Fairest (Lunar Chronicles, #3.5)

by Marissa Meyer

[Terri M. LeBlanc]

I’ll be honest, I wanted nothing to do with Fairest, a novella telling Levana’s side of Cinder’s tale. It seems all the rage these days to have these .5 short stories and novellas telling another side of the plot. And many times, I find them disappointing as they stray from the characters I like most in a series. (Side of Lord John, anyone?)

Here’s the deal. I loved Fairest. Levana is well-rounded, three-dimensional villain on par with Amy Dunne and Hannibal Lecter. Reading Fairest reminded me of some older episodes of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation when the plot examined the mind of a particularly brutal serial killer. The viewer (or in the case of Fairest, the reader) has a chance to see inside the bad guy’s heart and mind and learn what makes him tick. Queen Levana is stripped of her glamour and the results are telling. Will you feel sympathy for Levana upon finishing Fairest or not? How does a person become wicked? Fairest gives readers a glimpse and let’s them decide.


This review was originally posted on Second Run Reviews.