Saturday 27 June 2015

Read & Reviewed: Cress by Marissa Meyer

mrow mrow mrow~

Incarcerated in a Satellite, and 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 Queen 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.

Holy heck isn't this a big improvement from Scarlet?


So, what to say that hasn't already been said about Marissa Meyer's Cress? I covered a lot of how I felt about the book in my Currently Reading... post on it, and since finishing the book some days ago, my feelings for the book are still pretty solid. I think it's great, I really like how it's developed, and now, I'm pissed off that Winter isn't out already so that I can finish this series and feel content that I have successfully read all four books.
 Woe is me, what is life?

Honestly though, Cress is a very engrossing, thrilling book, and it really had me on edge from beginning until end. You could really see how the characters had, over the course of these three books, grown and come together as a team, and how they have matured in their own ways. Because the character of Cress is the newest here, her development is still underway, however you do see her mature throughout the book - she goes from this shy, reluctant damsel in distress to someone who becomes a little braver, and starts to believe in herself and fight for what she desires and deserves after years of imprisonment and labour for Queen Levana and Sybil Mira.  Thankfully, the progressing of her personality and maturity is actually pretty slow, so her character isn't thrown right under the bus and turned into a hero straight away, which I am thankful for as a reader.
 In fact, of all three main female characters, Cress is my favourite, mostly because she's the one character who seems to be somewhat vulnerable in how she acts, as well as being rather honest in how she feels. Not to say that Cinder or Scarlet aren't, but Cress is simply a little girl, she's innocent and sweet, a stark contrast to both Cinder and Scarlet.She's the weakest, the most vulnerable, probably the most real of them all, too. She's a bit of a fangirl (aren't we all?), she has fantasies and dreams, and she is is openly scared, but she still does what she can, because she wants her freedom and wants to actually have a life.

In terms of vulnerability though, you do see Cinder break in this a little and show just how vulnerable she can be, how her resolve quickly crumbles under pressure - with all that has been put on her shoulders since the start of the book, there's no way that couldn't have happened. You see her slowly but surely try and come to terms with her heritage, the power she wields, and how she tries to fight it whilst trying to use it, too. At points, she loses her own control of this power because it simply engulfs her, and you can feel how hard she is battling with herself to try and not lose who she is and what she stands for, even though she can so easily slip into this sense of power. I admit, I found this annoying sometimes, how she would constantly chastise herself and compare herself to Levana if she used her power, however it is pivotal to her development as a character, and you see the struggle that she has and how she is trying to still be a good person.

A lot of things happened in this book actually, not just the character development; the threat of war eventually becomes one, and yes, there is romance, even though I had heavily hoped there wouldn't be in this book. Still, for what it's worth, the romance was very much one-sided for a good chunk of it, and well played out. It was different to the romance in both Cinder and Scarlet, and quite possibly brings together my favourite couple so far, comprised of my two favourite characters! Seriously, Carswell Thorne and Cress are too cute, and I ship them. Hard.

Also, in Cress, we were finally introduced to Winter, who will be the star of the next book, I hope. Her presence was rather brief here, but from the snippets we were given of her character, I'm already in love with this girl - she's a bit nuts, but holy heck I love it, and if Winter as a book is just as good as Cress is, then my love for Cress may wane in favour of Winter, because she's a bit of a nutty sweetie pie so far, and I am all for that!

There was laughter (courtesy of Carswell Thorne, my comic relief), tears and happiness, dread and relief, and a lot of gasping. Cress is definitely not disappointing, only furthering my intrigue in the Lunar Universe, as well as upping my anticipation for the up-coming Winter, which I now impatiently await thanks to finishing Cress. It is a delightful read, it keeps you on edge and has you guessing, crying or grasping the book in anticipation and longing, but above all, it only leaves you wanting more.

Cress is the best of the three books, and so far my favourite in this series of the Lunar world, but now I can't help but wonder just what will happen next and how it will all pan out?

Impatiently awaiting for Winter's release, I just hope I don't go nuts with excitement and a slight dread.

Until next time, Happy Reading and Writing everyone!
~ Kelly

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