I don't like Fairest by Marissa Meyer (Sorry!!)

Fairest
by Marissa Meyer
The title links to Goodreads and the author name links to her blog.

I'm a huge fan of Marissa Meyers totally awesome-rockin' series. Her writing is so readable, like it slides down into your innards smoothly. Her characters are vibrant. The steampunk elements with wires and gears and spaceships are super-fun and non-confusing.  Even though the main characters are girls and there are elements of romance, my son (13) is just as committed to the series. I've had raving success recommending this series to non-YA and non-Fantasy readers, too. I've earned book recommendation creds with the other moms at school and with my work associates. I've reviewed every book and novella as it came out here on Colorimetry (read my reviews of Glitches and The Queen's Army) and and even had Marissa here for an interview.  Yep. Huge fan.

I didn't like Fairest at all. It's written well, of course, and provides some crucial information, but Levana is horrible to her core, just as I suspected before reading this book. Worse, actually.  This story climbs right into the drippy, stinky, slimy dungeon of this crazy queen's psycho. There are a few moments when I wanted to feel sorry for her, I wanted badly to justify some of her choices. I tried to excuse things or soften the twisted logic of her thought process... all to no avail.  Levana is rotten and I feel slimed having learned the extent of it.

I did, however, learn a few key facts about Levana that I value knowing before reading Winter:
  * She has no compassion that can be appealed to.
  * She will kill anyone when she wants to regardless of how she feels about it.
  * Her perspective on life is deeply rooted in royal entitlement.
  * The love she experienced did not soften her.
  * Those who know her well do not hope for compassion from her.
  * Her idea of being a good queen involves squeezing every drop of resource from her people.
  * Her people are worse off for having her thoughtful attention.
  * She has never allowed herself to be vulnerable. Ever.
  * Even if she did show a vulnerability, I would never, ever have compassion on her. I would shoot her dead and face the consequences even if it meant feeling guilty forever or being imprisoned in a real drippy, slimy dungeon.

I also learned some awesome back-story for Winter:
  * She is not Levana's daughter. (Phew!)
  * She is the daughter of the one person Levana ever loved.
  * Levana promised him on his death bed to take care of Winter, so she will unless she doesn't suite her purposes anymore.
  * Winter was close friends with Cinder before, well, you know.

Also:
  * Cinder is really better off for not having grown up in that royal family.

I should rate this book high for making me feel so strongly about Levana. It's pretty cool (in a twisted, literary way) to climb inside someone's head and hate them more for it. I suppose. But I won't read this book again and I won't recommend it. Actually... I summed it up for my son up so he didn't have to roll in the sludge of Levana's brain.

And... it was so expensive when it was released. (Is it still?)  It's worth the $10 to read the first three chapters of Winter. That was the highlight of the book for me. I cannot wait for that book to come out. :-D

Believe it or not, I happened upon the book at the library. It was one of those double-take moments. It stopped me in my tracks followed by "are you kidding me?". I stuffed it under my arm and hurried through the check-out line before anyone realized what I was getting away with.

My rating:  5 Stars for the writing, 5 stars for the awfulness of Levana, 5 stars for storyline, 1 star for like-ability.

Did you see Cress? #JigDancinFool

Lol. This is totally awesome... did you see?

*sigh*  It's beayoooootiful!

I have the premise for you, too... but to really tease yer brain, you gotta hop over and read the EXCERPT. I love Cress already, after just a few moments hangin' out with her in her satellite. The only decent thing about waiting 'til February 14th is that there will be 560 pages of it. *sigh*  That's wonderful!!

 I give the excerpt 5 stars. Can I do that?  I guess I just did!!  Go read it already!!

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.

Mid-Winter's Eve - Visit with Marissa Meyer!

It's a mid-winter celebration, the beginning of a new cycle of the Aztec Calendar. Whatever that means. Well, we're up for it. Grab a cup of coffee or hot chocolate, maybe a couple of cookies, and pull up a chair. Marissa Meyer's in the house!

Thx to I Am a Reader, Not a Writer & Oasis for YA

for hosting this awesome blog hop.

Marissa, I just want to say Thank You for stopping by over Christmas!! What a delight. Seriously. I think I speak for lots of us when I say we are excited about Scarlet coming out on February 5th. I kinda knew about some similarites with Red Riding Hood, but reading The Queens Army was a real eye-opener. Your wolves are so unique... rather like the world we first glimpsed in Cinder...

I love the world you have created and I'm curious what came first? Luna? Futuristic earth? A specific character? What started it all?!

Hmm, it's hard to pinpoint one specific thing, as a lot of elements of these books have fed into each other as I brainstormed and plotted out the stories. But the very, very first inkling I had of writing futuristic fairy-tales was actually back when I was writing Sailor Moon fanfiction (which I did for many years). I had written a short story that gave a science-fiction twist to the fairy tale "Puss in Boots." That story also featured a lost princess from the moon (a la the Sailor Moon storyline, for anyone who's familiar with that). That small seed of an idea eventually morphed into Cinder and the Lunar Chronicles. So I guess the very first thing was the concept of a kingdom on the moon who had lost their princess.

Oh... so we're just getting started with Cinder's story! Can I ask Why do your books... sorry. Next time.

What is your favorite scene in Scarlet?  Or what scene did you most enjoy writing?

Review - The Queen's Army by Marissa Meyer

The Queen's Army
by Marissa Meyer
Online Fiction, 32 pages
Published November 23rd 2012 by Tor
Tor.com


Premise:

It is time. The boy must leave his family to serve in the Queen’s army. To be chosen is an honor. To decline is impossible. The boy is modified. He is trained for several years, and learns to fight to the death. He proves to the Queen -- and to himself -- that he is capable of evil. He is just the kind of soldier the Queen wants: the alpha of his pack.


My Review:

This just about kills me... Marissa's writing is so delicious. It's as if the screen fades away ('cause I read this on Tor.com) and I'm suddenly there, watching Z, inside Z's head.

It about ripped out my guts when he was torn from his parents. I just don't think I could stand that. And his relationship with his brother? Awkward in all the right ways... frustrated yearning.

I love the emotions.

The setting is incredible. This takes place on Luna and all those weird Luna-magic qualities are "normal", which only wets my interest all the more. There's just enough detail to feel a whole world unfolding, but not enough to get comfortable.

Z is so innocent and well-meaning. I could feel his hesitation as he considered his options. He is never happy with no choices and I love his decision to not cooperate, his way of demanding a choice. His relationship with his parents is so deep and true... and his brother!! He wants to look out for his brother, but it's complicated.

So much in such a little story!!  Really, you must read it, but I warn you... it'll just make you want to read Scarlet all the more. And that's dangerous because the first 5 chapters are available for free download. I just know 5 chapters will not be enough... this is driving me crazy!!!!

My Rating: 5 Stars. *shrug* Hey, I will definitely read this again. I might have to buy it for my Nook. How did she cram so much life into a little bitty story?!

You know you want the first 5 chapters!! Even if you shouldn't read them!!! Click on the cover to hop over to Marissa's site to download 'em. Go ahead. It's just like one piece of turkish delight. Muahahahaha....


I get Marissa's newsletter. Delightful thing. I considered not sharing the fact that she's giving away an ARC of Scarlet to one newsletter subscriber because if you don't subscribe, I have a better chance of winning. But... I can't keep good news to myself, so... go HERE and subscribe. You'll be glad you did and if you win the ARC, you must let me read it. I'll return it to you, I promise. :-D

No, really. I will. *chuckles evil-y* Seriously, I'm quite serious!!  *shakes head wildly so hairpins fly*

Meet Marissa Meyer:

One of my first spoken words was “story” (right along with “bath” and “cookie”), my favorite toy as an infant was a soft, squishable book, and I’ve wanted to be a writer since I first realized such a job existed.

When I was fourteen my best friend introduced me to anime and fanfiction—over the years I would complete over forty Sailor Moon fanfics under the penname Alicia Blade. Those so inclined can still find my first stories at fanfiction.net. Writing fanfic turned out to be awesome fun and brought me in contact with an amazing group of fanfiction readers and writers. As Alicia Blade, I also had a novelette, “The Phantom of Linkshire Manor,” published in the gothic romance anthology Bound in Skin (CatsCurious Press, 2007).

When I was sixteen I worked at The Old Spaghetti Factory in Tacoma, Washington, affectionately termed “The Spag.” (Random factoid: This is also the restaurant where my parents met some 25 years before.) I attended Pacific Lutheran University where I sorted mail that came to the dorm, carted tables and chairs around campus, and took writing classes, eventually earning a Bachelor’s degree in Creative Writing and Children’s Literature. Knowing I wanted a career in books, I would also go on to receive a Master’s degree in Publishing from Pace University. After graduation, I worked as an editor in Seattle for a while before becoming a freelance typesetter and proofreader.

Then, day of days, someone thought it would be a good idea to give me a book deal, so I became a full-time writer. CINDER is my first novel, though I have an adorable collection of unfinished ones lying around too.

I now live with my husband and our three cats (Calexandria Josephine, Stormus Enormous, and Blackland Rockwell III), who go in and out, in and out, about eight hundred times a day. My favorite non-bookish things include Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, re-watching episodes of Firefly, and playing all manners of dress-up.

Find & Follow:

Website

Blog

Facebook

Twitter

Goodreads

Pinterest

Get Your Copy:

Barnes & Noble
The Book Depository
Amazon:

Glitches by Marissa Meyer

Glitches
by Marissa Meyer
www.Tor.com

 

Cinder, a gifted mechanic, is a cyborg. She’s a second-class citizen with a mysterious past, reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsister’s illness. In “Glitches,” a short prequel story to Cinder,  we see the results of that illness play out, and the emotional toll that takes on Cinder. Something that may, or may not, be a glitch....

My Review:

This is a short original story by Marissa Meyer that takes place before Cinder.

If you're thinking of reading Cinder, this will give you a good taste of the writing and tantalize you with hints of what's in the book!

If you've already read Cinder, you know you want to zip over to Tor and catch this sweet beginning of how Cinder began in her family and her first connection with Iko.

It's been a while since I read the book, so this short story felt like a nudge in my ribs reminding me just how much I enjoy Marissa Meyer's writing style. Cinder is so approachable, so vulnerable. The blip isn't long enough to spoil... enjoy!!

My Review: Cinder by Marissa Meyer

(Almost) BREAKING NEWS!!!

Via Marissa Meyer's blog:  Signed copies of Cinder available for $17 something plus shipping from Garfield Book Co in Tacoma, WA. You gotta call: 1-800-727-5566

Cinder by Marissa Meyer

Cinder                                                                                                 
by Marissa Meyer

Hardcover, 387 pages

Expected publication: January 3rd 2012 by Feiwel & Friends

Premise: Ganked from Goodreads:

Humans and androids crowd the raucous streets of New Beijing. A deadly plague ravages the population. From space, a ruthless lunar people watch, waiting to make their move. No one knows that Earth’s fate hinges on one girl. . . . 
Cinder, a gifted mechanic, is a cyborg. She’s a second-class citizen with a mysterious past, reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsister’s illness. But when her life becomes intertwined with the handsome Prince Kai’s, she suddenly finds herself at the center of an intergalactic struggle, and a forbidden attraction. Caught between duty and freedom, loyalty and betrayal, she must uncover secrets about her past in order to protect her world’s future.

Aaaah!!

What's the word I'm looking for?!  "Cliff-hanger!"

This book was such a fast, fun read, that I stole reading minutes and lost track of my surroundings repeatedly. Including the middle of the night and the cafe at Target while "watching the kids."  I am proud to report I did not read while driving, although I was tempted.

I'm not going to spoil this book... it comes out in January!!

Cinder is a fun character. She struggles with being a cyborg and the prejudice of people around her towards "her kind". I'm not sure why, exactly, a cyborg is considered less of a person after it was explained how technology saved lives and the person, the personality and basic core of the person, haven't changed. By the end, I thought this might be a localized prejudice specific for the Eastern Commonwealth, but I'm not sure.

The prejudice against the Lunars was much more defined and logical for me. I am still curious how "glamour" is different than lying or magic.  And then the Lunars are required to use their glamour or experience strong negative consequences.  Basically, I am skeptical of Lunars after reading this book, but I love cyborgs. Apparently, I have to wait for the next book to see if I'm on track!!

Cinder has a great attitude towards those around her which is displayed with her friendship towards her sister, who she might have been jealous of, and her friendship with Iko, the robot with a personality. She is open to friendship with Kai and Dr Erland, although she had to overcome strong reactions to them.

I'm not sure why Kai chose to be friends with Cinder, but their friendship is honest, refreshing and beautifully developed, which is a reason by itself.

The central mystery is mentioned casually at the beginning and I immediately jumped to guess where it would lead. That said, the book altogether was an entirely new and different look at Cinderella. I love the quotes in front of the four sections tying the story to the fairy tale largely because none of those connections were central to the story. I did not guess how Cinder and Kai would meet or get to know each other, or how Cinder's family would suppress her, and certainly not how she might leave her shoe on the step! Each of the connections with the fairy tale were so surprising and the story is much deeper and broader in it's own right, that the sudden similarities were delightful.

Cinder is far from predictable even as a retelling, and as I mentioned already, I couldn't read it fast enough. This is a great book! And I can't wait for the next two!!