Review: Fairest by Marissa Meyer

Release Date: January 27, 2015

Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Pages: 222
Source: Purchased

ISBN-10: 1250060559

Rating: 5 Hearts

Book Description

"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. "

Review

Short and Sweet:

This book is crazy-amazing. I couldn't put it down. Fairest is definitely a story that needed to be told and my feelings about Levana have only grown more complicated as a result!

To Elaborate...

Like most of us Lunar fans, I was a bit devastated when Winter got pushed back to make room for Fairest. However, I now can't imagine the Lunar Chronicles as being complete without Levana's dark side of the story. Fans of the series will be full of emotions varying from stunned pity to horrified anger; as well as anywhere and EVERYwhere in-between. Fairest is by far Meyer's most intense installment yet, which should come as no surprise to those of us who love to hate Queen Levana!

Fairest begins by giving us a picture of Levana as a child as well as a glimpse into the horrifying things that she endured. As I began the first chapter, I was stunned by the loneliness apparent in every fiber of Levana's being. There is literally not a soul in this child's life who gives her a shred of kindness, or love. Furthermore, her older sister, Channary, is a gleefully demented figure in her life, who has damaged her physically and psychologically in unspeakable ways. The dynamic between them is a delicate balance of power: Levana carefully navigating her sister's psychosis in order to avoid her wrath.

After their parents are brutally murdered, Channary takes the throne, mostly in title with very little interest in making political decisions. Gradually, Levana takes a more active role in politics and finds that, for once, she is good at something, but when a guard shows her a small bit of kindness, Levana soon becomes fixated and obsessed in a way that can only be described as terrifyingly misguided. Soon, Levana will do anything to have him.

Fairest is a dark picture of how a soul can be bent and twisted beyond repair. It showcases the depth of Levana's heartbreak and abuse and the resulting enthusiasm for power at any cost. This installment is my favorite yet and I cannot recommend it high enough!