Book Review: Fairest by Marissa Meyer

Title: Fairest Series: The Lunar Chronicles #0.5 Author: Marissa Meyer Published: January 27, 2015 by Macmillan (Amazon / Goodreads) Synopsis: In this stunning bridge book between Cress and Winter in the bestselling Lunar Chronicles, Queen Levana’s story is finally told. Mirror, mirror on the wall,  Who is the fairest of them all?  Fans of the Lunar Chronicles know Queen Levana as a ruler who uses her “glamour” to gain power. But long before she crossed paths with Cinder, Scarlet, and Cress, Levana lived a very different story – a story that has never been told . . . until now. Marissa Meyer spins yet another unforgettable tale about love and war, deceit and death. This extraordinary book includes full-color art and an excerpt from Winter, the next book in the Lunar Chronicles series

As far as prequels go, this was a pretty good one. In general I am not really a fan of short stories but I love novellas as part of a larger series. It adds more depth and dimension to the series. That is exactly what Fairest did, it gave us a different view, that of the main antagonist, and taught us a lot more insider information about Luna and it's people.

Except woman, not man!

Probably the best thing about this series was the opportunity to learn more about Levana. She has always been such an intriguing antagonist maintaining this sinisterness without us really knowing much about her. Not anymore. This book takes us inside Levana's head and inside her past. And what a dark past it is. This woman has seriously been through a lot. But she's also done a lot. There were moments during the book when I felt for her and the adversity she was dealt at the hands of others. But then there were other moments where I felt how truly crazy and diabolical she is and acts. I always love a good villain story, whether it is an origin story or and even makes them more sympathetic. But what Marissa Meyer did so well here is do both. She effortlessly walked the line of good and evil making you both empathize with Levana and still hate find her devious and unlikable. Oh Levana you are a devious enigma and I both love and hate you.

But it wasn't just a prequel for Levana. We got a small taste of the origins of some other beloved Lunars from The Lunar Chronicles. We got to learn about how Levana's right hand woman, Sybil Mira got to be in that position and learn about baby Cress and how she got to be in her satellite. We got to see about Winter being born and meet her father Evert Hayle and see firsthand his relationship with Levana. We also got to see her with the completely lovable Jacin. And of course we meet Princess Selene. Every time a reference or moment with one of these characters occurred I flailed so hard. We also got to meet a few great new characters. Like Channary, Levana's sister, who was not at all what I expected. Each character, new and old, was so interesting and fully-formed.

And once again Marissa Meyer has provided us with a captivating world. To me, Fairest had much more of a Fantasy vibe without the Earthen technology but it was still really complex. The time spent on Luna was amazing and it was fun to explore more of their royal society, we got so little of it in Cress and even less of it in the two previous books. It very much gave off the "political intrigue" vibes that I enjoy about Fantasy and Dystopia. There was a lot of plotting and scheming that occurred, and it was great to see that from Levana's perspective. Plus there was the general world-building for the series. Some questions and plot lines from the three previous books were also revealed and we got to learn about what led to things being the way they are in the series. For me it didn't have quite the exciting world that the main books in The Lunar Chronicles have had but it was intriguing and added a new and deeper dimension to the world of the series.

 Fairest was a fantastic taste of The Lunar Chronicles. Fans of the series should definitely check it out to get more of an inside view of the series history and it's antagonist. It's not necessarily essential to the main story but it does give everything more depth. Even though this is a prequel I wouldn't suggest readers start here. And that's not just because that's what I did. I see this as a great addition to the series but not a jumping off point. Start with Cinder and read this after finishing Cress.

It was great to have more, but I'm still not entirely satisfied. Now I need Winter ASAP! I need to see how this all shakes out. The first few chapters Winter definitely proved that!

I give Fairest by Marissa Meyer a 9 out of 10

Buy/Borrow/Bypass: BUY! This is a must have addition to any The Lunar Chronicles collection. Not only are the words gorgeous but the book design is breathtaking. If you are a fan of this series go out and get yourself a copy of this book. If you aren't a fan, get yourself a copy of Cinder, Scarlet, and Cress while you're buying this one and thank me later!

Have you read Fairest? What did you think? Leave me a comment with your thoughts. Thanks for stopping by and HAPPY READING!