Cress (The Lunar Chronicles, #3) in The Wide Web of Friends in YA Books

May 26, 2015 Tommy Hancock rated it it was amazing

Favorite book in the series so far, and that's even considering I rated the first two 5-star each. If the series sounds even semi-interesting to you, do yourself a favor and check it out. ...more

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May 03, 2015 Angela Blount rated it really liked it

Shelves: goddaughter-approved-picks, fantasy, ya

I’d have to call this one the best in the series thus far.

Meyer adds yet another cast member to the save-the-world team in this, the third installment of the Lunar Chronicles. Cress is easily the most naïve of the female leads we’ve seen so far, though with good reason—and not without the redemptive trait of ultimately showing the most progress by way of character growth. The story of Rapunzel is retold with more similarities to its original fairytale than seen in the previous books, complete wi
I’d have to call this one the best in the series thus far.

Meyer adds yet another cast member to the save-the-world team in this, the third installment of the Lunar Chronicles. Cress is easily the most naïve of the female leads we’ve seen so far, though with good reason—and not without the redemptive trait of ultimately showing the most progress by way of character growth. The story of Rapunzel is retold with more similarities to its original fairytale than seen in the previous books, complete with Captain Thorne acting as the thief who would be prince. Trade out the isolating tower for an isolating spy satellite, break up the team with a failed rescue attempt, and you have the premise for the primary plot thread in this book.

The author really seems to have her writing feet under her now, and she’s off and running right out of the gate with this book. She continues to juggle other goings on concerning Prince Kai, Lavana, Scarlet, Cinder, and Dr. Erland, weaving the most complex storyline we’ve yet seen. There’s just enough recap on previous events to sufficiently refresh past readers or draw in those who didn’t get a shot at one or both of the previous books.

Thorne is by far the highlight of this story. Rather than remaining the somewhat irritating playboy sidekick we came to know in the second book, the captain comes into his own in terms of heroism and comedy. Thanks to a handicap that tests his over-confidence, he’s forced into a rapid maturation process. And fortunately for all, his off-the-cuff candor and sarcasm is both abundant and endearing.

Note: I love the android character of Iko more with each passing book. She’s not in this one a great deal, but when she does come into full play, it’s well worth the wait.

If you’ve gotten this far into the series, one would presume you’re able to overlook the magical “science” and embrace this as a sci-fi fantasy. If so, this should be an all around fun read. The emotional connection achieves a balance not quite attained in previous books, while the spare, peppy prose maintains a consistently younger YA feel. And a defecting Lunar guard, along with some actual scenes on Luna, finally offers readers a more multi-dimensional look at the villainous side of the plot equation.

While this reader didn’t particularly care for Scarlett, I’m glad I continued on farther into the series. The ending of this one was wide open in preparation for the final book.

Favorite quote:

“Maybe there isn’t such a thing as fate. Maybe it’s just the opportunities we’re given, and what we do with them. I’m beginning to think that maybe great, epic romances don’t just happen. We have to make them ourselves.”
...more

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Jun 16, 2014 M. rated it liked it

I'm disappointed with Cress. It was the least enjoyable book in the series so far mainly because the characterizations of Rapunzel and her "Prince" were very unappealing. I kept wishing that Cress was more similar to Rapunzel from Tangled not the blubbering mess that she was. The constant crying and panic attacks made me loathe her more than sympathize with her. Plus her infatuation with Captain Thorne was more pathetic and child like than cute. This book could very well have been called The Com ...more

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Feb 11, 2016 Kathleen Baldwin rated it it was amazing

Shelves: all-time-favorites

Wow! I can't say enough good things about this book - in fact the whole series. I am blown away with how well Meyer weaves together all the story lines. I was holding my breath to see if she could do it again in Winter. Lo, and behold she did!!!! Color me amazed and impressed ...more

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Dec 27, 2013 Ally Bryan rated it it was amazing

Shelves: book-boyfriends, best-romances-33

LOVED IT. Took me forever to read this book because of school, but I have finally finished it and I'm absolutely obsessed!!! Thorne was perfect as usual and him and Cress were amazing!! I loved their scenes together and can't wait to get more of them in Winter (btw how creepy was she???). This book made me start to really like Kai (I have never really had an opinion on him!) and I hope we get more Kai/Cinder scenes in the next book. Cinder's arc is by far the best in the series and I love how mu ...more

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Mar 13, 2016 Amber rated it really liked it

Such a great book! I already loved the series, but this one just solidified that fact. I seriously couldn't get enough of Cress and Thorne, but the other characters were great too. I mean, of course I loved seeing some Cinder and Kai action. Now, Wolf and Scarlet were never my favorite characters, but I didn't HATE reading about them.

I loved Cress' character. Even though she was naive about basically everything, she was such a sweet main character. So at odds with the other two leading ladies of ...more

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Dec 19, 2013 Szidonia rated it it was amazing

Shelves: favourite-books

Firstly, I'd like to say that these books just keep getting better and better!

The whole time I was reading this book, this is how I pictured Cress

...more

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Mar 09, 2014 Angele | adominiquereads rated it it was amazing

WHY DOES THIS SERIES KEEPS GETTING BETTER AND BETTER?!?!?!?! THIS IS SO UNFAIR FOR EVERYONE!

Now I need to wait how many more months until Winter comes out, and it's going to be a very long wait.

*sighs dreamily* This is so amazing! ...more

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