The Lunar Chronicles
Hello again!
Super late to the Lunar Chronicles train, but I just finished the series on audible and I thought I'd write a review. I started the series this time last year and made it through Cinder and Scarlet before taking a long break before picking up Cress. There were no expectations going into the series but once I got through Cinder I felt optimistic for each book for different reasons.
I usually post this at the bottom, but these reviews may contain spoilers. I will post mini reviews for each individual book and then a book about the whole quartet at the end. Since I haven't read Fairest or Stars Above, if I do decide to read those two I will do a separate review.
I love that Cinder is set in Asia and that most of our characters are Asian. Looking for diversity in literature, having a minority as a main character is great. I immediately was drawn to the story when we were in the market place with Cinder as a mechanic and was here for it.
Her relationship with her family was expected, especially since this is a Cinderella re-telling. The difference between her actually having an ally with Peony and Iko was great and I think the relationship between Cinder and those two characters was my favorite of the series. Iko's innocence was so cute, fawning over the prince and loving pretty dresses.
As far as the plot, Marissa did a great job introducing us to what would later be revealed as such a huge story. The sickness being mysterious and Kai's father dying because of it really added great elements to the story that separated it from being too Middle Grade and brought it to something relate-able.
Cress: ♥♥♥♥♥
At this point in the series, I had seen enough fan art to know what everybody generally looked like and there was a lot of pairing up going on in the series. The insta-love trope doesn't bother me as much as the everybody is together trope that happens in a lot of YA.
That being said, I love Cress so much for so many different reasons. She definitely ended up being my favorite character even though I had no expectations going in. Next to Cinder, this was also my second favorite book in the series. I've always liked the story of Rapunzel, so the twists they did were great to make it match to this story.
Cress's innocence after being stuck in her space craft for so long isolated from real humanity was a nice touch. Her love for Thorne was super cute, and I love that it wasn't automatically super lovey-dovey between them. Thorne felt like he had to come to terms that he was good enough for Cress was super sweet.
Although I ended up glossing over some of the stranded in the desert bits, I like that Marissa had mentioned that she pulled the desert desertion (ha) from the fable. Iko getting an upgraded body thanks to Thorne was also really sweet, though the term escort droid seems a bit dark to me. I get that they are companions to their owners, but escorts to me still come off as the more adult term.
Scarlet being captured had me so irritated though and the other half of the story. It really tore down her character for me that although she was supposed to be strong, she continuously lives in a cage in like two of the four books out of the series.
Dr. Erland being Cress's father was unexpected and had me torn. Although his character would come back as a semi-savior position, and him dying at the end prevented that stereotype from continuing into the final novel, I appreciated the way he left the series after helping Thorne. I don't really care for his role as Cress's father though, that felt very thrown in.
Winter: ♥♥♥♥♥
100% got about a quarter of the way into Winter and lost all interest in finishing the series. It was right after Winter had to sit through Jacin's trial and I was over it. I ended up speeding my audible settings up to x2 and just powering through it thanks to aforementioned stubbornness.
Winter was a cute character, nothing at all against her. I think her background is... great? I know she was mis-treated but I mean her will not to use her lunar power, the hallucinations, being the odd duck all make her an interesting character. It was disappointing when she ended up breaking her vow and using it, even if it was to save some lives.
I do not like her relationship with Jacin at all. I can get on board with him being a rock for her during these hallucinations, I can relate to that within myself regarding anxiety attacks but oustide of that I think Jacin is a very... ew character. He goes back and forth which is a quality I hate in people, he doesn't stand for anything other than Winter's well being, he gets very lost in the background characters.
I like that we get to see more of Luna in this book. The realization of the borderline slavering happening with Lunars outside of Artemisia was expected for the story line. There was no way Cinder was going to bust in and just take over the place with her band of misfits without some support from Luna.
The climax though, jesus. The way Levana was removed was okay. The back and forth between he has a gun- no she has a gun- no he has the upper hand- no she has the upper hand was not my cup of tea. I would have preferred the whole scene to be played out differently in all honesty.
The conclusion, Cinder as the ruler of Lunar was fine. I don't remember what changes were immediately made to Luna aside from the political ones. Aaaand after that I don't remember much else.
Over all, I think the Lunar Chronicles are worth a read. I don't generally believe that you are ever too old to enjoy a book. I mean I really dug the one Percy Jackson book I read. There's just so much creativity out there that you shouldn't limit experiencing it just because you think you're too old. However, I may have been a little bit too mature for this series. Simply because aside from Cinder, none of the characters were super developed. I didn't feel like there was much to learn from this series aside from boys are important, don't listen to anybody else.
I think I've identified most of the characters throughout the story. Sibil was clearly an expendable character, Dr. Erland I was somewhat sad to see him go, the bits about Cinder's mom kind of make me want to read Fairest. Torin I liked, his role through the series was predictable but appreciated. I was surprised they drug Cinder's adoptive family back for the last book, but it was nice of her to help them out despite how terrible they were to her.
I'd rate the entire series a 3 out of 5. Again, each novel went back and forth on quality, some parts we're super long and felt bland.
Thank you for your patience on this super long post! I hope you guys enjoyed and could maybe relate to my opinions. Even though my thoughts may be different than yours and I rated this lower than you did doesn't mean it's not good literature. Everyone has their own opinions and tastes.
See you next time!
Super late to the Lunar Chronicles train, but I just finished the series on audible and I thought I'd write a review. I started the series this time last year and made it through Cinder and Scarlet before taking a long break before picking up Cress. There were no expectations going into the series but once I got through Cinder I felt optimistic for each book for different reasons.
I usually post this at the bottom, but these reviews may contain spoilers. I will post mini reviews for each individual book and then a book about the whole quartet at the end. Since I haven't read Fairest or Stars Above, if I do decide to read those two I will do a separate review.
Cinder: ♥♥♥♥♥
First off, Cinder ended up being my favorite book out of the series. I think that is mostly because the flow of the story could have just ended with Cinder and not needing to continue the series. Obviously I did and most people do, but I think the conclusion was satisfying enough that I could have stopped there.I love that Cinder is set in Asia and that most of our characters are Asian. Looking for diversity in literature, having a minority as a main character is great. I immediately was drawn to the story when we were in the market place with Cinder as a mechanic and was here for it.
Her relationship with her family was expected, especially since this is a Cinderella re-telling. The difference between her actually having an ally with Peony and Iko was great and I think the relationship between Cinder and those two characters was my favorite of the series. Iko's innocence was so cute, fawning over the prince and loving pretty dresses.
As far as the plot, Marissa did a great job introducing us to what would later be revealed as such a huge story. The sickness being mysterious and Kai's father dying because of it really added great elements to the story that separated it from being too Middle Grade and brought it to something relate-able.
Scarlet: ♥♥♥♥♥
Oh Scarlet, how I was so excited for you as a character. The beginning of the book I was into; Scarlet being fiercely loyal to her Grandma, running the farm, in general being sassy. I really enjoy Wolf at the beginning as well, I'm totally into the dark, mysterious characters. However once Scarlet and Wolf got off the train and she fell right into a cage, I think the story fell apart for me. There were long bits that just became mundane Cinder parts that yeah were necessary to explain the story, however weren't really interesting. Scarlet went from somebody who was willing to fight to just a timid character, especially for the rest of the series.
Over-all I think my frustrations with this book is what made me hold off on finishing the series. I know I had alot of "Is it worth my time?" conversations with myself but over-all I'm pretty stubborn about DNF-ing a book/series so my stubborn-ness won and I finished it.
Over-all I think my frustrations with this book is what made me hold off on finishing the series. I know I had alot of "Is it worth my time?" conversations with myself but over-all I'm pretty stubborn about DNF-ing a book/series so my stubborn-ness won and I finished it.
Cress: ♥♥♥♥♥
At this point in the series, I had seen enough fan art to know what everybody generally looked like and there was a lot of pairing up going on in the series. The insta-love trope doesn't bother me as much as the everybody is together trope that happens in a lot of YA.
That being said, I love Cress so much for so many different reasons. She definitely ended up being my favorite character even though I had no expectations going in. Next to Cinder, this was also my second favorite book in the series. I've always liked the story of Rapunzel, so the twists they did were great to make it match to this story.
Cress's innocence after being stuck in her space craft for so long isolated from real humanity was a nice touch. Her love for Thorne was super cute, and I love that it wasn't automatically super lovey-dovey between them. Thorne felt like he had to come to terms that he was good enough for Cress was super sweet.
Although I ended up glossing over some of the stranded in the desert bits, I like that Marissa had mentioned that she pulled the desert desertion (ha) from the fable. Iko getting an upgraded body thanks to Thorne was also really sweet, though the term escort droid seems a bit dark to me. I get that they are companions to their owners, but escorts to me still come off as the more adult term.
Scarlet being captured had me so irritated though and the other half of the story. It really tore down her character for me that although she was supposed to be strong, she continuously lives in a cage in like two of the four books out of the series.
Dr. Erland being Cress's father was unexpected and had me torn. Although his character would come back as a semi-savior position, and him dying at the end prevented that stereotype from continuing into the final novel, I appreciated the way he left the series after helping Thorne. I don't really care for his role as Cress's father though, that felt very thrown in.
Winter: ♥♥♥♥♥
100% got about a quarter of the way into Winter and lost all interest in finishing the series. It was right after Winter had to sit through Jacin's trial and I was over it. I ended up speeding my audible settings up to x2 and just powering through it thanks to aforementioned stubbornness.
Winter was a cute character, nothing at all against her. I think her background is... great? I know she was mis-treated but I mean her will not to use her lunar power, the hallucinations, being the odd duck all make her an interesting character. It was disappointing when she ended up breaking her vow and using it, even if it was to save some lives.
I do not like her relationship with Jacin at all. I can get on board with him being a rock for her during these hallucinations, I can relate to that within myself regarding anxiety attacks but oustide of that I think Jacin is a very... ew character. He goes back and forth which is a quality I hate in people, he doesn't stand for anything other than Winter's well being, he gets very lost in the background characters.
I like that we get to see more of Luna in this book. The realization of the borderline slavering happening with Lunars outside of Artemisia was expected for the story line. There was no way Cinder was going to bust in and just take over the place with her band of misfits without some support from Luna.
The climax though, jesus. The way Levana was removed was okay. The back and forth between he has a gun- no she has a gun- no he has the upper hand- no she has the upper hand was not my cup of tea. I would have preferred the whole scene to be played out differently in all honesty.
The conclusion, Cinder as the ruler of Lunar was fine. I don't remember what changes were immediately made to Luna aside from the political ones. Aaaand after that I don't remember much else.
Over all, I think the Lunar Chronicles are worth a read. I don't generally believe that you are ever too old to enjoy a book. I mean I really dug the one Percy Jackson book I read. There's just so much creativity out there that you shouldn't limit experiencing it just because you think you're too old. However, I may have been a little bit too mature for this series. Simply because aside from Cinder, none of the characters were super developed. I didn't feel like there was much to learn from this series aside from boys are important, don't listen to anybody else.
I think I've identified most of the characters throughout the story. Sibil was clearly an expendable character, Dr. Erland I was somewhat sad to see him go, the bits about Cinder's mom kind of make me want to read Fairest. Torin I liked, his role through the series was predictable but appreciated. I was surprised they drug Cinder's adoptive family back for the last book, but it was nice of her to help them out despite how terrible they were to her.
I'd rate the entire series a 3 out of 5. Again, each novel went back and forth on quality, some parts we're super long and felt bland.
Thank you for your patience on this super long post! I hope you guys enjoyed and could maybe relate to my opinions. Even though my thoughts may be different than yours and I rated this lower than you did doesn't mean it's not good literature. Everyone has their own opinions and tastes.
See you next time!
Comments
Post a Comment