Tuesday 6 January 2015

Review: Cress (The Lunar Chronicles #3) by Marissa Meyer


"Maybe there isn't such a thing as fate. Maybe it's just the opportunities we're given, and what we do with them. I'm beginning to think that maybe great, epic romances don't just happen. We have to make them ourselves."

Where to start with this book? Well, to kick things off, let me just say that Marissa Meyer is a literary genius whose novels are filled with the perfect blend of action scenes, swoon-worthy romances and witty dialogue that will leave you laughing out loud. Cress was no exception to the matter, in fact, it serves as an embodiment of all of those elements combined. This novel was perfect, and I found myself flipping the pages of this one pretty much anywhere I could. I read 50 pages on the train, and believe me, it's not the easiest feat for me to read in moving vehicles, but this book was just that fantastic. I couldn't put it down, and when I did, I kept picturing the last scenes I had read.

Let's take a closer look at characters. Marissa Meyer's novels usually are based around a few central characters, this is seen especially as new characters are added such as Scarlet, Wolf and Carswell Thorne in Scarlet and Cress and Jacin in Cress. The writing is still very much revolved around these characters and the situations they find themselves in, what I loved about this though, was the fact that Marissa Meyer continues to focus on Cinder, Kai and even Dr. Erland, two novels later. She sticks with these characters in her writing, making readers like us grow more and more attached to them. I can safely say that halfway through Cress, Carswell Thorne became my definite favourite. People who enjoyed Cinder and Thorne's witty banter will not be disappointed as Thorne takes the spotlight for a good portion of this novel, and trust me, there are no complaints.

The dialogue in this novel was so well-written and had me giggling to myself more often than not; something that tends to come to people's attention in a silent room. You could flip to almost any page and find a good slice of dialogue that left you feeling some kind of emotion towards these characters, very much true to the style of Marissa Meyer. I found that reading the interactions between these characters and the way they reacted to certain situations was what drove my fondness for these novels, and for a novel written in third person retrospective narrative stance, this is an accomplishment worth congratulating. The snappy back-and-forth conversations kept the pace of the novel fast and fresh, making this novel an absolute page-turner.

As a reader, when you are thrown into the desert, then into a ballroom, and then onto the moon and are still able to keep up with the story and love it, then you know that the author has done something right. Marissa Meyer switches from one character's point of view to another in quick succession, often from chapter to chapter, and the best part is, it won't leave you feeling confused. Each of these characters is a part of something bigger which the novel leads up to, as they meet, their lives intertwine and you are able to come along for the ride. Why did I love this book? That's simple, it is because I got to experience this book. I was so invested in this story line that it didn't matter where I was when I was reading it, I wasn't sitting at a bus stop, I was in the Sahara Desert with Cress and Thorne.  I wasn't reading in my living room, I was infiltrating New Beijing Palace with Cinder and Iko.

This novel is such a worthwhile read and I could not recommend it more. The series overall is slow at the start, but picks up quickly and is definitely worth reading the first two novels along with this one. I will give any people who want to read this novel an advance warning, though. 

When you read this book, you will become anti-social and often be spotted in public experiencing bouts of laughter as you either read or remember certain parts of this book, it will all be worth it and you will become one of the hundreds of thousands of people who are waiting and waiting and waiting, praying that the next novel in the series, Winter, lives up to its predecessors. 

From what I can tell, Marissa Meyer's novels have been riding an uphill slope since the release of Cinder, and I don't think they're going to slide back down.


Overall Rating: 5/5 stars