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

Currently Reading: Cress by Marissa Meyer (of Foreshadowing and Plot Developments, Oh My!)

Soooooo I kind of stayed awake until 7am for the past couple of days, reading Cress in the wee hours of the morning whilst struggling to put the damn book down and go to sleep, like a normal human being. This means that, for the past few days (even when reading Scarlet) I have been waking up in the afternoon. Oh dear...

Yeah, I ain't no good role model for my little niece right now!

Throws on some tunes, stops watching Buffy and actually continues writing this piece.

I'm not even kidding, I have been hooked on Cress since I started reading it. Already I'm up to Chapter 41, and with only 60 or so chapters in this book, I've pretty much sped through this in just two days. Two. Days. I'm beyond halfway through, and if I'm not careful with how much I read tonight, I could have it finished by dawn, because I literally can't put this bloody thing down. I really like it.

I really enjoy where Cress is going and with how the plot is developing thus far. I find that some of the developments have happened at a pace that was achingly slow for me, however no matter what, this book has had me on edge since I began it. It's taken a different turn to both Cinder and Scarlet, and whilst a romance does indeed blossom here (which I had hoped would not happen, I do admit) the focus is more-so on the characters coming together, their growth as people, and discoveries as well as the rise of a war.

It's gripping, there have been unexpected advancements in the novel and, clearly, maturity - you can sense Meyer's maturity as a writer in Cress, and how we have almost broken away from the Fairy Tales, but not completely. There was one especially shocking plot point in the book that really set me on edge as a reader that I had in no way anticipated, but found me in a fit of discomfort and rage for one of the characters. It was a powerful and rather emotional point in the book, reading the turmoil of this character. I was a tad distraught.

There are still elements of it that can be seen as a little clichéd or obvious in ways, and as I read Cress in the early hours of the morrow, I definitely picked up on the inspiration from Sailor Moon - I've noticed it in smatterings between all three books, actually, however it's most prevalent here, almost glaringly obvious (especially Artemisia; I snorted at that, I won't lie) but it's elements like this, the familiarity of something like Sailor Moon, which I watched during my own childhood, that is nice about the book. It does not borrow from this so heavily however, that it loses its true identity. Throughout, the Lunar World is still the Lunar World, and it is completely its own - Meyer doesn't engulf it in fanfiction fantasies or pre-existing characters. Really, there are only small parallels between the Lunar World and Sailor Moon that I can see in the books, but not so many that it becomes a problem or a headache as a reader.

Also, when reading Cress - and this is no issue, more a discovery - I finally seemed to latch on to some foreshadowing that, stupidly so, I did not see in Scarlet, where said foreshadowing began. The Rampion. For crying out loud, the bloody ship Carswell Thorne loves so damn much is a bloody foreshadowing device for the character Cress and himself, and how they are tied together in a way.
 Took me long enough, aye?

Getting back on track...

Cress is, by far, the best of the three books that have come out already - Cinder of course started it all, and Scarlet continued with the threat and beginnings of a war, however Cress is the story that brings forth the edge and emotion, I believe. It doesn't follow a similar pattern to its predecessors at all, and whilst it does hold that familiar romantic story we've come to know in the past two books, Cress truly comes into its own as a novel. It's gripping, leaves you on edge and begs that you read more. It's a book that I have had a difficult time putting down, and you can be sure that tonight, when I get ready for bed and sit down to read, I will have a hard time falling asleep once again.

I may rub my eyes as the light of a new morning drizzles through my curtains, and I may ache with want of sleep, but I know that no matter what, I won't put this story down until I am satisfied, and honestly? I won't be completely sated until it has all finished, and even then, I will be left wanting more.

Really, I worry for those long months when I have to wait for Winter to come out. That will truly ache...

Until next time, Happy Reading and Writing!

Be sure to sleep, because I won't with all this anticipation building up...
~ Kelly