Review: Fairest by Marissa Meyer

Posted by Jessi (Geo) on January 15, 2016 | 3 Comments


Review: Fairest by Marissa MeyerFairest by Marissa Meyer
Series: The Lunar Chronicles #3.5
Published by Feiwel and Friends (1.27.2015)
Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult
Format: Hardcover, 220 pages
Source: I own it


3.5 Stars

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.

My thoughts

I knew what I was getting into when I picked this book up – I’ve seen tons of people talk about how disturbing it was to be in Levana’s head, and many were uncomfortable about it. I was seriously looking forward to diving into the darkness of her thoughts. I wanted twisted and disturbing.

Honestly, I was a little disappointed with it. Queen Levana is twisted and disturbing, yes, but wanted to feel that darkness. I wanted it to make me feel a little dark in turn. And it didn’t. It was something I observed with a passive disinterest. She was messed up, though, I will definitely say that!

She cried for the girl who had never belonged. A girl who tried so hard, harder than anyone else, and still never had anything to show for it. A girl who had been certain that Evret loved her and only her, and now she couldn’t even remember what that certainty felt like.

I actually felt sorry for her for most of the story. The root of her problems was something everyone can relate to – she just wanted to fit in. To be loved. Her whole life she was told she was ugly and worthless. Her sister was an awful person, and awful to her! For most of this story all I felt was pity. All she wanted was the things she could never have. Acceptance. Love. Respect.

I do have to say that some of that sympathy flew out the window when she said that it was “irksome to think that he needed two entire weeks to mourn his wife.” Wow, dude. How selfish is that? She didn’t truly care about his feelings, she just wanted him for herself.

Even when she was young and naïve she already had a twisted view of the world. It’s hard to imagine that throughout this entire story she was only a teenager! Even as she got older she was basically still a selfish child. She just took it to a whole other level. She wanted Evret for herself, so she brainwashed him. She wanted the throne for herself, so she plotted to kill Selene. She justifies the murder of a child by saying it’s for the good of the planet, that it’s the right thing to do. That taking the life of a child is a good thing. That was one of the most disturbing things about her.

As far as Evret went, it was sad. She was so twisted she actually had herself convinced that he loved her, even though she was brainwashing him and forcing him to have feelings for her. She wanted it so badly that she believed it. I think that was the scariest thing about her: She always thought she was doing the right thing. In her mind she had the best of intentions, even when her actions were horrific. She was a monster and didn’t even know it.

Overall Assessment

Plot: 3.5/5
Writing Style: 4/5
Characters: 3/5
Pace: 4/5
Feels: 2/5
Cover: 3.5/5
Overall rating: 3.5/5

Previous Books

cinder scarlet marissa meyer cress marissa meyer

Jessi (Geo)

Posted in: Book Reviews | Tags: , , , , ,

Subscribe to Novel Heartbeat to get more posts like this!

3 responses to “Review: Fairest by Marissa Meyer

  1. Great review! I actually had a totally different experience reading this book, which is the awesome thing about books. I’m sure the fact that I had no idea what it was about other than the fact that it was the Evil Queen’s story helped. I absolutely love depictions of how not necessarily super evil people initially become villains. She does have lack of empathy from the beginning and sociopath tendencies, but taking that into account, her viewpoints do make logical sense once you take out ethicality lol (you know, that small thing that people should be treated as people). I love the fact that being nice to someone (the Guard being nice to Levana), doesn’t always end up as a good thing (think Harry Potter and Cedric Diggory), and this decision totally ruins his life. I also LOVE the parallels between Levana and Cinder. They have the same awful thing happen to them by someone who is supposed to be a family member who loves them, and yet, they go through totally different paths. Levana perpetuates the abuse, whereas Cinder chooses the opposite. But even Cinder wonders in Winter, what kind of person she would have been if she had grown up in Luna. There’s so much more that I thought about in this book. I can’t wait to write my review, because this book haunted me for days. Christina @ Ensconced in Lit

  2. I’m with you; I wanted more twisted and disturbing also, but overall, I really enjoyed this book. It was interesting to venture into Levana’s mind.

  3. This was my first read of 2016, and the book that ended my months-long reading slump! I had many of the same thoughts as you, and loved that Marissa Meyer actually made me feel sorry for Levana’s character, when I knew full well how evil she’d become. I’m currently about 1/4 of the way through Winter and loving every minute of it so far!

Leave a Reply to Melissa @ Writer Grrl Reads Cancel reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.