marissa meyer | Lost in a Good Book

Stars Above (#4.5) by Marissa Meyer

13 May 2025 Leave a comment

by Amy in 4 Stars, Audiobook, Fantasy, Young Adult Tags: Audiobook, four stars, marissa meyer, rebecca soler, the lunar chronicles, young adult, young adult fantasy

Published: 2 February 2016 (print)/14 June 2017 (audio)
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends/Bolinda Publishing Pty Ltd
Pages: 400/9 hrs and 28 mins
Narrator: Rebecca Soler
Format: Audiobook
Genre: Young Adult Fantasy
★ ★ ★ ★ – 4 Stars

The universe of the Lunar Chronicles holds stories—and secrets—that are wondrous, vicious, and romantic. How did Cinder first arrive in New Beijing? How did the brooding soldier, Wolf, transform from young man to killer? When did Princess Winter and the palace guard, Jacin, realize their destinies?

With six stories—two of which have never before been published— Stars Above is essential for fans of the best-selling and beloved Lunar Chronicles.

Meyer gives readers a collection of stories that could easily have been in the main books it felt so familiar. You fall right back into the world and it is like you have never left. Reading these short stories after finishing the entire series was a great way to revisit well known characters and see their origins and learn how they ended up where we find them in the main storyline. Some stories are heartbreaking, well, most are heartbreaking in their own way, while others are a fascinating exploration about details and moments that were once only snippets and moments briefly mentioned that we now get to explore more fully. Meyer has given us a chance to delve deeper and see the full story of how these characters came to be who they are.

My favourite stories would have to be the ones where we see how Cinder ended up with Scarlet’s grandmother and seeing Winter and her life in the palace. Meyer tells such a compelling story I was drawn right into the tension and the drama, fearful for young Scarlet and the secret that was hidden on the farm and loved to see Winter’s life in the palace. These aren’t necessarily stories we do not know, these histories are explained in the main story by various characters, but never at this depth; so while we learn how Cinder was kept safe, being able to read it as it happens through the eyes of Scarlett’s grandmother Michelle Benoit was a different experience entirely.

The final story is one set after the events of the novels. The entire cast come together and we learn what has been happening with everyone since the end of Winter. It was the perfect ending to the series, it wrapped it up without feeling unnecessary or rushed and being able to know the futures of this mix of characters I’d come to know and love was amazing.

This conclusion to the series goes beyond doing it justice. We’re given origin stories, answers, a more in-depth exploration of character back stories all with the same magical and familiar feel of the books. I loved every story in this, including the new stories, it was fabulous to read and work out from the clues which fairytale was being retold. This is perfect for any fan of The Lunar Chronicles and a fantastic farewell to the series.

You can purchase Stars Above via the following

QBD | Dymocks | Booktopia

Wordery | Blackwell’s | Angus & Robertson

Fishpond | Amazon | Amazon Aust | Audible

Long Lost Review: Winter (#4) by Marissa Meyer

10 Apr 2025 Leave a comment

by Amy in 5 Stars, Audiobook, Long Lost Reviews, Young Adult Tags: #llr, five stars, long lost review, Long Lost Reviews, marissa meyer, the lunar chronicles, young adult, young adult fantasy

Long Lost Reviews is a monthly meme created by Ally over at Ally’s Appraisals which is posted on the second Thursday of every month. The aim is to start tackling your review backlog. Whether it’s an in-depth analysis of how it affected your life, one sentence stating that you only remember the ending, or that you have no recollection of reading the book at all.

Published: 10 November 2015
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Pages: 827
Format: Paperback
Genre: Young Adult Fantasy
★ ★ ★ ★ ★ – 5 Stars

Princess Winter is admired for her grace, kindness and beauty, despite the scars on her face. She’s said to be even more breath-taking than her stepmother, Queen Levana…

When Winter develops feelings for the handsome palace guard, Jacin, she fears the evil Queen will crush their romance before it has a chance to begin.

But there are stirrings against the Queen across the land. Together with the cyborg mechanic, Cinder, and her allies, Winter might even find the power to launch a revolution and win a war that’s been raging for far too long.

Can Cinder, Scarlet, Cress, and Winter claim their happily ever afters by defeating Levana once and for all?

Depressingly I was so sure I had review notes for this so now I’m wondering if I imagined it. It was a five star read, I remember reading it, and yet I can’t remember what happens in it. I think 2020 wasn’t the year to read books you want to remember the plots of. Either that or I read too many books, it pushes the old ones out. The other option is of course I shouldn’t wait years to write the review and maybe take some notes.

This is a monster book, exceptionally long but thankfully I read it during a time I had plenty of time and nothing else to do so I got to really appreciate it. It is also a stunning conclusion to the epic build up we’ve had since Cinder and everything comes to a head in a thrilling conclusion. I remember loving the drama and the tension, everything is about to happen: revolution, all the planning and the plotting, the unification of our four heroines and their love interests.

Amazingly I remember less about this book than Cress and it’s probably twice as thick. I don’t remember feeling bored, or that the book dragged on due to its length. I think Meyer uses the pages well and with so much planning around the revolution I understand the effort to include it all. She’s paced it beautifully. If it was less detailed you just know someone would then complain they managed to overthrow a kingdom too easily if there wasn’t any war talk or detailed plans. Besides, this is the story. It’s about rebellion and about secrets and taking people out of power who aren’t easy to overthrow. It takes planning. We’ve had three books of love with a side of rebellion, now we get to rebel.

I am a bit sad three out of four of these reviews have been Long Lost Reviews. I feel like I’ve done them a disservice not reviewing them properly since I loved them so much. Which is ludicrous, the amount of reviews I’ve seen over the years which were some variation on “I loved this book!! 5 stars!!” and nothing else which have been perfectly acceptable. But it’s like that rule: it’s fine for others, but not fine for me.

I’m not sure if I could get a reread in of Winter to review better, it was a massive undertaking, even in audio form, which I think is how I got around to finally finishing the series in the first place. But I did love it, I remember thinking it was a fantastic conclusion to the series and an amazing way to bring together Winter’s original fairy tale (Snow White), as well as the overarching plot we’ve seen teased since Cinder.

In conclusion, I loved this book!! 5 stars!!

You can purchase Winter via the following

QBD | Dymocks | Booktopia

Wordery | Blackwell’s | Angus & Robertson

Fishpond | Amazon | Amazon Aust | Audible

Fairest (#3.5) by Marissa Meyer

27 Mar 2025 Leave a comment

by Amy in 4 Stars, Audiobook, Fantasy, Young Adult Tags: Audiobook, four stars, marissa meyer, rebecca soler, the lunar chronicles, young adult, young adult fantasy

Published: 27 January 2015 (print)/8 May 2017 (audio)
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends/Bolinda Publishing Pty Ltd
Pages: 272/5 hrs and 33 mins
Narrator: Rebecca Soler
Format: Audiobook
Genre: Young Adult Fantasy
★ ★ ★ ★ – 4 Stars

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.

This is a bridge book between Cress and Winter, books three and four in the Lunar Chronicles, and the story explores Levana’s childhood and how she became the ruler we know.

It was amazing to see her use of her powers and read about the normal Lunar life as natural and as every day. Given our only perspective before has been through Cinder and other character’s perspectives, it was great to be able to see the regular lives of Lunars and how their gift is used among the community. It also shows us how the events in her past affected who she’s become and all those references and secrets in the previous three books are answered and it was absolutely fabulous.

There is a hard line being balanced where you feel sorry for Levana and her life growing up, but at the same time you know that there are different paths she could have taken and different decisions being made. Narrative bias is also a key factor and it was intriguing to see Levana justify things to herself and how, while she is leaving out certain things, she does show the reader a darker side to herself, one that gives a glimpse at what she is truly capable and how the young girl in this story becomes the queen we see later on.

In showing us a younger Levana we also see a glimpse of the younger counterparts of other characters as well, those who lived in the palace with her. I enjoyed seeing the younger versions of the key characters, from babies to children and beyond. It wasn’t their story but through Levana’s perspective you can see how they circled her world and were in her life in different ways. This is also true for characters only mentioned such as Queen Channary or Winter’s father. It’s a great connection to the main books and connects the series together really well.

Levana is both a victim and a villain and having these conflicting emotions when we see such a one sided view of her previously was a bizarre feeling. Not to justify bad childhoods for being a terrible adult, but Meyer makes us see that there is a lot more to Levana’s story than it first appears and the trauma and pain she’s suffered were bound to have an effect on her one way or another.

The story is third person but Meyer gets us inside Levana’s head and we see everything she thinks and feels, a clever move on Meyer’s behalf. We’re able to see that she is shameless in her actions but she also shows a lot of passion and pride, even hopelessness and loss which are interesting choices. Ironically it humanises her and you see the malice within but also the girl starved of attention and love. I loved this story a lot, it was great to see the rise to power and the changes Levana makes, something we can see even as she edits herself and we can’t entirely trust her thoughts.

This definitely works to be read between books three and four, but it is something I came to after finishing the series and it gave me a reflective enjoyment about the events in Winter and the relationship Levana has with the characters I had fallen in love with.

You can purchase Fairest via the following

Dymocks | Booktopia

Wordery | Blackwell’s | Angus & Robertson

Fishpond | Amazon | Amazon Aust | Audible

Long Lost Review: Cress (#3) by Marissa Meyer

13 Feb 2025 Leave a comment

by Amy in 4 Stars, Fantasy, Long Lost Reviews, Young Adult Tags: #llr, four stars, long lost review, Long Lost Reviews, marissa meyer, the lunar chronicles

Published: 4th February 2014
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Pages: 552
Format: Paperback
Genre: Young Adult Fantasy
★ ★ ★ ★ – 4 Stars

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

Their best hope lies with Cress, a girl imprisoned on a satellite since childhood who’s only ever had 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 of Cress goes awry, the group is separated. Cress finally has her freedom, but it comes at a higher price. Meanwhile, Queen Levana will let nothing prevent her marriage to Emperor Kai. Cress, Scarlet, and Cinder may not have signed up to save the world, but they may be the only hope the world has.

I’ve been trying to get reviews out for this series for years and my stubborn perfectionism needs me to put them out in order. The issue is, if I haven’t taken notes, I am now years past when I read it and I only have a fraction of plot floating around my head.

I loved this series and I love how Meyer gives us different fairy tale retellings in a whole new landscape but creatively ties them together in a way that is true both to their original stories and this beautifully complicate new world she has created.

I liked the shift from a tower to a satellite and it ties beautifully in the technological era that the rest of the series has been working with. It also continues the story we already know from Cinder and Scarlett, the kingdom is still in danger and the Lunar Queen still means trouble. But in between that, we get to meet Cress, a wonderful girl trapped on a satellite and left alone among the stars.

I enjoyed Cress’ character, each of this band of misfits has a different personality and their own strengths which I love. Now that they are coming together to save the world it’s good seeing these unique skills come together.

The continuation of Cinder and Scarlett’s stories is excellent, I love that they play roles in the bigger story and aren’t forgotten entirely once their book has finished. There isn’t a full equal sharing of the story, Cress still gets her own book, but as they’re all working towards their goal Meyer weaves in the others and their storylines prompt action.

There is a strong romance element for everyone to swoon over in each book and Cress is no different. Each of our heroes is matched up to their own true love which gives you some cute moments away from the dire peril. It plays into the fairy tale element so while it can feel predictable, it is a nice one where the tropes of the originals are still in play. Plus Meyer is once again giving us fun play on words with names and circumstances to delight us as Thorne and Cress come together.

I can’t remember much besides vague plot points but I did give it four stars and I remember really loving it. So based off vibes it was a great book and a great next step in the series to the epic conclusion.

You can purchase Cress via the following

QBD | Dymocks | Booktopia

Wordery | Blackwell’s | Angus & Robertson

Fishpond | Amazon | Amazon Aust | Audible

Long Lost Review: Scarlet (#2) by Marissa Meyer

09 May 2024 Leave a comment

by Amy in Fantasy, Long Lost Reviews, Science Fiction, Young Adult Tags: #llr, fantasy, long lost review, Long Lost Reviews, marissa meyer, science fiction, the lunar chronicles, young adult

Published: 13 February 2013
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Pages: 454
Format: Paperback
Genre: Young Adult Sci-Fi/Fantasy
★ ★ ★ ★ – 4 Stars

Cinder, the cyborg mechanic, returns in the second thrilling installment of the bestselling Lunar Chronicles. She’s trying to break out of prison—even though if she succeeds, she’ll be the Commonwealth’s most wanted fugitive.

Halfway around the world, Scarlet Benoit’s grandmother is missing. When Scarlet encounters Wolf, a street fighter who may have information as to her grandmother’s whereabouts, she is loath to trust this stranger, but is inexplicably drawn to him, and he to her. As Scarlet and Wolf unravel one mystery, they encounter another when they meet Cinder. Now, all of them must stay one step ahead of the vicious Lunar Queen Levana, who will do anything for the handsome Prince Kai to become her husband, her king, her prisoner.

This poor series has been sitting unreviewed properly for years because I wanted to post reviews in order and this one never wanted to be written. I am now trying to drag up my memory of this book to do a quick one to get it done. It’s definitely an ongoing theme because it took me forever to get around to reading it in the first place after I read Cinder but it didn’t disappoint.

I enjoyed how we are still in the world of Cinder while also branching out and exploring other characters. It was an interesting approach to have a sequel that’s still so connected with the first book characters while also introducing new people and a whole new story. Being set in the same world I thought there’d be references, but the changing perspectives captures a great look at various corners of the world and Meyer brings them together remarkably well.

The Cinder side gives a great plotline as we see her become a fugitive; and after the events in book one it’s great to see her story continue. I enjoyed the slow reveal and the pacing as everything is revealed. Scarlet’s story is also full of amazing twists and the way Meyer lays hints and clues pulls you along. Scarlet is a great character, she is fiery and passionate and I enjoyed seeing her with Wolf and their dynamic together. I loved how Cinder’s story and Scarlet’s come together, it is skilful storytelling, and I loved how they are each the main character of their own story, they have their own stories right up until their lives intertwine.

I love how Meyer has connected these fairytales in new and brilliant ways. The science fiction and fantasy come together so well and it’s incredible to see her imagination work. It is a fascinating story and one that reveals more about each of the characters old and new, as well as shows readers more about the world’s history and the challenges they face.