Well, I’m not really sure what to think of this. Do I now feel as if I needed to read this to appreciate the story more? Not really. Do I think it adds to the story? Yes, but only a little. Look, y’all know I’m a sucker for backstories so you’d think I’d be all over this but I’m not and I think it’s because Levana didn’t have to turn out the way she did at all. The truth is, she could have been the complete opposite.
Title: Fairest (The Lunar Chronicles #3.5)
Author: Marissa Meyer
Publisher: Feiwell & Friends
Release date: January 27, 2015
Genre: Young adult, sci-fi, fantasy
Length: 220 pages (hardcover)
Synopsis: (from Goodreads) “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.”
My rating: 3/5 stars
Okay, so the things I did like: seeing characters we only knew briefly from the first three books in the series, that includes Queen Channary (forgive my spelling, I’ve listened to all of this on audiobook) who is far from perfect but in a different way than Levana. We also hear snippets about Cress’s parents and Jacin Clay’s family as well. What I liked the most were tiny Winter and Princess Selene.
I also liked that we explored Luna rather than Earth here so the world building was great as it was to see the inner workings of the palace and royal life. And because this is a prequel, we see how things got started which I don’t mind too much at all either but it always leave me wondering how exactly things are going to end especially with what we already know in regards to Winter as Levana’s stepdaughter (not actually royal blood) and Cinder’s mother, Queen Channary.
What really bothered me to the most was the turn of Levana’s character. Channary is vain and a bit selfish. She sees her queenly duties as more of an inconvenience than her duty. Levana appeared to be, at least this early, quite the opposite. She took a general interest and concern on the affairs of the people. But the forced romance between Levana and Winter’s father was laughable. Sure, I get that Levana was young but she was only kidding herself so the way she ruled when she gets older isn’t a surprise to me. Instead of turning the bad things into good, she went the other direction. It’s interesting to know the reason why Levana chooses to use glamour.
Meh. I could have done without reading this but I don’t mind that I did since it was so short and a quick listen to via audiobook.
a myriad of books 
I feel the same way, I think. It was an interesting look into the back story but didn’t particularly add anything. I did like that we got to see Luna a bit more though and it did explain why Levana was so cruel.
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Yep. I feel the same way. I’m glad I got this out of the way so I can finish the rest of the series! 😛
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I read this a while back, I think right after it was published, but I clearly remember my disappointment – THIS was why Winter’s release date was pushed back. ASFLKSJLE
That said this wasn’t totally bad, but I agree, it really didn’t add anything to the story and I was really surprised by Levana’s change – I thought it was very sudden. Tbh, mostly I just felt bad for Winter’s parents because they were, in many ways, the only good characters in the book and their life really didn’t turn out in a positive way. At all. *sobs*
Great review!
Veronika @ The Regal Critiques
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Yeah, I really liked seeing a glimpse of Winter’s parents–everyone’s parents really, Cress and Cinder too. So that WAS nice but meh… I’m excited to read Winter I’ve heard nothing but good things about it. 🙂
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I thought it was okay as well but a great insight into Levana
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