Cress (Lunar Chronicles, #3)

by Marissa Meyer

Frostbite Studios (Illustrator)

Incarcerated in a satellite, an expert hacker and out to save the world - Cress isn't your usual damsel in distress. 

CRESS grew-up as a prisoner. With only netscreens for company she's forced to do the bidding of the evil Queen Levana. Now that means tracking down Cinder and her handsome accomplice Emperor Kai. But little does Levana know that those she seeks, and the man she loves, are plotting her downfall . . .

As paths cross and the price of freedom rises, happily ever after has never seemed further away for Cress, Scarlet and Cinder.

This is not the fairy tale you remember. But it's one you won't forget.

• Publish Date: March 2023 (first published 1 February 2014)
• Publish Status: Forthcoming
• Publish Country: GB
• Publisher: Penguin Putnam Inc
• Imprint: Puffin
• Edition: FairyLoot Exclusive
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 560
• Language: English
• Special: Exclusive Design Signed Sprayed Edges

Reviews

[kimbacaffeinate]

Whenever I review a book from the Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer I immediately want to go all fangirl. Cress introduces “Rapunzel”, and is perhaps the strongest book in the series to date. Mini review: Intense and emotional with twists and turns that will hold you spellbound.

Cress begins in space, where we meet Cress and get a glimpse of the solitary life she has led in the satellite she calls home. Meanwhile Cinder, Scarlet, Wolf and Captain Throne are making plans to thwart Queen Levana and her grizzly army. A dangerous rescue plans ends in disaster separating our favorite posse and the tale that unfolds was fantastic.

All of our favorite characters are present and we are introduced too new ones. Cress is brilliant, naïve and incredibly brave. One cannot help but adore her. Meyer continues to flesh out her characters; even the secondary characters are well developed allowing the reader to connect. I felt their pain, elation, and fears. Each character has their own strengths and weaknesses. Together they create this team of crusaders that feels genuine. They work incredibly well together and I loved their interactions. We have a little romance, some delightful banter and moments that made me laugh aloud. Meyer’s introduces two new characters. Winter is Luna and gads if I don’t want to more.

One would think with all of the new characters introduced that we would lose a sense of the plot, but Meyer’s outdoes herself time and time again. Cress was flawlessly executed, from the changing points of view to the multiple threads. Things take a more serious tone, and the plot tightens in Cress as Meyer amps up the danger. There are some developments that are darker leaving me to worry about beloved characters. There was an emotional moment that made me cry. From the retellings to the intense plot she left me breathless and begging for more.

Fans of the series will be deeply satisfied with Cress. If you haven’t yet tried the Lunar Chronicles, now is the time! Catch up so you can be on pins and needles like the rest of us waiting for, Winter, the fourth book. From what we have experienced so far we are in for one heck of a ride.

Review originally posted at Simply Adrift.

Oh how I love this series! I absolutely loved Cinder and Scarlet, Cress didn’t disappoint me.

Ever since we first saw Cress in book one I’ve been dying to hear her story, I wanted to know what Meyer had in store for the retelling (Alternate retelling? Based off of? Whatever you would like to call it.) of ‘Rapunzel’. Meyer definitely had everything planned out well and I loved it.

Cress has been locked in her little satellite for years as Queen Levana’s pawn. We learn that Cress rebels in her own secret way, she happens to be very talented at computer hacking. I loved this aspect about Cress, I thought it made her really interesting and intelligent. It stopped her from being ‘that crazy girl that’s lived in a cell for most of her life’. As a character I liked Cress although I did think her whole damsel and distress thing that she had going on was a little annoying, but it wasn’t pushed in our faces and I loved to see how that changed throughout the story.

Cress continues on not long after where Scarlet finished. The story progresses through multiples characters eyes, we even get to see a few chapters through the doctors eyes which I thought was interesting and needed for the storyline. The way the story intertwines with each character and their background is just amazing, maybe a little cliché for some parts but I still enjoyed it.

I loved this book! It was fun and exciting to read and I’m once again dying to read the next book in the series. Winter will be a very interesting conclusion.

Always,
Jordon

This review was originally posted on Simply Adrift

[littleread1]

So sad that it's over!!! Is the next one out yet? PLEASE?!

[Briana @ Pages Unbound]

Meyer’s Lunar Chronicles only get better as the series progresses. In Cress, Meyer continues to give readers great plot, while expanding her setting and character base. Cinder and her team find themselves traversing parts of the world they would never have imagined and bring readers with them on journeys into space, Africa, and back to their homes. Meyer’s imagination allows her to write science fiction that truly gives readers the sense that technology can lead to global connections. No place is too far for her characters to go, and no effort for them too great to make in hopes of saving their world.

As usual, Meyers also introduces new characters in Cress—the star being the titular Cress. Cress is inspired by Rapunzel, and she is perfect. Meyers takes a bit of a Disney Rapunzel route, imagining Cress as someone bubbly and excited about seeing what lies beyond her prison. But Cress is also vulnerable and a little unsure, intimidated by how much there is she has never known or experienced. Her time with Cinder’s team, however, allows her to grow into a confident young woman.

Readers get to see new facets of old characters in Cress, as well. There is a particular focus on Thorne, who may have a hero’s heart under all his bravado. Readers who were not already in love with Thorne may begin reconsidering that position. Additionally, old romances continue to simmer. Meyer knows how to give readers just enough for them to swoon and sigh over, while clearly holding material back for a big finale.

Plot-wise, readers know they can expect something fast-paced and exciting. Cress has the distinction of being the most unpredictable of the series, however. The one flaw of the Lunar Chronicles has hitherto been that its direction has always been quite obvious—and not just because the stories are drawing from well-known fairy tales. Readers may have a sense of the general path Cress must take, but it actually has several surprising plot-twists, which makes reading it all the more pleasurable.

Cress is breathtaking, offering adventure, romance, and intrigue all in one novel. It is completely satisfying—except that it will leave readers tortured that Winter is not being released right now. Highly recommended.

[Ashley]

Nose Graze — Book reviews & blogging tips

I don't even know how to review this book. I feel like it's already so well established that the entire Lunar Chronicles series is amazing... because it is. And I promise, Cress is no different! This book rocks super hard. What else is there to say?

One of my favourite things was that Rapunzel is a hacker. A HACKER! This is the coolest Rapunzel twist ever, and it totally worked. Cress was such a cute character. On the one hand, she was a total badass with her hacker knowledge and epic skills. But on the other hand, she was a bit socially awkward and weird, but in an adorable way. I wanted to hug her and be her best friend! She'd talk to herself out loud, or say weird things, and it just made me smile. SHE'S SOOOO CUTE! And her little romance with Thorne was sweet. I like how the first impressions were totally wrong... but also kind of right. Cress's original thoughts about Thorne being a hero were wrong. He didn't try to sell jewelry to raise money or fight with a guy to defend a girl. He was pretty selfish. But in the end, even though those things didn't make him heroic, he became heroic naturally in different ways.

I feel so invested in the Lunar Chronicles story and Cress just increased that investment. I'm DYING to see how everything comes together. The Lunar Chronicles is one of the most interesting series I've ever read. New information, twists, and characters are added with every book, and I feel like it just intensifies everything. I feel like the book is taking a big breath before some insane, epic, chaotic ending, and I'm psyched for it!

Marissa Meyer, the goddess of fairy tales: keep rocking my world.

[Amanda]

December 2015 reread: Must. Have. Winter.

---

Oh, this entire series makes me happy. I adore what Marissa Meyer has done with this world and its characters and... and... I looooooove it. I wouldn't necessarily want to live in this world, but if I could read the series over and over again, I wouldn't complain.

Though Cress tops out at over 500 pages, each page is necessary. Like Scarlet and Cinder before it, I didn't want the story to end when I hit the last page. As each book adds more characters to its cast, the story gets bigger and greater and amazing.

Also, I laughed. A lot.

I reread Scarlet before diving into Cress, and I'm glad I did. I remembered the most important events, but Thorne. Seriously. Thorne. And we finally meet Cress in this story and holy wow was she perfect for Thorne. It worked. They made me laugh and possibly snort. Their story isn't the main focus of the book, but it was cute and sweet and more perfect than I figured it would be.

Things happen in this book. Big things. We learn secrets. I may have screeched out loud at some of them. And more big things are coming! I also actually enjoyed how each previous couple's relationship has developed and, in some cases, gotten more complicated in these books.

Swoony kisses, y'all. (Despite that, the romance is always quiet and understated, but that's also why it's so powerful. And possibly why I get so worked up about the characters.)

The Lunar Chronicles is one of those rare series that gets better as it goes. I'm in awe of how everything fits together and makes sense. I adore this world, the characters, and this series. Book 4 can't come soon enough.

[Suz @ Bookish Revelations]

Cress is one of the most riveting and exciting books I've read, so far this year. The story Marissa Meyer tells is so unique, original, and imaginative that I couldn't put the book down. I became so entranced in the pages of this novel, that I found myself experiencing the story along with the many wonderfully colorful characters.

Full review coming soon.

[Amber]

Scarlet was one of my favourite reads of 2013, and I had been looking forward to Cress for a year prior to its release. The lovely Christina let me and a bunch of other European bloggers borrow her ARC, and I almost fainted when it arrived here from Judith's house. It was the best belated Christmas gift ever.

I read Cress in about twenty four hours. It's just as addictive and thrilling as the previous two books in the Lunar Chronicles, and I loved seeing my favourite characters again - especially Scarlet and Thorne! Once you start reading Cress, you won't be able to put it down. The 500+ pages just fly by, and by the end you're left craving the next book. And while this isn't my favourite book in the series, for reasons that I will get into in a minute, a reread will probably be in order before Winter next year.

Cinder remains absolutely flawless. I just love her so much, and I adore the fact that she's featured so heavily throughout this series, even if she is not the book's titular character. I've been loving her journey every step of the way, and I can't wait to see what happens to her in Winter. The relationships that she has been building along the way have been brilliant, especially when it comes to Thorne, who I maintain should be her endgame. The two characters have fantastic chemistry, and you can tell that they care a lot about each other. There are small hints thrown in throughout Cress that would normally lead me to believe that they are going to be a thing, if this wasn't a series of fairytale retellings and if Cinder didn't have her own prince.

Cress, the character, quite honestly got on my nerves throughout much of the book. I was not a fan of the way the innocent, inexperienced, vastly sheltered character was handled, and as a result it reflected badly upon the character herself. Which is a shame, really, because Meyer usually writes such fantastic female main characters, and I was expected Cress to match up to both Cinder and Scarlet.

I think that the romance between Cress and Thorne completely ruined any character growth that Cress could have had. She starts off stuck in space, having been isolated for many years, and all of a sudden she starts meeting new people, and she gets to leave her little home and explore the world. This could have opened up a lot of great experiences for Cress, and I would have loved to have read about her as she gradually grew from her discoveries and experiences. Instead, the romance overshadowed this plot, and I didn't like it.

I was not a fan of the romance at all, and I promise that it has nothing to do with the fact that I want Cinder and Thorne to get together. I felt like the romance was rather forced, way too rushed, and completely unnecessary at this point in Cress's journey. I wanted to see her grow as an individual before she ended up with a guy. I wanted to see her stand on her own. Plus, as much as I love Thorne, I didn't feel any chemistry between the two of them. In fact, it was very much a fan-meets-idol situation, and it felt weird.

There's an interesting development with Scarlet, which left me pulling my hair out from worry. WHAT IS HAPPENING TO MY FAVOURITE CHARACTER. I adore Scarlet, and I cannot wait to see what happens to her in the next book. My heart broke for her so many times during this book, I can't deal.

Another thing that I am (still) not here for is Wolf. I was iffy about him in Scarlet, and he really doesn't improve in Cress. But that's okay, I can ignore him for the most part.

I loved the small glimpses of Winter that we got. Meyer introduces her in such a way that left me intrigued, and also pretty much in love with her character already. The final scene with Winter was a particular favourite of mine. I think she's so interesting, and I can't wait to get inside her head in the final book in this series next year. It's going to be fantastic, I know it!