Fairest

by Marissa Meyer
published: Feiwel and Friends, 2015
pages: 222

Queen Levana wasn't always queen.  She wasn't always so powerful that people feared her.  Once, people pitied her, made fun of her, ignored her.  She made that all change.  This is the Levana's story.

This novella was a great insight to how Levana became the ruler she is in The Lunar Chronicles.  It was shorter than I expected, but it did give us character development for Levana.  How she went from being a young teenager to the ruler of Luna.  I felt a bit sorry for Levana in the beginning of the novella.  It is clear that her family experience is far from positive and her sister is cruel.

While this book doesn't make me any more sympathetic towards Levana, it does help me understand her a little bit more.  It makes me nervous for the future of all the characters I love in this series and for those that I'm just meeting.

We get a little look at a little of Winter backstory as well.  This little taste of the series is almost enough to hold me over until Winter comes out later this year.  I am so excited to see what happens in the conclusion of this series!

For people asking whether or not they should read the rest of series first, I would say yes because there a small spoilers for Cinder, Scarlet, and Cress in this story.  You could probably skip this book, but it is very captivating and exceptionally dark.  I loved reading it.

Stars: 4/5

Praise:

"Bestselling author Marissa Meyer reveals the story behind her fascinating villain in Fairest, an unforgettable tale about love and war, deceit and death."
     --New York Times


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