#fairytale princess retelling where Cinderella is a cyborg mechanic

[bronzewool]

Reason why book cover art is important

If I saw the revamped version of the Lunar Chronicles first, instead of the originals, I would have totally picked them up.

[bookaromatic]

The Lunar Chronicles By Marissa Meyer

Well. Many of you know what this series is about. Or at least the booktube hungry people like myself would have already completed this series. Many are probably gushing over Wolf(‘cuz I am).

For those who have no idea what I am talking about, The Lunar Chronicles is a series of fairytale retellings-Cinderella, Red Riding Hood, Rapunzel and Beauty, and the Beast; in that particular order. But guess what? It's set in the future, where the life of a human has been depicted, eh..,futuristic-ally. Where people can own their own "Hovers" - a mode of transport in Meyer's Earth.I wish I could own one. Not a hoverboard, obviously. Those things don't hover in the air. But people still buy it. What a marketing strategy - Buy a hoverboard and feel the solidity of the earth on your new wheels. But, mind you, there have been promising inventions of the hoverboard(The real ones that hover) coming up.

What I found fascinating was the currency. Univs. I mean, who wouldn't want a Venezuelan dream doll for 12,000 Univs. Or a "respectable" memorial plaque. Jokes aside, I am really in love with the world Meyer has created. If the philosopher's stone hadn't been destroyed, guess what I would have done?...

The Earthen Union, formed after World War IV, is an alliance of 6 nations of Earth, namely,

Eastern Commonwealth

African Union

The American Republic

European Federation

United Kingdom

Australia

Then, there is the Moon or Luna. The capital, Artemisia is on the side that faces the earth. Luna has domes that mimic the 24-hour cycle. Travel between domes is through a subway system, built on existing lava tubes.I'm not going to give the crux of the whole series. Hell No!! The crux itself would be a short story.

Characterization & Plot:

Cinder, Scarlet, Cress, and Winter are the protagonists in their respective books. However, they share one enemy, Queen Levena. I like the fact the books weren't male dominant. Sure, each had their love interest, Kaito, Wolf, Thorne, and Jacin respectively. But the female protagonists were portrayed strongly, uniformly throughout the series.

Cinder is this bad-ass cyborg who works as a mechanic. Peony's death scarred Cinder, which comes to show how close they were. I might have shed a tear during that scene. Scarlet is a self-employed farmer, famous for her home-grown tomatoes. Like, Cinder, Scarlet loses her grandmother. Cress is a skilled hacker and a programmer: she can hack through anything and everything. Winter is the princess of Luna, Levena being her stepmother.

However, I found Kai to be a mystery. There were a few chapters from his POV. But I really couldn't figure out why he was the way he was. On the other hand, I could make out Wolf and Thorne. Wolf is this extremely scorching Lunar, genetically modified, and is a part of the Lunar army. Similar to Derek Hale in Teen Wolf. I totally pictured Tyler Hoechlin(The part where Derek is tied up in Season 1.*Sighs).

Thorne is this suave guy, with panty-dropping charms. He likes his women. He is a rogue spaceship cadet who likes to call himself "Captain".Then there is Jacin, a personal guard to the princess. I feel I don't get 100% of who Jacin is. Like Kai, he too is difficult to figure out.

I am in a love-hate relationship with Levana's character. If you have read Fairest, then you would have pitied Levana. The fact that her sister was more conniving than Levana is what surprised me. Otherwise, it's a full-blown hatred towards the Evil Queen.

Parts I didn't like:

Kaito's POV wasn't actually required. Or rather, should I say it lacked character. Things just happened and not much was known about Kai. And it looked like Kai was more effeminate. Even though he was a good orator, he seemed a little stuck up??.

Scarlet and Cress(Books) felt a little bit like fillers. They described the relationships more than the plot. So naturally, the whole story was stuffed into a humongous 870 odd page book, Winter. There were too many events in the last installment. I feel Winter was stretched out just to make us hungry for the climax. Throughout the book, I was like "When will they ever kill the Queen?". The book could have been made a little shorter.

Will I recommend this to a friend?:

Yes.Because I'm in love with the witty dialogue deliveries. And Wolf.

For those who are new to this series, I suggest you read it in this order:

Cinder, Scarlet, Cress, Fairest, Winter and Stars Above.

Rating: 4/5 each on Cinder and Winter. 3.5/5 on Scarlet and Cress