Cress by Marissa Meyer

Cress (Lunar Chronicles, #3)

by Marissa Meyer

In this third book in the Lunar Chronicles, 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 her army.

Their best hope lies with Cress, a girl imprisoned 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 just received orders from Levana to track down Cinder and her handsome accomplice.

When a daring rescue of Cress goes awry, the group is separated. Cress finally has her freedom, but it comes at a high price. Meanwhile, Queen Levana will let nothing prevent her marriage to Emperor Kai. Cress, Scarlet, and Cinder may not have signed up to save the world, but they may be the only hope the world has.

Reviewed by Terri M. LeBlanc on

4 of 5 stars

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I've been pleasantly surprised by The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer. I devoured Cinder shortly before Scarlet came out and once Scarlet was available at my library, I inhaled it and waited somewhat impatiently for the release of Cress. What's funny is once I purchased a physical copy of Cress with some gift cards I received for Christmas 2013, it languished on my book shelf for SEVEN months. Well, after finishing Rose Under Fire, I was looking for a new book to listen to on my drives to work. I found that Cress was available via Overdrive at my library and immediately snatched it up.

I often find that the middle books in a series can be disappointing. The characters kind of wander about looking for something to happen or the storylines seem jumbled or unclear—there's no clear focus for the plot or characters. None of that occurred in Cress. The book was a heart stopper from the get go. I was immediately pulled in and would listen to the book early in the morning while waiting for my alarm to go off. The narration was stunning. I found myself wondering what would happen next. Would Cinder save Kai? Would Cress hook up with Thorne? What was to become of Scarlet? It left my mind reeling! And makes me very excited for the release of Fairest (currently on the hold list at the library) and Winter in November.

While I have championed Cinder and Scarlet over the last year or so, Thorne and Wolf really grew on me in Cress. They showed their strengths and wore their hearts on their sleeves. It made me admire them and grow to love them. These men have become well-rounded, three-dimensional characters who now have something at stake. It was really quite unexpected and got me choked up a few times!



If you couldn't tell, I'm giving Cress a thumbs up. Let not the fear of middle book syndrome get you down, Cress delivers girls kicking ass and guys with heart while propelling the revolution against Luna to what I can only assuming will be an amazing conclusion!



This review was originally posted on Second Run Reviews.

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Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 13 December, 2014: Finished reading
  • 13 December, 2014: Reviewed