Tag Archives: Scarlet

Sep

The Lunar Chronicles (Re)Read Along | Cress

Did you love The Lunar Chronicles and want to re-read the series before WINTER comes out in November? Have you been meaning to start the series and are ready now that all the books will be out? Then now’s the perfect time for you to join THE LUNAR CHRONICLES (RE)READ ALONG!

We kicked off the read along with CINDER in August and zipped through SCARLET in September (see the intro & CINDER post here!) and now it’s already time for CRESS! I don’t know about you but this read along has been moving fast (in a good way) and I feel like we’ve been spending some awesome quality time with these books!

Now we’re looking towards October where we’ll be reading and celebrating CRESS all month long! I know some people couldn’t wait to start but whether you’re already finished or running behind, I think we’re all going to have an awesome time talking about CRESS this month! Here’s what the tentative schedule looks like:

10/1 – 10/7: Chapters 1-15
10/8 – 10/14: Chapters 16-30
10/15 – 10/21: Chapters 31-45
10/22 – 10/28: Chapters 45-End
Week of 10/26: Post recap and/or review

The schedule is more of a guideline for those who like to stay on a specific timeline but feel free to start or finish any time during the month of October! The read along is always about reading the books, discussing, and enjoying more than a schedule. I’m just happy you’re here and reading along with us!

BONUS POSTS | These posts are designed to be fun & easy! Choose one or all to post any time during the CRESS read along! (If you need to include any spoilers in these posts, please mark clearly!)

Kiss, Kill, Marry (Kai, Wolf, Thorne) NOTE! We will be playing on Twitter during the last week of the read along (the week of 10/26) so keep your eyes peeled for that to go down on the hashtag!
Lunar Chronicles Book Tag (questions will be posted the first week of October!)
Scattergories (participants choose a letter as their “theme” to pair up things from the book)
Rapunzel parallels within the book
WINTER theories
Lunar Chronicles-themed Pinterest board/fan art/memes (You can check out my Pinterest board here! The Lunar Chronicles)

And don’t forget to update on social media throughout the read along with the hashtag #TLCReadAlong! (No spoilers, please.) If you use the hashtag, you’ll automatically be entered for the giveaway at the end! Entries valid for the giveaway must be posted between 10/1/15 and 10/31/15 using the read along hashtag. Winner will be chosen and announced the first week of November.

Thanks for joining in the read along! I can’t wait to hear your updates and most importantly, HAVE FUN! Make sure to use the #TLCReadAlong hashtag or tag me so I can share your awesome updates!

Joining in for CRESS? Add your name to the list below to declare your excitement for the read along! (Note: if you have already signed up for CINDER/SCARLET, you do not need to add your name again.)

Sep

#TLCReadAlong | Scarlet Quotes + Art

I’m sure you’ve been inundated by now with my updates for the Lunar Chronicles Read Along that I’m hosting but now is time for less of the promo, more of the fun stuff that I really wanted to include in the read along!

In case you’re not familiar, September is all about SCARLET! The whole month is dedicated to the second book in The Lunar Chronicles and people were already finished with this back in August — wow!! I loved the enthusiasm for SCARLET and really for CINDER too! I wanted to share some of my favorite quotes from the book and some fan art (no spoilers)!

What are you favorite quotes from Scarlet? Have you seen any amazing fan art? Send them my way! I’d love to see them!

Aug

The Lunar Chronicles (Re)Read Along | Scarlet

We kicked off the read along with CINDER in August (see the intro & CINDER post here!) and I hope everyone’s been having a GREAT time so far! I’ve been having such a blast seeing all of the updates, the posts, and re-reading the books myself!

Now we’re looking towards September where we’ll be reading and celebrating SCARLET all month long! Some people finished CINDER super quickly and jumped ahead, others waited to start, but regardless if you still need to read or have already finished, I think we’re all going to have an awesome time talking about SCARLET this month! Here’s what the tentative schedule looks like:

9/1 – 9/7: Chapters 1-12
9/8 – 9/14: Chapters 12-23
9/15 – 9/21: Chapters 24-35
9/22 – 9/28: Chapters 36-47
Week of 9/28: Post recap and/or review

The schedule is more of a guideline for those who like to stay on a specific timeline but feel free to start or finish any time during the month of September! The read along is always about reading the books, discussing, and enjoying more than a schedule. I’m just happy you’re here and reading along with us!

BONUS POSTS | These posts are designed to be fun & easy! Choose one or all to post any time during the SCARLET read along! (If you need to include any spoilers in these posts, please mark clearly!)

A red-themed post/photo
Where in the universe would you take a spaceship?
Crushing on Thorne | Rascals & snark
Favorite grandparent relationships
Little Red Riding Hood parallels within the book
Scarlet’s Rotten Tomatoes | Which baddies of the books do you want to hurl tomatoes at?

And don’t forget to update on social media throughout the read along with the hashtag #TLCReadAlong! (No spoilers, please.) If you use the hashtag, you’ll automatically be entered for the giveaway at the end! Entries valid for the giveaway must be posted between 9/1/15 and 9/30/15 using the read along hashtag. Winner will be chosen and announced the first week of October.

Thanks for joining in the read along! I can’t wait to hear your updates and most importantly, HAVE FUN! Make sure to use the #TLCReadAlong hashtag or tag me so I can share your awesome updates!

Joining in for SCARLET? Add your name to the list below to declare your excitement for the read along! (Note: if you have already signed up for CINDER, you do not need to add your name again.)

Aug

#TLCReadAlong | Cinder’s Cyborg Features

In case you’re not familiar, August is all about CINDER! The whole month is dedicated to the first book in The Lunar Chronicles and I sort of love how many people have finished the book already because they just couldn’t stop reading! (You really, really liked it!!!) Hey, that just gives us more time to discuss, flail, and fangirl for the rest of the month, right? Right!

I even took the time to create some fan art! I am having SO much fun with this!

For my first “bonus” read along post, I wanted to talk about some of Cinder’s cyborg features! She has a lot of interesting stuff and some of it could really come in handy!

LIE DETECTOR
I think Cinder’s built-in lie detector is one of my favorite things! It’s a scientific thing so it really works off of interpreting human reactions and delivery (it’s sci-fi so we’re science-based here) and I can’t help but wonder what it would be like to be able to use that feature! Then again… do I REALLY want to know when everyone is lying to me? Maybe sometimes not knowing is better…

STORAGE
Sure, you can wear pants with pockets or carry a bag, but Cinder has compartment storage in her leg. It certainly came in handy a few times throughout the book and I think that could be a great hiding place for special things! (Although could be kind of creepy to get used to.)

A COMPUTER IN YOUR HEAD
Cinder essentially has a computer in her head. She can access the internet at any time, look up information, get directions, track ID chips… now THAT would be super handy. I don’t think I’d want to be a cyborg and hardwired, but think of the wonders that could do!

image left | Credit: ThisOneofMarvels Deviant Art
Image right | Credit: charmspeakers via Tumblr

Which of Cinder’s cyborg features would YOU want? A lie detector? Computer in your head? Metal limbs for extra durability?? Let’s chat!

Jul

The Lunar Chronicles (Re)Read Along | Sign-Ups + Cinder!

Marissa Meyer’s Lunar Chronicles series is one of my all-time favorites and I knew I wanted to experience them all again to refresh my memory before the final book, WINTER, comes out this fall! I got the idea to host a read along for those who wanted to re-read and for those who have been holding out for WINTER before they started and it’s finally time to share this read along with all you book-lovers out there! (You have no idea how hard it was to hold onto this idea until it was finally time to share!)

I’m SO excited to be hosting this four-month long event with some help from the wonderful folks at Macmillan & Fierce Reads! They were kind enough to totally jump on board when I asked them if they wanted to be a part of the read along too and it wouldn’t be as fabulous as it’s shaping up to be without them!

Ready to get reading? Check out the details of the read along below!

WHEN

The read along will span from August 1 – December 7, 2015. Readers will be allotted four weeks to read each book. Here is the schedule for each book:

CINDER: August 1 – August 31
SCARLET: September 1 – September 30
CRESS: October 1 – October 31
WINTER: November 10 – December 7

NOTE: Since FAIREST is such a short read, it will not be officially included in the read along (it’s way too quick to dedicate a whole month to it)! If you want to read FAIREST too, the downtime between CRESS & WINTER might be a great time to squeeze it in!

HOW

Readers will have four weeks to read each book (though the entire month will be allotted).
At the end of each month, readers will be encouraged to write either a review of the book or some sort of recap post.
Readers are also encouraged to share updates (NON-SPOILERY) on social media using the hashtag #TLCReadAlong! At the end of each month, one person using the hashtag will be randomly selected to win a TLC-related prize! Contest is open to US participants only. Sorry! But we hope that regardless of country, you’ll join us in reading!
There will also be opportunities for fun Lunar Chronicles posts related to each book — think less book report questions, more fun & games!

WHO

ANYONE is invited to join in! Whether you’re re-reading the series in full, starting for the first time, or jumping in later on, we welcome you with open arms! If you’ve already read CINDER and want to wait to jump in at SCARLET (for example), or just want to wait until WINTER comes out and read along with us then, you’re welcome to hop in the read along at any time!
You may see many bloggers here but you do NOT have to be a blogger to join! This is literally a read along for ANYONE who wants to read the series. I’m just excited to experience the series with new readers and those who already love it and want to re-read. All readers welcome!

WHERE

READ ALONG DETAILS: The details of the read along will be posted here at The Book Addict’s Guide. Fierce Reads + Macmillan will also be cross-promoting the read along in conjunction with their exciting promos for WINTER as well! Be sure to check out their “Join the Resistance” campaign for SO much more Lunar Chronicles-related fun, opportunities, and swag giveaways!
TWITTER + INSTAGRAM: Share updates and photos with the hashtag #TLCReadAlong! (No spoilers, please.) At the end of each month, one person’s entry using the hashtag will be selected to win a Lunar Chronicles-related prize! (Sorry, but giveaway winners must have a US address that we can ship to.)

Sound like a good plan? I hope you’re interested in joining in the Lunar Chronicles read along! Leave your name and/or blog name below to let everyone know you’re participating!

And don’t forget to check out all of the amazing things that Fierce Reads has planned! Be sure to check out their Join the Resistance features for WINTER teasers, opportunities to win swag, series fun & more!

Ready to kick off the read along with CINDER? Check out the details below for timing, chapter breakdowns, fun posts & more!

CINDER | August 1st – August 31st

8/1 – 8/7: Chapters 1-9
8/8 – 8/14: Chapters 10-21
8/15 – 8/21: Chapters 22-30
8/22 – 8/28: Chapters 31-38
Week of 8/30/15: Post review and/or recap

BONUS POSTS | These posts are designed to be fun & easy! Choose one or all to post any time during the CINDER read along! (If you need to include any spoilers in these posts, please mark clearly!)

Crushing on Kai | Celebrity Crushes
Books with Royalty
Favorite Sci-Fi (novels, movies, etc)
Which of Cinder’s cyborg features would you want?
Cinderella parallels within the book
Cinderella retellings

And don’t forget to update on social media throughout the read along with the hashtag #TLCReadAlong! (No spoilers, please.) If you use the hashtag, you’ll automatically be entered for the giveaway at the end! Entries valid for the giveaway must be posted between 8/1/15 and 8/31/15 using the read along hashtag. Winner will be chosen and announced the first week of September.

Thanks for joining in the read along! I can’t wait to hear your updates and most importantly, HAVE FUN! Make sure to use the #TLCReadAlong hashtag or tag me so I can share your awesome updates!

Feb

Fairest (The Lunar Chronicles # 3.5) – Marissa Meyer

Title: Fairest (The Lunar Chronicles #3.5) by Marissa Meyer
Publishing Info: January 27, 2015 by Macmillan
Genres: Dystopian, Fantasy, Retelling, Science Fiction, Young Adult
Find it on the web: Buy from Amazon // GoodreadsDate Completed: January 29, 2015
Related Posts: Cinder (Lunar Chronicles #1), Scarlet (Lunar Chronicles #2), , Glitches (The Lunar Chronicles #0.5), The Queen's Army (The Lunar Chronicles #1.5), Carswell's Guide to Being Lucky (Lunar Chronicles #3.1), Cinder (The Lunar Chronicles #1), Scarlet (The Lunar Chronicles #2), Cress (The Lunar Chronicles, #3), Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4), Stars Above (A Lunar Chronicles Collection), Heartless, Wires and Nerve, Volume 1 (Wires and Nerve #1), Renegades (Renegades #1)

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.

Ahhh, FAIREST. Just what I needed tie me over until WINTER hits the shelves in November this year! I don’t always read ALL of the novellas that are published, but of course I was going to read a Lunar Chronicles novella and was especially excited to find out more about Queen Levana! She’s pretty terrifying in the books so I was especially anxious to see her history and how she ended up the way she is now.

The first thing I can say about FAIREST? Yeah. Levana is certainly crazy… BUT she didn’t have it easy either. I’m not saying that excuses the way she acts, but she’s had some majorly catastrophic and scarring events (oops, no pun intended but there you have it) happen to her and it seriously messed her up. Things also went down at a young age too so these traumatic events really affected Levana long before she was even close to being in a position of power, or even wanting that position. I definitely still fear her but it also made me pity her. Sometimes these kind of novellas sort of justify who someone is in the present story line and while I don’t think Levana is justified in her actions, I do think I understand her a lot more!

Another thing I really loved was seeing all of the other characters in Levana’s story and exactly how she’s tied to them all. It was really interested to see some of the title characters pop up, along with their friends and family and I got little chills and thrills seeing their names there! I think the most interesting for me was actually Channary. I may need to re-read everything again ASAP (kidding, that’s already in the works so I KNOW I will) but for some reason I don’t remember mention of how horrible she was! She was a terrible older sister to Levana and I really wonder how Levana would have ended up if it weren’t for Channary. I’m going to have to hunt down mentions of her in my re-reads!

FAIREST is very much Levana’s story so it’s not a major point in the series as far as plot goes, but I do still think it’s an important story for fans of the series to read. We learn a lot about the Lunar Queen and there’s also a LOT of Winter’s history in here which I was very excited to see since I don’t really know that much about her yet. There were still a few surprises though and it just goes to show you that there’s always more to learn about everyone!

I had such a blast reading FAIREST and that both filled the void and made me even more hungry for more of this series! I loved falling back into this world for a short time to keep my heart whole before WINTER probably chews it up and spits it out in November. In a good way! I CAN’T WAIT!

“The View from Goodreads” is a featured section in my reviews that I decided to incorporate! I tend to update my Goodreads status a LOT when I read — reactions, feelings, notes — so I thought it would be fun to share the sort of “reading process”! All status updates are spoiler-free (no specific plot points will be revealed) but will contain reactions to certain pages and/or characters!

Levana // Character Obsessions: Appearances, acceptance, love, glamor.
I just loved learning more about Levana. It’s very, very interesting to see where she came from. I love that you can see the very — well, maybe not VALID but certainly obvious — reasons why she is the way she is in the current timeline of this series. Her life has truly been nothing but a constant series of ups and downs and she’s always had to prove herself, even to her family. The whole romance was really interesting and I was actually kind of surprised at how much love meant to her. I guess it makes sense!
Channary // Character Obsessions: Fame, fortune, frivolity, fun.
Did I TOTALLY not remember what Channary was like or was that not explained as much throughout the course of the series? We all think Levana is terrible but Channary surely didn’t make things easy for her. I can’t believe everything that went down between these two sisters! She was no peach herself. (And clearly I needed to re-read everything ASAP.)

Kept Me Hooked On: Backstories. YAYYYY a full-length novella giving us backstory! GAH. I love it. Hmmm I guess for those who don’t read novellas, I don’t know if it’s “necessary” for the series but it has a lot of really, really handy information and background for Levana, Winter, and even Cinder.
Left Me Wanting More: Plot development. Okay, I know that wasn’t the point of FAIREST, but can you blame me? AMAZING things happen in Cinder, Scarlet, and Cress so I am just spoiled! But I guess you can’t push a plot forward when the book doesn’t even take place in the same time, huh? ;D

Addiction Rating
Read it!

If you’re a fan of the series, it’s a must, in my opinion! I think the knowledge we gain is fantastic and I just loved slipping back into this world before re-reading all the books (before Winter)!

BOOKS LIKE FAIREST

(Click the cover to see my review!)

Jan

Fairest Blog Tour: Spread the Lunar Love!

Welcome to the blog tour for
FAIREST by Marissa Meyer!

I was OVER THE MOON (oh my gosh, no pun intended but that worked out perfectly) to be invited to join this blog tour by Macmillan (whom I am always privileged and humbled to work with!) because if you know the bookish side of me at all, you know that Marissa Meyer’s Lunar Chronicles series is one of my all-time favorites EVER. You’ve seen me fangirling about these books and this series all over the internet, I’m sure, so to be a part of this blog tour was absolutely thrilling!

Well let me tell you a little bit about my journey with The Lunar Chronicles. I actually didn’t think I was going to like Cinder a whole lot (GASP) — I mean, I had the reaction that a lot of people do: “Cyborg Cinderella? Isn’t that a little too sci-fi for me? I’m just not sure it would be my thing.” But I saw so many bloggers start to rave about it — and people like me who weren’t sure it would be “their thing” either — so thanks to reviews especially from Alyssa (Books Take You Places) and Monica (The Fuma Files), I bought a copy of Cinder and totally devoured it in two days. I was totally impressed at the Cinderella retelling and at the same time fell in love with these new characters and absolutely original story line. Now THIS was how retellings should be! Naturally I was instantly craving Scarlet which I knew was coming out but I had to wait a little bit to get my hands on that one!

Things escalated quickly from there. I read Scarlet and fell even more in love with the series. Macmillan ran a special feature to have bloggers who reviewed Scarlet to send in their review links and their blog’s name would appear in a special thank you in the back of the paperback (they’ve done this for other books as well — including Cinder, actually, but I was too late to that party). So that led to me, of course, purchasing the paperback of Scarlet to go with my hardcover. Then I needed the paperback of Cinder to match. Then I couldn’t stop buying and/or collecting the series because I loved the books so much and really just wanted to have every possible edition I could find. (Now it’s an obsession but… I’m okay with that!) My amazing friend Amy (Tripping Over Books) gifted me the Cinder & Scarlet Spanish versions for my birthday last year and I’ve kept on collecting since! Once the whole series is out and I have all of my American copies of Cress, Fairest, and Winter, I’ll move on to collection more international editions and I’ll be forever fangirling to whoever will listen and constantly hoping to find new readers and fellow fangirls (or fan… boys?) of this series!

I FINALLY got to meet Marissa in October 2014 (she doesn’t come to Illinois often — or hadn’t since I first read Cinder!) and not only did I get to meet her at the Fierce Reads event, but I also got to interview her AND moderate the Fierce Reads panel. I was SO incredibly nervous but it was also so amazing!!! She was nothing but sweet and even personalized ALL of my Lunar Chronicles books (which was so nice because there were soooo many). I felt so embarrassed gushing my love of her books right to her but sometimes you just have to stop and flail a little bit when your favorite author asks you what your favorite books are.

I’ve raved about the series SEVERAL times on the blog (see the links below) and have many more plans to relive The Lunar Chronicles in 2015! Winter is coming (ha. I can never resist) so I have my own plans to re-read the whole series leading up to Winter’s release in November 2015. I’m hoping to host a series read along (or re-read along for those who are reading for a second time) so keep your eyes peeled for that event later on in the year!!!

THE LUNAR CHRONICLES REVIEWS ON THE BOOK ADDICT’S GUIDE:

Glitches (The Lunar Chronicles #0.5) // Cinder (The Lunar Chronicles #1) // The Queen’s Army (Lunar Chronicles #1.5) // Scarlet (The Lunar Chronicles #2) // The Little Android (The Lunar Chronicles #2.5 // Cress (The Lunar Chronicles #3) // Carswell’s Guide to Being Lucky (The Lunar Chronicles #3.5

SPREAD THE LUNAR LOVE CONTEST

I spread the Lunar love as much as I can… but I’m only one person! I know my fabulous fellow bloggers who love this series share their feelings on their blogs and social media as well, but we need to reach people who aren’t connected to book bloggers and publishers! Heck, if I wasn’t a book blogger, who knows if I would have discovered half of the books that I know and love today? Let’s spread the Lunar love to people who may not know of it yet!

The contest rules are as follows:

SPREAD THE WORD ABOUT THE LUNAR CHRONICLES: Try to find someone who hasn’t read the series yet and erm… gently (strongly) encourage them to read it! Loan a copy to a family member, buy a book for a friend, slip a note in a couple library books, slap a Lunar Chronicles sticker or flyer somewhere in public (somewhere you’re allowed to leave stickers/flyers — please don’t litter or deface public property!), or any other creative & appropriate ideas you can think of!
SNAP A PHOTO OF YOUR CONTEST ENTRY: In order to be entered into this contest giveaway, I need to SEE what you’ve done! Post your contest entry on social media (Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, etc) with the hashtag #LunarLove and enter the link to your post in the Rafflecopter form below!
SNAP A PHOTO OF YOUR LUNAR CHRONICLES COLLECTION: I want to see your personal Lunar Chronicles collection too! Share a picture of the TLC books you own with the #LunarLove hashtag and share them on social media! (Also link it up to the Rafflecopter form!)
DON’T FORGET THE BONUS ENTRIES! There will be more ways to enter than just spreading the word but sharing those pictures of your #LunarLove will earn you oooooodles of entries into the giveaway! See the Rafflecopter form for more ways to enter!
THERE WILL BE TWO WINNERS: One winner will receive a FULL set of the series so far in paperback edition from Macmillan. This winner must be a resident of US/Canada for shipping purposes. The second winner is for the hardcore fans who already own all three books that are out right now (I can’t forget about you guys!) and that person will win a pre-order of Fairest OR Winter. Winner #2 must be 13 years or older and Amazon and/or The Book Depository must be able to ship to your country (so international is welcome)!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Hooray! Now go forth and enter! I can’t wait to see who your share The Lunar Chronicles with and how! <3

Jan

Cress (The Lunar Chronicles #3) – Marissa Meyer

Title: Cress (Lunar Chronicles #3) by Marissa Meyer
Publishing Info: February 4, 2014 by Macmillan
Genres: Fantasy, Science Fiction, Young Adult
Find it on the web: Buy from Amazon // GoodreadsDate Completed: September 14, 2013
Related Posts: Cinder (Lunar Chronicles #1), Scarlet (Lunar Chronicles #2), , Glitches (The Lunar Chronicles #0.5), The Queen's Army (The Lunar Chronicles #1.5), Carswell's Guide to Being Lucky (Lunar Chronicles #3.1), Cinder (The Lunar Chronicles #1), Scarlet (The Lunar Chronicles #2), Cress (The Lunar Chronicles, #3), Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4), Stars Above (A Lunar Chronicles Collection), Heartless, Wires and Nerve, Volume 1 (Wires and Nerve #1), Renegades (Renegades #1)

In this third book in Marissa Meyer's bestselling Lunar Chronicles series, Cinder and Captain Thorne are fugitives on the run, now with Scarlet and Wolf in tow. Together, they’re plotting to overthrow Queen Levana and prevent her army from invading Earth.Their best hope lies with Cress, a girl trapped on a satellite since childhood who’s only ever had her netscreens as company. All that screen time has made Cress an excellent hacker. Unfortunately, she’s being forced to work for Queen Levana, and she’s just received orders to track down Cinder and her handsome accomplice. When a daring rescue of Cress goes awry, the group is splintered. Cress finally has her freedom, but it comes at a higher price than she’d ever expected. Meanwhile, Queen Levana will let nothing prevent her marriage to Emperor Kai, especially the cyborg mechanic. Cress, Scarlet, and Cinder may not have signed up to save the world, but they may be the only hope the world has.

How in the WORLD do I make it through this review without just straight up fangirling all over the place? Deep breaths… I will try to remain calm. Except for the fact that LEGITIMATELY CRESS may be the best book I have ever read. No exaggeration. Okay, okay, where do I start…

Let’s start off with Cress herself. I really loved her as a new addition to this cast of characters, which was all ready pretty amazing. Whereas Cinder and Scarlet are tough and take-charge, Cress has been kept naïve and obedient all of her life… Except for when she finally decides to take action and disobey her guardian Sybil Mira in order to help Cinder and her own personal idol and heartthrob, Carswell Thorne. I really appreciated how well done Cress’s character was! I think often times when characters are portrayed as naïve and innocent, it’s overplayed and the character becomes a caricature of themself, but Cress felt incredibly real and had a lovely range of emotions that made me really connect with her. She has an adorable crush on Thorne and that also really added to the depth of her character. She slowly begins to find out things about Thorne, about the Lunars, and even things about herself that really helps her grow as a person and come out of her shell. (No pun intended since she herself is a shell.)

Speaking of Thorne — I cannot even wait to talk about him. Normally I save my gushing over the romances for later it the review but nope. Can’t do it. Thorne absolutely stole my heart in CRESS and I’m so glad we got to see more of him! I had suspected in SCARLET that since he was partnering with Cinder, there was going to be a romantic development between the two of them, but I’m so glad we get to see that romantic side of him develop with Cress. I love the balance between the two characters and how well they work together. They both really learn a lot from each other and grow immensely since we’ve first seen them in the series. There are some SUPER SWOONY MOMENTS and my heart absolutely melted so many times. Eeee, just thinking about those super swoony moments sets my heart all a-flutter again!

Another thing I really enjoyed about CRESS was getting deeper into the history of the Lunars and seeing more Lunar characters. They absolutely fascinate me and I love learning more about their culture and history so that was definitely a big plus for this book! We’ve been learning more little by little as our heroes find out but CRESS featured them much more prominently and I was absolutely enthralled with their story lines. Their history and their characters provide some AMAZING twists and the way the histories of the characters are weaved… I’m absolutely floored when these twists are revealed. The plot of this series is genius and I love how each character adds a new layer to the story without leaving the other characters behind. Instead of battling for the spotlight, these characters fit together perfectly and create one fantastic series.

The action and adventure in this series is phenomenal. I don’t know why, but I often feel lost reading action scenes… Either they’re over explained or not detailed enough and I just end up getting a little lost in the melee, but Marissa Meyer does not have those issues at all. I felt like I was watching a movie the entire time I was reading CRESS and the action scenes did not let me down! Really, the whole book felt like a movie and I may be jumping the gun WAY too much, but this is a series I NEED to see as a movie or TV show. (I’m hoping for movie!) I would absolutely die to see this series on the big screen because dare I say it, but I agree with Stormy when she left a comment on my Top Ten Tuesday a while back — This is a series of Harry Potter proportions. I don’t think I’ve loved any series as much as this since Harry Potter and I would love to see it all come life off of the pages as well!

Okay, okay, time to talk about the rest of the romances. I love that we get to see more of Scarlet and Wolf’s relationship. They have something really special and you know what… I love that each romantic relationship in this book is so incredibly different. The characters are unique and yet they fit together perfectly. I know everyone was swooning over Prince Kai in CINDER and yes, I liked him, but I didn’t quite swoon until CRESS. There’s a big moment which obviously I won’t spoil but one thing that really bridged the gap between liking and loving Kai in CRESS and I went absolutely nuts for it!

CRESS is by far the best book I have read in a long time in the best series I have read in a long time. Marissa Meyer has gold with The Lunar Chronicles and CRESS just made me fall in love with the series that much more. Each new story we get just adds to my love more and more and as much as I had already loved the series, CRESS has solidified it as one of my favorite series of all time. The Lunar Chronicles definitely has a special place in my heart and you bet I will be HIGHLY anticipating the release of WINTER… Oh, the agony the waiting will be…

Cress // Character Obsessions: Technology, Carswell Thorne, helping Cinder.
Cress is adorable. She’s sweet, innocent, naïve, and completely lovable. She is a fantastic addition to this character ensemble and I totally fell in love with her story. She brings so much to this team and I’m so glad we get to see her story and how it fits in with the rest of the crew!
Carswell Thorne // Character Obsessions: Humor, flying, being a general outlaw, sarcasm.
DON’T EVEN LET ME START ON THORNE. I positively love him. I. swooned. HARD in CRESS. Thorne was witty, supportive, sly, romantic, adorable, smart… Oh lordy. He was just fantastic and I’m so so so glad he became even more of a main character in CRESS.

Kept Me Hooked On: EVERYTHING. The Lunar Chronicles. Sci-Fi, dystopian, fantasy, retellings, fairy tales. Action, adventure, romance, suspense, twists. I can’t even tell you how much I am in love with this series and CRESS just brought everything to the next level. This is serious business, folks.
Left Me Wanting More: EVERYTHING. CRESS was not lacking anything that I can possibly think of but it left me aching for of The Lunar Chronicles. I’m easily a Marissa Meyer fan for life and I very well may pass out when WINTER comes out. Just saying.

Addiction Rating
BUY IT! BUY THEM ALLLL

If you haven’t read any of The Lunar Chronicles yet, WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?!?! This is one of two series (*The Grisha Trilogy*ahem*) that I will book push at you until the end of time! Trust me, I was skeptical about a cyborg Cinderella too, but it is sooooo much more than that. TRY IT. YOU’LL LIKE IT. No, you’ll LOVE IT.

BOOKS LIKE CRESS

(Click the cover to see my review!)

Dec

Quiz: Which Lunar Chronicles Character Are You?

A LUNAR CHRONICLES PERSONALITY QUIZ!

I was brainstorming future blog posts and I thought it would be really fun to some sort of a personality quiz! At first I wanted to do something along the lines of 2013 releases but there are honestly too many that I still have to get to so I realized that was going to have to be scrapped and I had to start with something that I really knew well. With the release of CRESS coming up and my over-the-top obsession I have with The Lunar Chronicles, I thought it would be fun to do a personality quiz related to that so… without further ado…

WHICH LUNAR CHRONICLES CHARACTER ARE YOU?

Here is my personally designed personality quiz (just for fun, of course) to tell you which character you would be in Marissa Meyer’s Lunar Chronicles series! So which character do you think you’ll be? Are you more of a Cinder, a Scarlet, or a Cress? Or maybe even Kai or Thorne? Take the quiz and find out!

So who did you get? Let me know!! Did you like who you paired up with or were you wishing for someone else? Do you identify with Cinder or are you more of a Scarlet?

(Yes, I took my own quiz… I was Scarlet!)

Update: Post originally coincided with pre-order giveaway for CRESS (book #3). Giveaway now closed.

Want to take an even MORE updated quiz with characters from WINTER? Check out the latest version of The Lunar Chronicles Personality Quiz here!

Want to find out more about the series? Visit some other Lunar Chronicles-themed posts on The Book Addict’s Guide for book reviews, general fangirling, and more!

Oct

My Latest Bookish Addiction [8] – The Lunar Chronicles

In keeping with the theme of my blog, I decided to start bringing you updates of the newest and greatest bookish addictions in my life so I can share with you some awesomely bookish things or discuss if maybe we share the same bookish loves. It seemed like a great way to get a little discussion going in a very relaxed way.

This Edition’s Bookish Addiction? THE LUNAR CHRONICLES

The Lunar Chronicles: Original Art by The Book Addict's Guide

Original fan art: The Lunar Chronicles — Created by The Book Addict’s Guide, Sept 2013

I was fortunate enough to win an ARC of CRESS, the third book in The Lunar Chronicles series by Marissa Meyer, from Macmillan. CRESS isn’t officially published until February 2014 and usually I wait until closer to the pub date to read my advanced copies but I honestly could not wait to dive in and completely devour this book, and GUYS. It. Was. Amazing. Don’t worry — there will be a full review coming close to the pub date with ALL THE FANGIRLING but I absolutely needed to talk about some of the feels NOW and share them with my fellow bloggers!

I was already a fan with CINDER, and SCARLET totally amazed me but CRESS… CRESS was just out of this world! (No pun intended. Okay, pun kind of intended.) Each main character that gets added to this story, I get more and more hooked and never overwhelmed. Each one feels unique to me as well, providing their own voice and adding another layer to an already amazing story.

Without any spoilers, I wanted to share with everyone what I love so much about The Lunar Chronicles AAAAND what you have to look forward to in CRESS! (Spoiler-free! Cross my heart!)

THORNE

In The Lunar Chronicles: Throne brings an awesome comic relief to some pretty serious characters with pretty serious agendas! I love how his personality fits in with this cast of characters and the humor is greatly appreciated! He’s also extremely important as the owner of the Rampion which is frequently essential as a mode of transportation! Also? He’s my Han Solo. (And probably Marissa Meyer’s too? *nudge* *wink*)
In Cress: Thorne is dreeeeeeamy. We get to see a LOT of Thorne in CRESS and a lot of his dazzling charm. I said no spoilers so I won’t get into details, but I love how prominently he was featured and how he really became a main character instead of just Cinder’s current sidekick/assistant. Oh, and did I mention he’s dreamy? Because yeah. Serious swoons!!!

LUNARS

In the Lunar Chronicles: The Lunars fascinate me. I love what Marissa Meyer has done with the Lunar race. It’s so interesting that they live on the moon and they’re different than humans but UNLIKE so many sci-fi series, the are NOT aliens. I love that their powers and glamour aren’t just magic either. There are actual explanations and they have a whole world of their own that I am LOVING exploring.
In Cress: We get to see a lot more of… dun dun dun…. LEVANA. Dude, Levana terrifies me. We also get to see: more life on Luna, more thaumaturge interaction, more info about shells, another glimpse at Lunars on Earth, AND more Lunar characters.

THE ACTION

In The Lunar Chronicles: The action in this series is FANTASTIC. Marissa Meyer does a really great job making each of these scenes detailed, exciting, and CLEAR. I feel like too often I read actions scenes that get confusing really quickly because so much is happening, but I never feel lost in this series! There’s also a wonderful balance between action scenes, dialogue, and information. Everything seems to have the perfect balance to keep the reader engaged in pretty much every type of way at all times.
In Cress: I legit gasped and shouted my way through CRESS. Remember all those surprises in SCARLET? There are MORE SURPRISES in CRESS!!! I also literally felt like I was watching a movie as I was reading this book. I could see everything in my head as it was happening which actually is kind of difficult for me sometimes. I could picture each one of these action scenes and as I was reading, I was trying to decide where I need to start petitions and pleas to make these books in to movies ASAP.

THE ROMANCES

In The Lunar Chronicles: Everyone is pairing off and I am swooning big time! I actually didn’t feel a lot of spark between Cinder & Kai in CINDER but I loved Scarlet & Wolf in SCARLET. I think Cinder & Kai was actually more of a slow development for me, personally, but I’ve loved watching how this relationship develops!
In Cress: So, so, so many swoons. We’re looking at THREE main romances with a dash of crushes and I loved every single one of them. And when I say loved, I mean I was OBSESSED with every single one of them. Each one of them grows stronger in CRESS and I can’t wait for everyone to experience ALL THE FEELS.

THE TWISTS

In The Lunar Chronicles: I think CINDER just had one really major twist for me and that was where SCARLET totally blew me away — there were SO many surprises in SCARLET that I was like, “Marissa Meyer, HOW DO YOU DO THIS?” I am honestly astounded with how well Marissa weaves in these plots and subplots and twists and… seriously. Truly, truly amazed.
In Cress: You know how I said that SCARLET blew me away with all the twists? Hold on to your pants, my friends. CRESS is a wild ride full of reveals and shock and delight and gasps. Once again… totally dumbfounded (in a good way) with how well all the pieces of the puzzle fit together — and pieces I never even thought to question! It’s SO SO GOOD.

In short, CRESS is amazing, folks. There’s no doubt that fans of this series will be over the moon (har har. I’m actually really not trying to do this…) with CRESS. There was not one thing I would change about this book or this series as a whole. My obsession with this series maaaay be borderline unhealthy because I honestly can’t stop thinking about how awesome it is and everything I read about it just makes me want more more more. I was already loving The Lunar Chronicles, but CRESS easily sealed its fate as one of my favorite series OF ALL TIME.

Have you been lucky enough to read CRESS yet? I’d love to hear your thoughts and feelings and fangirling!!!
Super excited to be able to read CRESS this winter?? What are you most excited for? Is The Lunar Chronicles series your Latest Bookish Addiction too?

Thanks for joining in the read along! I can’t wait to hear your updates and most importantly, HAVE FUN! Make sure to use the #TLCReadAlong hashtag or tag me so I can share your awesome updates!

What are you favorite quotes from Scarlet? Have you seen any amazing fan art? Send them my way! I’d love to see them!

Thanks for joining in the read along! I can’t wait to hear your updates and most importantly, HAVE FUN! Make sure to use the #TLCReadAlong hashtag or tag me so I can share your awesome updates!

Which of Cinder’s cyborg features would YOU want? A lie detector? Computer in your head? Metal limbs for extra durability?? Let’s chat!

Ready to get reading? Check out the details of the read along below!

WHEN

HOW

WHO

WHERE

Sound like a good plan? I hope you’re interested in joining in the Lunar Chronicles read along! Leave your name and/or blog name below to let everyone know you’re participating!

Ready to kick off the read along with CINDER? Check out the details below for timing, chapter breakdowns, fun posts & more!

Thanks for joining in the read along! I can’t wait to hear your updates and most importantly, HAVE FUN! Make sure to use the #TLCReadAlong hashtag or tag me so I can share your awesome updates!

Addiction Rating Read it!

BOOKS LIKE FAIREST

Welcome to the blog tour for FAIREST by Marissa Meyer!

THE LUNAR CHRONICLES REVIEWS ON THE BOOK ADDICT’S GUIDE:

MORE TLC-RELATED POSTS ON THE BOOK ADDICT’S GUIDE

SPREAD THE LUNAR LOVE CONTEST

Hooray! Now go forth and enter! I can’t wait to see who your share The Lunar Chronicles with and how! <3

Addiction Rating BUY IT! BUY THEM ALLLL

BOOKS LIKE CRESS

A LUNAR CHRONICLES PERSONALITY QUIZ!

WHICH LUNAR CHRONICLES CHARACTER ARE YOU?

So who did you get? Let me know!! Did you like who you paired up with or were you wishing for someone else? Do you identify with Cinder or are you more of a Scarlet?

** Want to take an even MORE updated quiz with characters from WINTER? Check out the latest version of The Lunar Chronicles Personality Quiz here! **

Want to find out more about the series? Visit some other Lunar Chronicles-themed posts on The Book Addict’s Guide for book reviews, general fangirling, and more!

This Edition’s Bookish Addiction? THE LUNAR CHRONICLES

THORNE

LUNARS

THE ACTION

THE ROMANCES

THE TWISTS

Have you been lucky enough to read CRESS yet? I’d love to hear your thoughts and feelings and fangirling!!! Super excited to be able to read CRESS this winter?? What are you most excited for? Is The Lunar Chronicles series your Latest Bookish Addiction too?

Addiction Rating
Read it!

Welcome to the blog tour for
FAIREST by Marissa Meyer!

Addiction Rating
BUY IT! BUY THEM ALLLL

Want to take an even MORE updated quiz with characters from WINTER? Check out the latest version of The Lunar Chronicles Personality Quiz here!

Have you been lucky enough to read CRESS yet? I’d love to hear your thoughts and feelings and fangirling!!!
Super excited to be able to read CRESS this winter?? What are you most excited for? Is The Lunar Chronicles series your Latest Bookish Addiction too?