[ENG&RU] Lunar chronicles #3: "Cress" by Marissa Mayer. Book review

English

Hello, friends! I have previously written about the first two books in the "Lunar Chronicles" series that I have read. Now it's my turn to share my impressions of the third book, "Cress", which is a retelling of the fairy tale "Rapunzel".

All books with links to my other reviews:
1 Cinder
2 Scarlet
3 Cress
3.1 Fairest: Levana's Story
4 Winter
4.1 Stars Above

General information

Year of publication: 2014
Country: USA
Original language: English
Genres: Young Adult, Fantasy, Retelling, Science Fiction, Romance
Age Range: 12 and up
Pages: 552

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Plot

The plot of "Cress" begins with the introduction of the book's protagonist, Cressida, the personal hacker and programmer of Lunar Queen Levana. She's a "shell" (doesn't have a lunar gift like hypnosis) who, by the law of the moon, was turned in by her parents to the government as soon as she was born. Young Cress was expected to die, but because of her hacking and programming abilities, the Queen's chief magician "pardoned" the girl and imprisoned her in an artificial satellite in space. Thus, for seven long years Cress, living in cramped and lonely quarters, has been the Queen's slave, running her special errands and keeping an eye on the Earthlings.
One day, the team of Linh Cinder (the protagonist of the whole series) manages to get in touch with Cress. During the course of the conversation, the girl asks to be rescued from the satellite. However, the operation goes off script and turns into a series of problems for the heroes. The team splits up and exciting adventures await everyone. Will they be able to carry out their plan? Will they be able to reunite and confront the evil Lunar Queen Levana? These and many other questions are answered in this book.

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Characters

Сress is different from the protagonists of the previous books, Cinder and Scarlet. The confinement and isolation had a profound effect on her character, so she grew up timid, fearful, naive, a bit of an oddball fantasist who dreams of one day being rescued by a brave knight. These traits make Kress look the most like a Disney princess.
In this book we get to learn more about the familiar from "Scarlet" Carswell Thorne and his many crimes from the past. The character is revealed with a new and better side in this book.
Cinder grows stronger and more confident with each book. She is desperate to find a way out and save the planet that has become her home. Cinder finally gets to talk to Kai.
Scarlet and Wolf continue to appeal to me, though they (especially Scarlet) won't get much attention in this installment. The heroes will have to go through some pretty tough tests.
Jacin is another new hero, the mage pilot of the Queen of the Moon. So far, the character and motives of this hero are not entirely clear.
Also towards the end of "Cress" we get to know a bit about the heroine of the final part of the series, a princess named Winter, who, like a ghost, wanders the corridors of the royal castle on the Moon with a white wolf and sees things that others can't see.

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My impressions

I think "Cress" was the most entertaining compared to the previous episodes. Events succeed one another like a kaleidoscope: exciting battles, kidnappings, deceptions, meetings and partings. The book doesn't let you get bored for a minute.
I still love the way the author weaves popular tales into the story. For example, in this part of "Lunar Сhronicles", despite having other storylines and characters from previous parts, the author has managed to retain the basic attributes of the original tale:

• a beautiful prisoner with long hair, imprisoned in a dungeon for years - ✔️
• the wicked witch holding the main character prisoner - ✔️
• a brave "prince" who comes to the rescue of the unhappy prisoner - ✔️
• the hero temporarily loses his sight under circumstances similar to those of the original - ✔️

It often happens that long book series get boring and tedious as they approach the finale, but here, in my opinion, the story becomes richer and more exciting with each installment, thanks to new characters and frequent changes of location. Therefore, the third book in the series didn't disappoint me in terms of the dynamics, the characters, and the plot as a whole. The story was distributed harmoniously through the storylines of the characters. Of course, I could have found flaws, but I didn't want to do that at all.

My rating - 10/10.