Saturday Songs & Pages: #TLCReadAlong: Scarlet by Marissa Meyer!!

Hello guys!

Today I'm a mixed up sort of post since I was feeling quite unmotivated to write yet another review... so I got an idea for this post!

It's a mix of my usual Saturday posts, Saturday Song and Saturday Pages! I'll have a mini review of my re-read of Scarlet for the #TLCReadAlong and also a few songs that made me think of the characters!

To begin with, I'm sharing a song that I feel it's perfect for these amazing retellings, because they are familiar versions of a Once Upon a Time story but they're amazing stories on their own! (and I LOVE this song from the Maleficent movie!).

Scarlet (The Lunar Chronicles #2) by Marissa Meyer

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. It turns out there are many things Scarlet doesn't know about her grandmother or the grave danger she has lived in her whole life. 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




I remember being rather unhappy about how the focus in the book kept changing from Cinder to Scarlet the first time I read the book, before I realized that was how the series was, both consecutive/sequel like books but also with different main characters (and couples) at the head of each book, adding to the cast and the team, making the world richer and the plot even more complex!

So this time around I was ready to read again about Scarlet and Wolf with a different mindset and I found myself liking Wolf almost from the get go, and getting to warm up to Scarlet so much easily too! She's got quite a temper and I feel like teen-Pili would have related with her throwing tomatoes at the wall so much!

I have once again realized that I had forgotten quite a few details but holy cow! I totally had forgotten about some bigger things that I cannot mention because SPOILERS but damn, I'm so glad I re-read this before Winter! 

I also found that I had a few more issues with how Scarlet and Wolf's relationship progress, mostly in the time frame it takes place... somehow I don't think I felt it went too fast as much as I did this time. I can understand that for Wolf it is more of a primal thing, an Alpha finding his mate, but for Scarlet? Even after knowing what I know about her... it doesn't make the same sense for me. But by the end of the book I'm once again totally onboard with the ship and I find them so adorableee!!

Dear Captain Thorne, I had forgotten how conceited and irritating he read from Cinder's POV, since I got used to him being a lil different and seeing him way differently from Cress' POV! But I liked how he quite quickly became an ally for Cinder and how he and Iko ganged up on Cinder whenever Kai is involved!


And now for some more songs!

This Florence +  The Machine song is perfect for the relationship between Scarlet & Wolf, given how primal and visceral it feels at times!







 
This Metallica song is perfect for Wolf, even if it might refer to shape-shift at some point, the title is quite on point!




 

I had the harderst time finding the right song for Scarlet, because she's such a firecracker and strong character... And I think this one is pretty accurate after all! If you have any other suggestions, let me know!






And last but for sure not least I found this song that I'd say would be the perfect fir for Queen Levana! Found it while I was looking for the right song for Scarlet!!





Do you guys have any other songs that make you think of The Lunar Chronicles or any of the characters? I have a few ideas for Cress!

Friday Reads: Fairest by Marissa Meyer!!

Hello there guys!

Friday is here and for me is the end of my days off and the start of my working weekend! On Tuesday I went to a meeting for my apartment complex and it was a bit nuts, so on Wednesday I decided to take a full reading day!

For my first Friday Reads entry of the week I have a new release of this year and as such one that counts toward my 2015 release category on my 105 challenge!

Fairest by Marissa Meyer

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Fairest is one of those extra books that we didn't expect and we didn't think we needed, but once you've read it, you realize that it was a really good idea to add it to the series!

We've hated Levana since pretty much the first time she came onto the page and that hate has continued growing with each book and each revelation of her evil plan, or at least that has been my case.

I was really excited to see Levana's story because I always like villains to have layers to their story, their evilness and their evil plans. I always like to know the reasons and why's of actions of everyone, I prefer a villain that I can understand how in their twisted way they can justify their actions, even if I'll never agree with them. Evil for evil's sake without some grey areas is rather boring for me!

And we do get a lot of background information about Levana and her entire family of psychopaths. I did feel bad for Levana every time she interacted with her sister because if Levana is nuts, Chanary was even worse! We learn about their parents, the lack of familial love in the family and between the sisters. There's quite something about the nature vs nurture in here, but in Levana's case is nature + nurture!

She is born in a family of sociopaths (and probably psycopaths) so she's got both things against her, and although we see her making some better choices here and there and being worried about Luna's welfare... she ends up being true to type and make choices that show her lack of empathy and her delusions that end up in lies that she makes herself believe.

I can understand better how she came to be the cruel and mad queen that we met in Cinder and I was quite glad once the book was over, because being in her head was one hell of a twisted place to be! We also get more background story on Winter's and on princess Selena's pasts and I'm sure all that will help us understand Winter better the next time we meet her.

A great book that would deserve a warning, because getting into Levana's head is not something for the faint of heart, but worth every cringe-worthy moment for the insight that we get and how the fight of our heroines and heroes being even more dire! Very well deserved 4 stars, Marissa Meyer knows how to write and write well ALL sort of characters!



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Waiting On Wednesday #74!!

Waiting On Wednesday is a weekly feature hosted at Breaking The Spine  that spotlights those can't-wait-to-get-my-hands-on-them books that we are eagerly awaiting!

So, what book is the one I'm bitting my nails waiting for it this week? Fairest by Marissa Meyer!!

Goodreads Summary:

"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."


Why am I eagerly awaiting Fairest? Well, I'm a BIG fan of the Lunar Chronicles series, and even if I'm dying even more for the final book of the series, I cannot wait to get my preorder of this one, a prequel that tells the story of Queen Levana, and books about villains are always quite interesting!!

What are you all (im)patiently awaiting this week?

Mark This Book Monday: Cress!!

This week's Mark This Book Monday was once again, one of those very awaited books in an ongoing series, but not the final book. It's also part of my list for the Dystopian Reading Challenge 2014!

Cress by Marissa Meyer

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


I'm not the biggest fan of retellings but when they come on the shape of science fiction/dystopian books and they're done the way Marissa Meyer does them... I just adore them!

I fell in love with the concept and the stories of The Lunar Chronicles when I read Cinder and was very much reinforced on it after reading Scarlet, and now reading Cress... well, this is just an absolute favourite series of mine!

Every book in this series introduces us to a new character or set of characters and this time we are meeting a new version of Rapuntzel. A girl that is brilliant and a hacker and lives isolated in a satellite. She has been helping Cinder before, and she can be a big asset to the team of cyborg Lunar heir, genetically modified Lunar super soldier gone rogue, French girl, charming pirate Captain and more human than robot ship.

Action starts pretty soon and not only that, everything goes not quite as planned, so the team gets split apart all of them in some sort of mortal danger or another. For me, Cress didn't really have many if any dull moments, though I must say I was counting down the pages till everyone could be reunited! It's pretty full of action, character development and some unexpected revelations. By the second half of the book, Cinder has decided to stop running and take the initiative, so they make a crazy plan and go for it!

There are quite a few emotional moments here, and the way Cress is crushing on Thorne is quite adorable. We also discover Thorne is neither as bad as he thinks he is (and most people would think too, I must confess there was a moment when I also thought the worst of him and then it seemed that he was being thoughtful and considerate and wanted to help our dear Iko!) nor as good as Cress has made him seem in her mind. It was something different seeing their relationship evolve and I'm really looking forward to see how it progresses in the next book! Scarlet and Wolf are separated and they don't get as much time in this book, but Scarlet has an encounter with Winter, and it was bizarre, puzzling and very intriguing! Wolf was behaving quite oddly and moody, but some of his behaviours were a bit like those of a dog that has lost his owner, and that is sort of fitting.

Cress was a fantastic read, with plenty of twists, action, new developments and that leaves us really looking forward impatiently for the next book! Can't wait for Winter now! Very much deserved 5 stars!



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Waiting On Wednesday #26!!

Waiting On Wednesday is a weekly feature hosted at Breaking The Spine  that spotlights those can't-wait-to-get-my-hands-on-them books that we are eagerly awaiting!


What book am I totally dying to read this week? Cress by Marissa Meyer!!

Goodreads Summary:


"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."




Why am I eagerly awaiting Cress by Marissa Meyer? Since I discovered Cinder I'm completely in love with this series! Each book is somewhat of a retelling of a well known fairy tale that still is somehow seamlessly fiting into the fantastic science-fiction & dystopian story that The Lunar Chronicles are. After the ending of Scarlet and all the little teasers for Cress and reading the first chapter online... I just cannot wait!!


What are you all (im)patiently awaiting this week?