Fairest takes place long before the main four books of the series. It’s basically about Queen Levana and her story. This book didn’t really make me feel any better about her, and I still think she’s a bad person. She had no right to do any of the things she did, (*SPOILER*) especially to Evret and how she glamoured and tried to manipulate him to marry her. Those of you who already read the series probably already know that Evret was killed by a thaumaturge, which had to do with Levana’s plotting. I think Levana truly did love Evret, but her decisions were blinded by her own selfishness and goodness. Also, I understand that Levana was lonely and she had an abusive sister, (and I kind of feel a little bad for her) but that didn’t give her any right to do what she did to people like Evret, Selene, and Winter. Overall, this was a nice addition to the series, and it gave some nice background information about the queen.
Fairest
By Marissa Meyer
| Interest Level | Reading Level | Reading A-Z | ATOS | Word Count |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grades 6 - 8 | Grades 4 - 6 | n/a | 6 | 46597 |
The #1 New York Times Bestselling Series!
Mirror, mirror, on the wall.
Who is the Fairest of them all?
Pure evil has a name, hides behind a mask of deceit, and uses her "glamour" to gain power. But who is Queen Levana? Long before she crossed paths with Cinder, Scarlet, and Cress in The Lunar Chronicles, Levana lived a very different story―a story that has never been told . . . until now.
New York Times –bestselling author Marissa Meyer reveals the story behind her fascinating villain in Fairest, an unforgettable tale about love and war, deceit and death. This extraordinary book includes a special full-color image of Levana's castle and an excerpt from Winter, the exciting conclusion to The Lunar Chronicles.
Book Reviews (18)
Fairest takes place long before the main four books of the series. It’s basically about Queen Levana and her story. This book didn’t really make me feel any better about her, and I still think she’s a bad person. She had no right to do any of the things she did, (*SPOILER*) especially to Evret and how she glamoured and tried to manipulate him to marry her. Those of you who already read the series probably already know that Evret was killed by a thaumaturge, which had to do with Levana’s plotting. I think Levana truly did love Evret, but her decisions were blinded by her own selfishness and goodness. Also, I understand that Levana was lonely and she had an abusive sister, (and I kind of feel a little bad for her) but that didn’t give her any right to do what she did to people like Evret, Selene, and Winter. Overall, this was a nice addition to the series, and it gave some nice background information about the queen.
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Don't get me wrong, I love this series. All the other books are amazing and I love Marissa Meyer's books. This one is the exception, though. If you like this, I don't blame you, but this is my opinion. The book has almost no action, Levana is still an entitled girl whose book does NOTHING to redeem her actions. In fact, it just made me dislike her MORE. The writing felt clunky and awkward, and the characters were all awful. Even if you are an avid fan of these books, like me, it is not a worthwhile read.
I recently wrote a book review for the third book in the Lunar Chronicles, "Cress", and in that review I said that all the books in the Lunar Chronicles series were just as good, if not better, than the previous ones. I had spoke too soon, that statement does not apply to "Fairest." Just to clarify, "Fairest" is not part of the main Lunar Chronicles series, it is an add-on book/short story and it is read after "Cress" but before "Winter" so technically it is book 3.5. The main series is Cinder, Scarlet, Cress, and Winter, but Fairest is a book on the main villain, Lunar Queen Levana, and should be read as book 3.5. Now back to me saying that "Fairest" wasn't as good as the previous books, I would even say it is my least favorite book from this series. Now I know that since this is a book on a villain, I should expect it to be kind of dark and evil and I did, but not as much as it was. (Dun dun dun!) This book was still a wonderful read, and I think maybe I wasn't used to reading books about the evil people in the world, or in this case, the moon. Some people say that they don't want to read this book before the finale of the series, "Winter", because they are worried that they will feel bad for Levana. Let me tell you, even after reading this book, I still think that Levana is super evil and cruel. I guess that after reading her backstory in this book, I could say that some of her "evilness" is due to her childhood, which was pretty horrible, but Levana made some pretty bad decisions and you can't blame all of them on her upbringing. I haven't read "Winter", the last book in the series yet, but I'm pretty sure it is necessary to read Levana's backstory before "Winter" because Levana has a big part to play in the last book. "Fairest" was alright, but it put a big spot light on beauty, and that is because all Lunars have a special power called glamour, which is the ability to manipulate brain waves and make people see you different than you are. Levana uses her glamour all the time to make herself prettier than she is, because of what her sister did to her when they were younger. I didn't think it was possible, but Levana's sister is even more evil than Levana grew up to be. Levana also uses her glamour to make her childhood crush fall in love with her, forcing their marriage and dooming herself to a lifetime of forced and fake love. Being the reader of this book was kind of hard, because I could see all sorts of things that Levana didn't, due to her being figuratively blinded by using her glamour to force power and love on other people and herself. Overall, I would say that this is a pretty dark book since it is based on a villain, but I would still recommend it to teens who like the lunar chronicles, because it is necessary to read if you want to understand the last book of the Lunar Chronicles series. I hope this review was helpful!
This review perfectly explains it! I thought i was the only one that didn't feel bad for Levana after this book, but i really was not a huge fan of it. Thank you for putting it in words!
Thanks, I totally agree with you!
really enjoyed this story about levana . it gives the background story of someone who was born without any evil in her, just like any other baby and how she became such a villian
really enjoyed this story about levana and how she became such a villian.
This is such a great series such a good idea. I got this book from the library I'm just have to wait until I finish "Cress".
this is the best book in the world because it shows you the different ways someone can be racist and that sometimes you need to see past the outside and look into the inside of a person.
An amazing addition and backstory to the collection!
What a great background on the royal Lunar family! Mariska Meyer did an excellent job expanding on an already amazing book series. I feel like I was there through it all happening!