Series: The Lunar Chronicles #3.5
Genre: Sci-Fi
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You know her as the Queen but before that, she was just Levana. Princess Levana, second daughter of the royal family.
Even as a teenager, Levana was bitter and cynical. Her parents didn't love each other or, in truth, her. She was stuck with a real bitch of an older sister. She doesn't remember ever seeing real love. Except, just once, she saw a man look at a woman with utter adoration. That look, is Levana's undoing in every way.
Make no mistake, even though this is far from a romance novel, it is all about love. How love hurts. How love is never what you expected it to be. How love, sometimes, isn't even what you wanted. How love can so easily get twisted into something else.
One thing I've never liked is the idea that love can make you evil. (Don't like the idea that love can save either. Love just is, it's neither good nor bad.) What love can do is make you stupid. And love makes Levana very, very stupid. It was, however, nice to see how twisted love can get.
I'll be honest, this isn't the story I was hoping for. I hoped this story would tell how Levana used to be a normal, loving girl that slowly became the queen that we all know and love (or love to hate). I probably expected too much out of this book - but after Scarlet and especially Cress - I thought this story would be more adventure and court manipulations and less love.
I think I actually liked Levana more before I read this than I do now. Before she was mysterious and slightly sinister. Now she's just a pathetic girl who's never had love. (Of any kind.) And she is obsessed with love - both the love of a man and the love of her moon.
While this book was minorly diverting and very readable, I'm just not sure how it adds anything to The Lunar Chronicles. It fleshes out some things, little backstory details that never really needs to be fleshed out. It does give you a glimpse at a young Winter and a young Jacin - which was admittedly nice. It does explain that Princess Selene's mother wasn't a good person. At all.
Perhaps if you are a real Levana fan, you might enjoy this. Maybe. (Then again, you might hate how she was just a broken girl.) Of course, if you're a fan of The Lunar Chronicles, you have already read this or almost undoubtedly will. Just don't expect anything world shaking.
Genre: Sci-Fi
Add on Goodreads
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.
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.
Even as a teenager, Levana was bitter and cynical. Her parents didn't love each other or, in truth, her. She was stuck with a real bitch of an older sister. She doesn't remember ever seeing real love. Except, just once, she saw a man look at a woman with utter adoration. That look, is Levana's undoing in every way.
Make no mistake, even though this is far from a romance novel, it is all about love. How love hurts. How love is never what you expected it to be. How love, sometimes, isn't even what you wanted. How love can so easily get twisted into something else.
One thing I've never liked is the idea that love can make you evil. (Don't like the idea that love can save either. Love just is, it's neither good nor bad.) What love can do is make you stupid. And love makes Levana very, very stupid. It was, however, nice to see how twisted love can get.
I'll be honest, this isn't the story I was hoping for. I hoped this story would tell how Levana used to be a normal, loving girl that slowly became the queen that we all know and love (or love to hate). I probably expected too much out of this book - but after Scarlet and especially Cress - I thought this story would be more adventure and court manipulations and less love.
I think I actually liked Levana more before I read this than I do now. Before she was mysterious and slightly sinister. Now she's just a pathetic girl who's never had love. (Of any kind.) And she is obsessed with love - both the love of a man and the love of her moon.
While this book was minorly diverting and very readable, I'm just not sure how it adds anything to The Lunar Chronicles. It fleshes out some things, little backstory details that never really needs to be fleshed out. It does give you a glimpse at a young Winter and a young Jacin - which was admittedly nice. It does explain that Princess Selene's mother wasn't a good person. At all.
Perhaps if you are a real Levana fan, you might enjoy this. Maybe. (Then again, you might hate how she was just a broken girl.) Of course, if you're a fan of The Lunar Chronicles, you have already read this or almost undoubtedly will. Just don't expect anything world shaking.
