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552 pages, Hardcover
First published February 4, 2014
“Have you given any thought to your wedding vows?” Kai snorted.
“Delete anything that has to do with love, respect, or joy, and I’ll sign on the dotted line.”
“You want to know another secret? The biggest secret? I’m scared, Kai. I’m so scared.”
Fun, lighthearted and delightful. I absolutely love how each book in this series is better than the last!
Maybe great, epic romances don't just happen. We have to make them ourselves.
“Captain,” she murmured. “I think I’m in love with you."Finally, Cress makes a harrowing break for freedom and much to her delight, she is accompanied by Captain Thorne.
A hand landed on Cress’s head. She gasped and recoiled, but Thorne was already wrapping his arm around her shoulders and squeezing her against him.With the revolution starting and the plague spreading, does Cress even have the time to get to know the real Thorne?
“Just checking it was you,” he whispered.
“How are your eyes?" she asked.Cress and Thorne have such a natural chemistry. Every time they were "on screen" I was ecstatic!
"Well, I've been told they're dreamy, but I'll let you decide for yourself.”
“Yeah, I guess you're right," he said, squeezing. "Maybe there's a little bit of a hero in me after all. But... really, Cress. Only a little.”In addition, I feel like the other couples have gotten stronger - in particular Scarlet and Wolf are really hitting it off.
“Even in the Future the Story Begins with Once Upon a Time.”
“I promise, I will not let you die without being kissed.”
“Maybe there isn’t such a thing as fate. Maybe it’s just the opportunities we’re given, and what we do with them. I’m beginning to think that maybe great, epic romances don’t just happen. We have to make them ourselves.”
"When she was jut a child, the witch locked her away in a tower that had neither doors nor stairs."
EXPLODE!
P.S. Cress is sooooo gonna end up with Thorne!!!!
WHILE READING!!!!!!!! :
AFTER READING!!!!!!!!! :
First WOW. How does Marissa Meyer do this? How does she create this world with all these intertwining characters and have it all fit together so beautifully? I just don’t understand!!! I could not put it down, I literally read it in like a day! I just got it yesterday!
Last night on February 12 I went to a Cress book signing in DC and actually got to meet Marissa Meyer! She is so nice and funny and just overall awesome! She always had a smile on her face and seemed so relatable. She was just great, a great person and an amazing author.
But ANYWAY, on to the review!
The book starts a few days after Scarlet ends. The crew of the Rampion is out in space thinking of ways to stop Levana’s wedding to Prince Kai and save the Earth when they finally make contact with Luna’s greatest hacker: Cress. She has been stranded in a satellite orbiting the earth for seven years and has never since then had human – or lunar – contact other than Levana’s head thaumaturge, Sybil. So of course our heroic crew goes out to get her but things get complicated when they become separated.
Thorne is now with Cress stranded in the middle of the Sahara, Cinder is left to care for an unconscious Wolf and Scarlet has been taken away to Luna. On top of that, the wedding of the century is only days away. Though the odds are not in their favor, that has never stopped the crew before. Will they stop the wedding? Will they ever re-unite?
You’ll have to read to find out.
Now before I start speaking of my thoughts let me show the real story of Rapunzel (shortened version) Long, long ago in a house that overlooked a beautiful garden lived a childless couple. They prayed to God every day to bless them with a child. One day they found that God had answered their prayer. They were at long last going to have a baby!
Their days passed in happiness but alas! the wife fell ill. She would eat nothing and the husband was worried that she would waste away. He tried to tempt her with many good things but she refused everything. “But you must eat something, my dear,” he begged her. “There is a herb called Rapunzel in the garden next door. I will feel better if I can eat that,” she said. The husband’s heart sank when he heard her. This garden was owned by a wicked witch who would let no one enter. But he loved his wife very much and so with a pounding heart, he decided to go into the garden at a time when the witch was away. One day, finding an appropriate time he went into the garden. He had managed to pluck the herb but as he was about to leave, the wicked witch came back. “You thief! How dare you enter my garden?” she screamed. She threatened to put a curse on him. He fell at her feet and begged, “Please don’t curse me. If my wife doesn’t eat this herb, she will die. She is going to have a baby and is very ill.” The witch stopped to think awhile. “I will let you go on one condition. You will give me the baby after it’s born.” The poor man had no other way out but to agree.
He took the herb to his wife and miraculously she soon recovered and gave birth to a beautiful girl. But as per the agreement the witch came to take the baby away. She took Rapunzel—for that’s what she named her—far away and locked her in a high tower. The tower had no doors or stairs. There was only a window on top.
The only person whom Rapunzel ever saw was the wicked witch. Rapunzel grew up to become beautiful with pretty eyes, a beautiful voice, and her golden hair grew very, very long. All day long, when Rapunzel was alone, she would sing and weep.
Every day, the wicked witch came to the tower with food. She stood at the bottom of the tower and shouted. “Rapunzel! Rapunzel! Let your hair down!” Rapunzel would drop her long, braided hair through the window. The witch used the hair as a rope to climb into the tower.
One day, a handsome prince was passing by and heard her sing. He fell in love with her voice and unknown to all came to the tower every day to hear her sing. One day, the prince saw the witch climbing up the tower using Rapunzel’s hair.
The next day, the prince too called out to Rapunzel. “Let down your hair,” he said. The prince climbed to the top of the tower. After that, the prince came to meet Rapunzel every night.
Alas! the witch soon discovered the prince with Rapunzel. She pushed him from the tower onto a thorny bush, making him blind. She banished Rapunzel into the desert far away.
Many years passed. The blind prince wandered alone and finally reached the same desert. One day, he heard familiar voice singing. Following the sound he found her. They hugged each other in joy. Tears of happiness rolled down Rapuzel’s cheek. As the tears fell on the prince’s eyes, he regained his vision.
The prince took Rapunzel to his kingdom and they lived happily ever after.
Now that you’ve seen that you can compare it to Cress and see how wonderfully Miss Meyer put it all together.
My thoughts:
I loved this book. I love the entire series. I admit that I had my problems with Cinder but the Scarlet came and my mind was blown and just when it was getting back together Cress comes and leaves me in an even worse state than I was before and I can’t believe that I have to wait another year for Winter. I honestly don’t think I can wait that long. I just love this story and how well they intertwine and of course I love the characters. These characters have been pushed to their limits and then pushed some more. Just when you think they can’t get up they leap into the air and keep moving and I love that. These characters aren’t whinny or stupid as I’ve seen some characters be but they are strong and all just wonderful people and I love strong willed likeable characters and Miss Meyer knows how to write them so well.
I also love the characters relationships with each other. I love how they all have their matched pairs and it’s just so cute to read. Originally my favorite pairing was that between Wolf and Scarlet but I have to admit I LOVE Thorne and Cress!
In Scarlet I really began liking Thorne but here in Cress I really am starting to love him. At the signing she mentioned that Thorne is one of her favorite characters to write and it definitely shows in her writing of him. He has officially become one of my favorite characters. Part of him kind or reminds me of Puck in the IRON FEY SERIES who is one of my favorite characters EVER in that he always has that cocky smile even in the worst times and is always making jokes even in the face of death and despite that they are both really great people with hearts of gold.
Now more proof of Marissa Meyer’s awesomeness is the names!!!
The first is Rapunzel which is actually a type of vegetable kind of like cabbage. Now as you all know, Captain Thorne’s ship is called Rampion. In some versions of the Brothers Grimm story (see above) instead of rapunzel that the woman craves it is rampion another name for …wait for it…rapunzel!!! Then you bring in the name Cress which is *drum roll please* A VEGATABLE IN THE CABBAGE FAMILY!!!! The ship had been named Rampion way before Cress was introduced and yet it was still connected to the story! Holy God! This woman is genius!!!! It is obvious that she put in so much detail in making her story and I greatly admire that.
I really have nothing bad to say about this book other than:
I NEEDED MORE SCARLET AND WOLF! THERE WAS NO SCARLET AND WOLF!
There better be some Scarlet-Wolf interaction in Winter that is all I ask.
Oh and another thing that got to me was in the last chapters of the book. There was one line that completely blew my mind:
“Her warm brown skin was flawless…”
WARM BROWN SKIN!
Plot twist! Snow White is NOT WHITE!!!!
I absolutely LOVE that! I would never have thought of that. It’s just so clever and creative. I cannot wait to read from her POV.
Great book! Passed all my expecttions.
I now have a review of Winter!
"Sweet Crescent Moon,
Up in the sky,
You sing your song so sweetly,
After sunshine passes by."
"Captain?"
"Yeah?"
"Do you think it was destiny that brought us together?"
"No. I'm pretty sure it was Cinder."
“Even in the future, there are damsels in distress…
“You said yourself that the people of Luna need a revolutionary.” She lifted her chin, holding his gaze. “So I’m going to Luna, and I’m going to start a revolution.”
“Have you given any thought to your wedding vows?”
Kai snorted. “Delete anything that has to do with love, respect, or joy, and I’ll sign on the dotted line.”
“The other girl, Iko, cupped her chin with both hands. "This is so much better than a net drama.”
“Seeing that smile, Cress melted. Every. Time.”
"Wha—where'd she go?" Thorne's voice came to her through the screen.
"Honestly, Thorne." A girl. Linh Cinder? "Do you ever think before you speak?"
"What? What did I say?"
" 'Is that all hair?' "
"Did you see it? It was like a cross between a magpie nest and ball of yarn after it's been mauled by a cheetah."
A beat. Then, "A cheetah?"
"It was the first big cat that came to mind.”
“Captain,” she murmured.
“I think I’m in love with you.”
An eyebrow shot up. She counted six beats of his heart before, suddenly, he laughed.
“Don’t tell me it took you two whole days to realize that. I must be losing my touch.”
“Captain?”
“Yeah?”
“Do you think it was destiny that brought us together?”
He squinted and, after a thoughtful moment, shook his head. “No. I’m pretty sure it was Cinder.”
“But you’re a prisoner,” said Thorne.
“I prefer damsel in distress,” she murmured.
One side of Thorne’s mouth quirked up, into that perfect half smile he’d had in his graduation photo. A look that was a little bit devious, and all sorts of charming.
Cress’s heart stopped, but if they noticed her melting into her chair, they didn’t say anything.”
“How are your eyes?” she asked.
“Well, I’ve been told they’re dreamy, but I’ll let you decide for yourself.”
“She loved him more than ever. And not because she’d scoured file after file of reports and summaries and data and photographs. Not because he was the dreamy, untouchable Carswell Thorne that she’d imagined kissing on the banks of a starlit river while fireworks exploded overhead and violins played in the background. Now he was the Carswell Thorne who had given her strength in the desert. Who had come for her when she was kidnapped. Who had kissed her when hope was lost and death was imminent.”
“Aaaaw,” squealed Iko. “Did Wolf just say he loves Scarlet? That’s so cute!”
Scarlet cringed. “He did not – that wasn’t -” She balled her fists against her sides. “Can we get back to these soldiers that are being rounded up, please?”
“Is she blushing? She sounds like she’s blushing.”
“She’s blushing.” Thorne confirmed, shiffling the cards. “Actually, Wolf is also looking a little flustered -”
“She’s my alpha”
“Bending his head, Kai pressed his lips to her knuckles. The plating had no nerve endings, and yet the touch sent a tingle of electricity along her arm.
“Cinder?”
“Mm?”
He lifted his gaze. “Just to be clear, you’re not using your mind powers on me right now, are you?”
She blinked. “Of course not.”
“Just checking.”
Then he slid his arms around her waist and kissed her.
Cinder gasped, pressing her palms against his chest. Kai pulled her closer.
Seconds later, her brain began registering all the new chemicals flooding her system. INCREASED LEVELS OF DOPAMINE AND ENDORPHINS, REDUCED AMOUNTS OF CORTISOL, ERRATIC PULSE, RISING BLOOD PRESSURE …
Leaning into him, Cinder sent the messages away. Her hands tentatively made their way to his shoulders, before stringing around his neck.”
"Because if there was one thing Cress knew about heroes, it was that they could not resist a damsel in distress.
And she was nothing if not in distress."
“Captain?"
"Yeah?"
"Do you think it was destiny that brought us together?"
He squinted and, after a thoughtful moment, shook his head. "No. I'm pretty sure it was Cinder.”