Review: Cress

Cress (The Lunar Chronicles #3) by Marissa Meyer
Release Date ~ February 4, 2014
Feiwel & Friends ~ Macmillan
ISBN13: 9780312642976
ARC received from Macmillan Kids for review

Goodreads Synopsis:
Rapunzel’s tower is a satellite. She can’t let down her hair—or her guard. 

In this third book in the bestselling Lunar Chronicles series, Cinder and Captain Thorne are fugitives on the run, with Scarlet and Wolf in tow. Together, they’re plotting to overthrow Queen Levana and her army. 

Their best hope lies with Cress, who has been trapped on a satellite since childhood with only 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 goes awry, the group is separated. Cress finally has her freedom, but it comes at a high price. Meanwhile, Queen Levana will let nothing stop her marriage to Emperor Kai. Cress, Scarlet, and Cinder may not have signed up to save the world, but they may be the only ones who can.

There aren't very many YA book series I recommend to everyone - but The Lunar Chronicles is one of them, and Cress convinced me of that!

Cress is a great addition to Marissa Meyer's series, and fits in nicely with the first two books. On top of that, Cress stands out as its own book with its own story and characters - with this third book, you can readily see how different the characters are and how each book has a different "feel" to it!

1. Complex, detailed plot development:
   
   You see hints of this in Cinder and Scarlet, but by the time we get to Cress it's becoming clearer how much detail and thought Marissa has put in to this story. There are all sorts of secrets and twists that begin to make a lot of sense!
   
2. Cress' character stands out on her own:
   
   One of my favourite things about The Lunar Chronicles is how each female protagonist (Cinder, Scarlet, Cress so far) is so unique from the others. And Cress is so naive and anxious, yet such a dreamer! I kept telling my younger sister that she HAS to read this book because Cress reminds me so much of her - and I think Cress is going to resonate with many readers (particularly some younger ones is my guess) or for all of us with our awkward moments.
   
3. Fantastic balancing of a large cast of characters:
   
   At this point, there are a lot of characters bouncing around in Cress and it would be very easy for them to become muddled and confused but amazingly, they aren't. The story is set up with each character in a very specific position with their own unique purpose. To me, this is the best way to appreciate so many different characters at once. 

Of course, the downside of having so many characters is that even with 500+ pages, some characters just won't get the attention I'd like them to have (Scarlet, for example). I think Marissa does a remarkable job of keeping this from happening too much. 

Overall, I think Cress is the perfect addition to The Lunar Chronicles and an incredible third book! There's plenty of action, intrigue, and romance to easily hold the reader's attention and I easily and quickly read through its many pages.

You can also stop by Marissa Meyer's website for a chapter teaser here!