was taken away to Lunar! Then reading about what the crazy Lunar child was doing to her to practice his gift?!?! 0_O So creepy!! I definitely got chills down my spine when I was reading this section and my heart broke for her. I could only imagine how terrible this situation must be for her. And her finger getting caught off…BY HERSELF?!?! So so heartbreaking!!! </3 Though, I was incredibly intrigued by her interaction with WINTER!!!! So creepy – I was watching one of my favorite BookTubers, Christine, and she described Winter perfectly! (I am going to link her book talk here, so you can check her out!) Winter definitely gave me a creepy Joker vibe, and I was so intrigued because I am ASSUMING that the next and final installment will be centered around her?! I have to assume that she is on the side of the good ones, but how?!?! She definitely seems a little off-center and just a little bit crazy, so I am very interested to learn more about her character in the next book and how she is going to aid in the revolution against Luna.

I was so impressed with how action packed this book was – I kept coming back to it every opportunity that I got to read. Not only was it action packed, but it was filled with so many twists and turns! The biggest one? Dr. Erland being Cress’ father?!?!?! 0_0 Oh my heart…mainly broke for Cress. I was not a huge fan of how fatherly Dr. Erland became so quickly – though, I understand since Cress was taken away from him, he believed her to be dead, and he was dying from a mutation of the letumosis disease?!?! Heartbreaking…just heartbreaking. That moment between her and Cress – aw, my sweet heart!! 😥

I know this review was a little long, so I am sorry about that – but I LOVED this book! I will definitely be picking up “Fairest” – I am so intrigued to hear more about her story and see how she came to be Queen Levana. I am bracing myself for quite the chilling read. Now, here we go! The countdown for “Winter” is on!!! Bring on November 2015!!!! Is anyone else with me in wishing and hoping for a cover sneak peek?!? Is that too much to ask for?!?! 😦 I cannot wait! I have been incredibly pleasantly surprised with this series and if “Cress” says anything, “Winter” is going to be a most epic finale!!! 😀