Review: Wires and Nerve Volume 1 - Marissa Meyer

The first graphic novel from #1 New York Times and USA Today bestseller Marissa Meyer!

In her first graphic novel, bestselling author Marissa Meyer extends the world of the Lunar Chronicles with a brand-new, action-packed story about Iko, the android with a heart of (mechanized) gold.When rogue packs of wolf-hybrid soldiers threaten the tenuous peace alliance between Earth and Luna, Iko takes it upon herself to hunt down the soldiers' leader. She is soon working with a handsome royal guard who forces her to question everything she knows about love, loyalty, and her own humanity. With appearances by Cinder, Cress, Scarlet, Winter, and the rest of the Rampion crew, this is a must-have for fans of the bestselling series.

Lunar Chronicles Series:
Glitches (free prequel short story can be read online here)
The Little Android (free short story can be read online here)
Cinder
The Queen's Army (free short story can be read online here)
Scarlet
Cress
Carswell's Guide to Being Lucky (free short story can be read by signing up for Marissa Meyer's newsletter)
Fairest
Winter

Wires and Nerve:
(Graphic novel series staring Iko set after the events in the Lunar Chronicles books)
Wires and Nerve Volume 1
Wires and Nerve Volume 2: Gone Rogue

Visit Marissa Meyer's website for more information

Review:
I'm not sure why it took me so long to get around to reading this graphic novel (especially considering I bought my copy back in 2017!) but I'm so glad I finally gave it a chance. I love Marissa Meyer's Lunar Chronicles series and Iko was such a fantastic character all the way through so I was really excited when it was announced that she was getting her own spin off duology. I wasn't sure how it would work as graphic novels compared to the rest of the series but I actually liked getting to see drawn representations of each of the characters we've come to know and love. I will warn you now that this graphic novel contains HUGE spoilers for the main series so if you've not read the previous books I wouldn't advice starting with this graphic novel but for fans of the originals I'm sure you'll enjoy being back in this world.

Iko's story starts not long after the events in Winter and gives us the chance to see how each of the previous couples are getting along now. Some have been able to happily return to their old lives but others, like Cinder, have a lot more work to do to prove themselves. Iko is loyal to her friends above anything else and is like a protective older sister when it comes to Cinder but helping her settle into her role as queen isn't something she is really able to do. What Iko can do to help is deal with the wolf-hybrids created by Levana, the hybrids have been asked to return to the moon for retraining but a group of rogues remain on earth and are currently causing all kinds of trouble. As an android Iko is uniquely qualified to go after these super soldiers but even with her extra skills it's not going to be an easy task.

I really enjoyed being back in this world, Iko is just as much fun as I remember her being and I love the sense of humour she brings to the series. Although my personal preference is usually for more colourful artwork I thought the blue, white and black palette used for this novel worked really well. I liked the artist's vision of each of the main characters and didn't have any problems telling who was who just by looking at them. It was fun seeing where everyone's life is at right now but I'm really hoping to seem them all reunited in the next graphic novel.

I'm including pictures of the first couple of pages so that you can see each of the main characters for yourself:

Cinder, Kai, Thorne, Scarlet & Wolf

Cress, Jacin, Winter & Iko

Source: Purchased

Other reviews of this book:
If you have reviewed this book on your blog please leave a link to your review in the comments & I'll add the link here.

Hardback / Paperback:

Review: Winter - Marissa Meyer

This is not the fairy tale you remember.
But it's one you won't forget.

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?

Lunar Chronicles Series:
Glitches (free prequel short story can be read online here)
The Little Android (free short story can be read online here)
Cinder
The Queen's Army (free short story can be read online here)
Scarlet
Cress
Carswell's Guide to Being Lucky (free short story can be read by signing up for Marissa Meyer's newsletter)
Fairest
Winter

Wires and Nerve:
(Graphic novel series staring Iko set after the events in the Lunar Chronicles books)
Wires and Nerve Volume 1
Wires and Nerve Volume 2: Gone Rogue

Visit Marissa Meyer's website for more information

Review:
Winter, the long awaited finale to the Lunar Chronicles, was probably one of my most anticipated reads of 2015 so it's no surprise that I dropped everything to dive straight in when my copy arrived. Not many authors can pull off a book that's over 800 pages long but still has me gripped from beginning to end but Marissa Mayer achieved it and Winter was truly EPIC. I did have an issue with one thing towards the end of the book but apart from that I loved every minute of this book and it took me on an emotional roller coaster ride that I won't be forgetting any time soon.

I want to talk about how much I love all the characters in this series (well, apart from Levana who is one of the most despicable character's I've ever read about LOL). I love how unique each of the couples have been and how they've all had their own important roles to play in the series. Cinder has been a brilliant character from the beginning, I love how smart she is and the way she always looks out for the people around her. She never wanted to be the missing Lunar princess but she knows she's the only one who can rightfully take the throne from Levana so she's taken on the responsibility to save her people even when the thought of becoming a queen terrifies her. Kai is a great match for her, he understands responsibility probably even more than she does, everything he does is to protect the his people even when it means making horrific sacrifices like agreeing to marry Levana. Their relationship has been quite a slow burner but it's so sweet to watch and I loved it.

Scarlet and Wolf have been through hell and back already but their troubles are only just beginning. At the start of Winter Scarlet is being held captive on Lunar and Wolf is at a complete loss without her. My heart broke for everything these two have to endure and I think they're probably my favourite couple because of the way they're both so determined to find a way back to each other. Nothing is going to stop them and they have some of the sweetest moments in the book alongside some of the most upsetting. Thorne always makes me laugh, no matter what situation the group find themselves in he always manages to lighten the mood and add a little humour. There is a lot more to him than meets the eye though and I enjoyed getting the chance to dig deeper into his character in this book. Cress is the sweetest and most innocent of the group, she has led such a sheltered life and has never really been in physical danger in this way before but she steps up to the plate wonderfully and I was so proud of how brave she has become here.

Winter and Jacin may be the newest couple in the series but I think they're possibly the cutest. Winter comes across as completely crazy most of the time and she's definitely damaged thanks to the Lunar sickness she has from refusing to use her abilities but underneath the madness she can be surprisingly intelligent and she has some really interesting insights into other characters and the situation they're all in. Jacin has loved Winter forever but he knows they'll never have a future, after all she's a princess and he's merely a guard. He will do anything to protect her though and as much as some of his actions are questionable and made me angry his heart is in the right place and he has a reason for everything he does. Never once does he care about his own life, it's all about what needs to be done to protect Winter and I admired him for the way he looked out for her. I also loved seeing the two of them together and even now I've reached the end of the series I'm having trouble picking out a favourite couple to ship. I can't forget to mention Iko, the sweetest little boy crazy android you could ever hope to meet, she is just so adorable and adds a huge amount of fun to the series.

What I love about Marissa Meyer, aside from her ability to create fantastic characters and a wonderfully imaginative world, is the way she manages to take such well known fairytales and completely twist them on their heads. She includes enough elements to make them recognisable but at the same time manages to create something unique and completely her own. This series has been full of incredibly highs and horrifying lows and Winter nearly turned me into an emotional wreck but the journey was so, so worth it. I did mention that there was something towards the end that irritated me but I can't go into too much depth without giving spoilers so I'll just say that I didn't like the way they used Levana's disfigurement against her, they had plenty of other ammunition to use considering all the horrific things Levana has done and that just made me feel really uncomfortable. In any other book I'd have probably marked the story down for that but I was so completely invested in this series and so gripped for the entire book that I can't bring myself to give it less than five stars. It truly has been a memorable journey and although I'm sad it's over I'm very happy with the way everything came together.

Marissa Meyer was already an auto-buy author for me but finding out that her next book, Heartless, is going to be based on Alice in Wonderland has just made me even more eager to get my hands on a copy!

Source: Purchased

Other reviews of this book:
If you have reviewed this book on your blog please leave a link to your review in the comments & I'll add the link here.

Paperback / Kindle:

Quick Review: Carswell's Guide to Being Lucky - Marissa Meyer

Thirteen-year-old Carswell Thorne has big plans involving a Rampion spaceship and a no-return trip out of Los Angeles.

A short story that appeared in Target exclusive copies of Cress. (You can also subscribe to Marissa Meyer's newsletter and this short story will be emailed to you for free!)

Lunar Chronicles Series:
Glitches (free prequel short story can be read online here)
The Little Android (free short story can be read online here)
Cinder
The Queen's Army (free short story can be read online here)
Scarlet
Cress
Carswell's Guide to Being Lucky (free short story can be read by signing up for Marissa Meyer's newsletter)
Fairest
Winter

Wires and Nerve:
(Graphic novel series staring Iko set after the events in the Lunar Chronicles books)
Wires and Nerve Volume 1
Wires and Nerve Volume 2: Gone Rogue

Visit Marissa Meyer's website for more information

Quick Review:
Carswell's Guide to Being Lucky is a free short story in Marissa Meyer's Lunar Chronicles that was originally only available in Target exclusive copies of Cress which was a huge disappointment to international readers like me who had no chance of buying a copy. Thankfully this story is now available to anyone, all you have to do is sign up for Marissa Meyer's newsletter and she'll send you a free copy of it. Don't you just love it when author's give something back to their fans? I know I do so I really appreciate this gesture!

I'm not going to go into much detail about this story because it's really short and it would be too easy to spoil. Instead I'll just tell you that it's about Captain Thorne's school days, he's only thirteen years old in this and you can already tell what a loveable rogue he's going to grow into. I loved reading about his crazy money making schemes and it was interesting to learn more about his background. Was it too short? Of course it was, let's be honest anything less than a full length novel (& probably not even that!) wasn't going to give me my fill of Thorne but as an extra freebie read I loved every minute of it.

Source: I received a free copy by signing up for Marissa Meyer's newsletter.

Other reviews of this book:
If you have reviewed this book on your blog please leave a link to your review in the comments & I'll add the link here.

Quick Review: The Little Android - Marissa Meyer

The Little Android is a retelling of The Little Mermaid, set in the world of The Lunar Chronicles by New York Times-bestselling author Marissa Meyer.

When android Mech6.0 saves the life of a handsome hardware engineer, her body is destroyed and her mechanics discover a glitch in her programming. Androids aren’t meant to develop impractical reasoning or near-emotional responses . . . let alone fall in love.

Lunar Chronicles Series:
Glitches (free prequel short story can be read online here)
The Little Android (free short story can be read online here)
Cinder
The Queen's Army (free short story can be read online here)
Scarlet
Cress
Carswell's Guide to Being Lucky (free short story can be read by signing up for Marissa Meyer's newsletter)
Fairest
Winter

Wires and Nerve:
(Graphic novel series staring Iko set after the events in the Lunar Chronicles books)
Wires and Nerve Volume 1
Wires and Nerve Volume 2: Gone Rogue

Visit Marissa Meyer's website for more information

Quick Review:
I absolutely love Marissa Meyer's Lunar Chroncles series and I love that she's written so many short stories set in this world that she gives to fans as little freebies. The Little Android is actually a retelling of The Little Mermaid (the original version rather than the Disney one) and it can be read for free on Wattpad HERE.

I have to admit that when I saw the title I had hoped the story might be about Iko, the funniest little boy crazy android who happens to be one of my favourite characters in the series, but now I've read the story I'm kind of glad it was about a new character! This story works as a complete stand alone so it doesn't matter if you've read any of the other books - although if you are familiar with the series you'll be pleased to spot a small appearance from Cinder!

I'm not going to go into details of the plot - it's free, and short so it'll only take you about 20 minute so you have absolutely no excuse not to read it yourself! - but this is a really cute but rather bitter-sweet story that gave me all the feels at the end.

Thanks Marissa Meyer for all these extras, can you please write lots more of them because I'm not ready to say goodbye to this world or these characters yet!

Source: Read for free on the Wattpad website here.

Other reviews of this book:
If you have reviewed this book on your blog please leave a link to your review in the comments & I'll add the link here.

Review: Fairest - Marissa Meyer

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.

Lunar Chronicles Series:
Glitches (free prequel short story can be read online here)
The Little Android (free short story can be read online here)
Cinder
The Queen's Army (free short story can be read online here)
Scarlet
Cress
Carswell's Guide to Being Lucky (free short story can be read by signing up for Marissa Meyer's newsletter)
Fairest
Winter

Wires and Nerve:
(Graphic novel series staring Iko set after the events in the Lunar Chronicles books)
Wires and Nerve Volume 1
Wires and Nerve Volume 2: Gone Rogue

Visit Marissa Meyer's website for more information

Review:
I'm such a huge fan of Marissa Meyer's Lunar Chronicles series so when I first heard about Fairest I knew I had to read it. Although a lot of the events in this story take place before the beginning of this series please be aware that it does include spoilers for the first three books so I wouldn't recommend reading it until after Cress. In fact, I'm going to assume that you've already read that far so please don't carry on reading this review if you haven't or you may pick up spoilers for the previous books.

We all know how evil Levana is, she has committed some horrific acts and she isn't the kind of character I feel any sympathy for so I was really interested to see if Marissa Meyer could make a story from her point of view work. I didn't go into it expecting to like Levana, there is no way she's going to suddenly change from bad to good at this point, but I was looking forward to finding out why she is the way she is. What caused her to become so obsessed with power? Why is she so determined to destroy Cinder and her allies? Is she completely crazy or is there a motive behind her madness? I'm glad to say we got answers to all of those questions and more.

Fairest isn't an easy read, Levana had a difficult childhood and I was surprised to find myself feeling somewhat sorry for her during her earlier years, but that will never excuse the things she went on to do as an adult. Reading about her as a child it is quite obvious that Levana has never been "normal", she doesn't understand emotions and she has no concept of what is considered acceptable behaviour. Her sister treats her appallingly but that doesn't give Levana the right to punish other people. I quickly lost sympathy for her because of the way she treated the people around her and her husband Evret in particular. It was just horrifying watching what she did to him and I'll warn you now this is much darker story than the rest of the series has been.

This story gives readers and all access pass into the mind of one of the creepiest villains I've come across in a long time and trust me Levana's head is not a pleasant place to visit. She is so far beyond sane that I doubt anyone will be able to connect with her but I found it absolutely fascinating to see how her mind works. Levana is broken, she is hurt, scared and completely twisted and she goes to incredible lengths because she is desperately looking for love and acceptance. Unfortunately the lengths she goes to make it impossible for anyone to do anything other than fear her and she managed to terrorize anyone who ever showed even an inkling of kindness towards her. Fairest is a dark and fascinating story and I enjoyed every minute of it in a really uncomfortable kind of way. It's kind of like that feeling you get when you see something absolutely horrific, the one where you desperately want to look away but can't quite bring yourself to.

Levana isn't a good person, and this won't leave you hoping she gets a happy ending to her story but it's not supposed to make you sympathise with her. I think this story is purely to help readers understand quite what level of madness Cinder and her allies are up against and what lengths Levana is prepared to go to in order to win. This has made me more desperate than ever to get my hands on the final book in the series, Winter, and I'm sure our favourite characters are in for an even rougher ride than the one they've already survived!

Source: Purchased

Other reviews of this book:
If you have reviewed this book on your blog please leave a link to your review in the comments & I'll add the link here.

Hardback / Paperback:

Review: Cress - Marissa Meyer

Incarcerated in a satellite, an expert hacker and out to save the world - Cress isn't your usual damsel in distress.

Cress grew up as a prisoner. With only netscreens for company, she's forced to do the bidding of the evil Queen Levana. Now that means tracking down Cinder and her handsome accomplice Emperor Kai. But little does Queen Levana know that those she seeks, and the man she loves, are plotting her downfall . . .

As paths cross and the price of freedom rises happily ever after has never seemed further away for Cress, Scarlett and Cinder.

This is not the fairytale you remember.
But it's one you won't forget.

Lunar Chronicles Series:
Glitches (free prequel short story can be read online here)
The Little Android (free short story can be read online here)
Cinder
The Queen's Army (free short story can be read online here)
Scarlet
Cress
Carswell's Guide to Being Lucky (free short story can be read by signing up for Marissa Meyer's newsletter)
Fairest
Winter

Wires and Nerve:
(Graphic novel series staring Iko set after the events in the Lunar Chronicles books)
Wires and Nerve Volume 1
Wires and Nerve Volume 2: Gone Rogue

Visit Marissa Meyer's website for more information

Check out the Cress book trailer below:


Review:
I've been a huge fan of the Lunar Chronicles ever since I first read Cinder so I couldn't wait to get my hands on Cress, I pre-ordered this book as soon as it was available and I dropped everything to read it the minute my copy arrived. I love the way Marissa Meyer manages to weave fairytale characters into her stories, she has created such a fascinating world and it's full of characters I've come to love throughout the series. Each book adds a new main character, in this case we have Cress (a take on Rapunzel), but we still get the chance to catch up with previous characters and see how their journey is continuing.

Cress has been held prisoner on a tiny satellite orbiting earth for seven years now and she has been forced to help Queen Levana by hiding the Lunar ships full of soldiers that are currently in orbit. All she has ever wanted is to find a way to escape her prison and she hopes that by reaching out to Levana's enemy Cinder she might find herself an ally. Cinder is currently in hiding with Scarlet, Wolf and Thorne but she is determined to find a way to prevent Levana from marrying Emperor Kai and continuing her attempt to take over earth. Cress has insider information that could be vital but it isn't going to be easy to rescue her and still have time to stop the wedding from taking place.

From the minute I started this book I couldn't put it down, I just loved being back in this world and catching up with all of my favourite characters. It's not often an author can pull me back in to a series so easily when I've had to wait a year between instalments, this is a particular problem since I no longer have time to reread the previous books each time but thankfully that wasn't an issue here. Within a few pages I was fully immersed in Marissa Meyer's world and desperate to see how things played out. Cress is a book that has a lot of important revelations that are going to have major impact on how things play out in the final instalment, Winter. As such there were times when I found it a little slower than the previous books but that didn't mean I was any less hooked on the story - I stayed up until 5am to finish reading it so that's got to tell you something about how much I loved it!

Cress is very different to our previous heroines, she is much more innocent and naive but I found that completely understandable considering her circumstances. She has spent seven years trapped on a tiny satellite which is probably smaller than most studio apartments, the only person she has had any contact with has been one of Levana's trusted aides and that has only been for very short periods of time. It's actually quite surprising that Cress is still sane considering everything she's been through! I thought she was such a sweet character and I loved seeing her grow in confidence once she'd been rescued. She starts off as a damsel in distress but by the end of the book she is doing a much better job of standing on her own two feet. I loved Thorne in the previous book but he grew on me even more here, he is still that cheeky guy we came to love but he has a much nicer side that he keeps well hidden. Cress is the only one who sees through his witty banter to the hero hidden deep inside and even though she sees more good in his actions than were really there she ends up making him want to be a better man so he can live up to her expectations.

Cress is immediately besotted with Thorne because he is not only the person who comes to her rescue but as he rightly points out to her he is also the first man she's ever met. I'm glad that he calls her on her childish infatuation and doesn't take advantage of her affection. I would have liked a little more time spent seeing them get to know each other so that I could have had more faith in their relationship but I still enjoyed spending time with the two of them, especially once Cress started to grow up a little as she got used to the outside world. One other thing I missed in this instalment was Scarlet, she doesn't have such a major role in this story and she is separated from the others for the majority of the time which made my heart break for Wolf a little. I can understand why it had to happen that way though and I'm sure it's going to be very different in the next book.

We also get a glimpse at the next heroine, Winter, and I can't wait to find out more about her. She is a lunar princess but because she has refused to use her powers for so long she is starting to lose her sanity. Winter is definitely an interesting character and I'm sure she's going to cause all sorts of chaos in the next book. I've been following this series since the very beginning so it's going to be a long wait until Winter is released in 2015 but I'm sure it will be worth it - I'm absolutely desperate to know how things turn out for Cinder and the gang!

Source: Purchased

Other reviews of this book:
If you have reviewed this book on your blog please leave a link to your review in the comments & I'll add the link here.

Paperback / Kindle:

Review: Scarlet - Marissa Meyer

Scarlet Benoit's grandmother is missing. The police have closed her case. The only person Scarlet can turn to is Wolf, a street fighter she does not trust, but they are drawn to each other.

Meanwhile, in New Beijing, Cinder will become the Commonwealth's most wanted fugitive - when she breaks out of prison to stay one step ahead of vicious Queen Levana.

As Scarlet and Wolf expose one mystery, they encounter Cinder and a new one unravels. Together they must challenge the evil queen, who will stop at nothing to make Prince Kai her husband, her king, her prisoner . . .

Lunar Chronicles Series:
Glitches (free prequel short story can be read online here)
The Little Android (free short story can be read online here)
Cinder
The Queen's Army (free short story can be read online here)
Scarlet
Cress
Carswell's Guide to Being Lucky (free short story can be read by signing up for Marissa Meyer's newsletter)
Fairest
Winter

Wires and Nerve:
(Graphic novel series staring Iko set after the events in the Lunar Chronicles books)
Wires and Nerve Volume 1
Wires and Nerve Volume 2: Gone Rogue

Visit Marissa Meyer's website for more information

Check out the Scarlet book trailer below:


Review:
Although this review will be spoiler free for Scarlet I am working on the assumption that if you're reading this you've already read Cinder. If you haven't then look away now because there will be spoilers ahead if you don't. Now we've got the warning out of the way let's get back to the actual review.

I really enjoyed Cinder when I read it last year so I couldn't wait to get my hands on Scarlet, I knew it would be a great read but it managed to blow me away. If you thought Cinder was good then you've not seen anything yet because Scarlet was absolutely fantastic! Seriously, my only disappointment with this book is that I've got to wait a whole year to get my hands on Cress. Marissa Meyer has masterfully woven two different plot threads so that you get to follow both Cinder and Scarlet on their adventures, although both girls are facing very different challenges the threads eventually weave together as they discover a common enemy.

Cinder was imprisoned as a traitor at the end of the last book and she is awaiting exile to Luna at the order of Queen Levana. She knows that she will be killed if Levana gets her hands on her so her only option is to escape from prison. In hiding and on the run she must try to uncover more about her past to understand why Levana is so threatened by her. I love Cinder, she is so practical and no matter what is thrown at her she uses her brain to find a way around it. She is struggling to accept the discoveries she made in the last book, it has changed everything she thought that she knew about herself and her upbringing but she doesn't sit around moping. Instead she becomes determined to find out who helped to keep her hidden all of these years and just why she was given all her cyborg implants. We don't get to see as much of Kai in this book but Cinder has an unlikely companion to help her with her investigations. Thorne was absolutely brilliant and he added a lot of humour to the story (don't worry though - Marissa Meyer hasn't created yet another YA love triangle for us!). I did miss Kai but we have a few chapters from his POV scattered throughout the book and to be honest I don't think we needed more of his story at the moment.

Our other heroine in this tale is Scarlet, a young pilot who works delivering produce from her grandmother's market to local shops and restaurants. Scarlet's grandmother has been missing for several weeks and she knows that something terrible must have happened to keep her away from her home for so long. The police refuse to investigate thinking that her grandmother has left on her own accord so Scarlet knows that it is up to her to uncover the truth. Scarlet doesn't trust street fighter Wolf but she has good reasons to believe that he can help her find her grandmother so she has no other option but to request his help. The romance that develops between them as they try to track down her grandmother was delightful to watch and I have to admit to swooning over Wolf on more than one occasion! He's definitely my favourite hero of the series so far. As much as I loved Wolf he definitely has a darker side and he is keeping plenty of secrets from everyone around him which makes it hard to decide if he's trustworthy.

I don't want to say too much more about the story other than to tell you to go out and grab a copy immediately. If you enjoyed Cinder you're going to love Scarlet even more and I absolutely can't wait until Cress is published. This is quickly becoming one of my favourite series so if you like fairytale retellings or futuristic science fiction you need to read these books. I'm actually kind of jealous of people who haven't read these books yet because they still get to experience reading them for the first time.

Source: Received from Puffin in exchange for an honest review

Other reviews of this book:
If you have reviewed this book on your blog please leave a link to your review in the comments & I'll add the link here.

Paperback / Kindle:

Quick Review: The Queen's Army - Marissa Meyer

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.

Lunar Chronicles Series:
Glitches (free prequel short story can be read online here)
The Little Android (free short story can be read online here)
Cinder
The Queen's Army (free short story can be read online here)
Scarlet
Cress
Carswell's Guide to Being Lucky (free short story can be read by signing up for Marissa Meyer's newsletter)
Fairest
Winter

Wires and Nerve:
(Graphic novel series staring Iko set after the events in the Lunar Chronicles books)
Wires and Nerve Volume 1
Wires and Nerve Volume 2: Gone Rogue

Visit Marissa Meyer's website for more information

Quick Review:
I'm a massive fan of Marissa Meyer's Lunar Chronicles series and I love the fact that she has written a couple of free short stories that tie in with the series. The first story, Glitches, shows how Cinder came to live with her adopted family and was a great series prequel and the second story, The Queen's Army, fits in before Scarlet and is the story of a young boy who is forcibly recruited into Queen Levana's army.

Z was taken from his family against his will and genetically modified before spending years training as a fighter with the rest of his pack. It was quite heartbreaking to think of all the things he's been through but I really enjoyed getting a bit more background information about the queen's soldiers and how they came what they are today. Anyone who has already read Scarlet will recognise a few familiar faces and I think I enjoyed this more because of that but you won't pick up spoilers if you read this first.

Fans of the series won't want to miss these short stories, I always love it when author's give something back to their fans in the form of extra scenes (especially when you don't have to pay for them!). You can read The Queen's Army on the Tor website here: http://www.tor.com/stories/2012/11/the-queens-army

Source: Read for free on the Tor website here.

Other reviews of this book:
If you have reviewed this book on your blog please leave a link to your review in the comments & I'll add the link here.

Quick Reviews: Glitches - Marissa Meyer & Tomorrow is Today - Julie Cross

Today I have a couple of quick reviews for you, both of these are short story prequels to 2012 debut novels and can be read online for free on the publisher's websites. I have included links so you can read them yourself.

Glitches by Marissa Meyer:

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....

Lunar Chronicles Series:
Glitches (free prequel short story can be read online here)
The Little Android (free short story can be read online here)
Cinder
The Queen's Army (free short story can be read online here)
Scarlet
Cress
Carswell's Guide to Being Lucky (free short story can be read by signing up for Marissa Meyer's newsletter)
Fairest
Winter

Wires and Nerve:
(Graphic novel series staring Iko set after the events in the Lunar Chronicles books)
Wires and Nerve Volume 1
Wires and Nerve Volume 2: Gone Rogue

Visit Marissa Meyer's website for more information

Quick Review:
Glitches is a great prequel to Marissa Meyer's debut novel Cinder. This is set 5 years before the beginning of the book and tells the story of Cinder's adoption by Garan and Adri. I actually read this story after I'd read Cinder but I think it would be a good way to get a feel for the authors writing style if you're not sure whether you want to try the series or not. I loved Cinder though so would definitely recommend giving it a try! You can read Glitches online for free here: http://www.tor.com/stories/2011/12/glitches

Tomorrow is Today by Julie Cross:

The year is 2009. Nineteen-year-old Jackson Meyer is a normal guy . . . he’s in college, throws lots of parties, is interested in a girl he can’t have, and oh yeah, he can travel back through time. But it’s not like the movies – nothing changes in the present after his jumps, there’s no space-time continuum issues or broken flux capacitors – it’s just harmless fun.

Tempest Series:
Tomorrow is Today (free prequel short story can be read online here)
Tempest
Titles and release dates for further books in the series TBC

Visit Julie Cross' website for more information

Quick Review:
Tomorrow is Today is a free prequel short story to Julie Cross' debut novel Tempest. I have to admit I found it a little confusing because I haven't read Tempest yet so I didn't know who the characters were. I would also have liked more information on how Jackson was able to travel through time but I'm sure I'll get that when I start the main book. I did like what I saw of Jackson though, especially his friendship with Adam (I'm not so keen on the fact that he seems to be chasing a girl who is in a steady relationship but I'll see how that plays out before I make a judgement against them both). This story did get me really excited about starting Tempest, I'm looking forward to reading a story about time travel since that isn't something I've seen much of. It'll be nice to read something completely different! You can read Tomorrow is Today online for free here: http://www.mykindabook.com/blogs/2011/12/EXCLUSIVE-short-story-by-Julie-Cross

Review: Cinder - Marissa Meyer

A forbidden romance. A deadly plague. Earth's fate hinges on one girl . . .

Cinder, a gifted mechanic in New Beijing, is also a cyborg. She's reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsister's sudden illness. But when her life becomes entwined with the handsome Prince Kai's, she finds herself at the centre of a violent struggle between the desires of an evil queen - and a dangerous temptation.

Cinder is caught between duty and freedom, loyalty and betrayal. Now she must uncover secrets about her mysterious past in order to protect Earth's future.

Lunar Chronicles Series:
Glitches (free prequel short story can be read online here)
The Little Android (free short story can be read online here)
Cinder
The Queen's Army (free short story can be read online here)
Scarlet
Cress
Carswell's Guide to Being Lucky (free short story can be read by signing up for Marissa Meyer's newsletter)
Fairest
Winter

Wires and Nerve:
(Graphic novel series staring Iko set after the events in the Lunar Chronicles books)
Wires and Nerve Volume 1
Wires and Nerve Volume 2: Gone Rogue

Visit Marissa Meyer's website for more information

Review:
Cinder is an orphan who was adopted by Garan when he was travelling in Europe and he brought her home to live with his family in New Beijing. Her stepmother Adri never wanted a new addition to the family and since Garan's death shortly after he returned with Cinder she has made her stepdaughter's life a misery. Cinder is a gifted mechanic - thanks to her cyborg abilities - and she is forced to work at the market to earn the money that the family need to survive.

I love fairytale retellings so as soon as I heard that Cinder gives Cinderella a futuristic sci-fi twist I knew I wanted to read it. I was caught up in the story from the moment I picked it up, Marissa Meyer has created a detailed and interesting world and one that I would have been happy to spend much more time exploring (yay for the fact there are going to be 3 more books in the series, although it's going to be a long wait to get my hands on them!). Set sometime after the fourth world war Cinder lives in a world of cyborgs, androids and hover cars. There is a worldwide deadly plague that is causing terror amongst the population, one with no survivors and that the scientists seem no closer to curing. I did find myself thrown out of the story a couple of times by the use of unfamiliar terminology but that was something I got used to and it didn't stop my enjoyment of the book.

What I loved most was Cinder's character, she is much stronger and less of a push over than poor Cinderella ever was. She may be treated terribly by her stepmother and her stepsister Pearl but she has a plan and she is determined to escape from their clutches. She is prepared to work hard, she doesn't sit around feeling sorry for herself and although she is a social outcast she still has confidence in her own abilities. I loved her relationship with her younger stepsister Peony who also happens to be her only human friend. Peony was the only member of Cinder's family that I didn't find myself wanting to slap or push off the top of a very tall building. She was a sweetheart and it was so nice that she didn't conform to everyone elses prejudices against cyborgs. I also loved Iko, their friendly household android with a faulty personality chip. Cinder, Peony and Iko together never failed to make me laugh with their crazy conversations. I liked Kai and I enjoyed the slowly developing romance with him and Cinder. I loved how flirtatious they were with each other and I really enjoyed the few chapters that we had from Kai's perspective. It would have been nice to have seen more from his point of view though because we didn't get to know him as well as I wanted to.

I haven't even mentioned the evil Queen Levana who is the ruler of the Lunars (the population on the moon). She was a ghastly character with some scary abilities and she has her sights set on taking over earth too! The plot is complex, there really are a lot of different things going on and I felt the pacing was great. I was never bored while reading, I enjoyed the world building (even though I am left with questions) and although I'd guessed one of the main twists there were still plenty of things that surprised me. I was a bit disappointed that we are left with such a huge cliffhanger ending though. I don't mind a bit of a tease for the next book but considering we have a year to wait for the next installment I really would have liked a few more things to have been resolved. Cinder is a strong debut and one that I would highly recommend to anyone who likes fairytale retellings and futuristic science fiction. I will be first in the queue to get a copy of the second book Scarlet (which is a retelling of Little Red Riding Hood) when it comes out next year!

Source: Received from Puffin in exchange for an honest review

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