Challenge: 50 Books discussion

Hi Guys,
New Year, new read! Hope everyone is ready for Cress by Marissa Meyer!

Schedule
Week 1: (January 4-10): Book 1, Chapter 1 -12, pgs 1-112
Week 2: (January 11-17): Book 2, Chapter 13-30, pgs 113-272
Week 3: (January 18-24): Book 3, Chapter 31-42, pgs 273-378
Week 4: (January 25-31): Book 4, Chapter 43-end, pgs 379- end

Summary
Cress is the third book in the bestselling Lunar Chronicles series, following Cinder and Scarlet.

Incarcerated in a satellite, an expert hacker and out to save the world - Cress isn't your usual damsel in distress.

CRESS grew-up as a prisoner. With only netscreens for company she's forced to do the bidding of the evil Queen Levana. Now that means tracking down Cinder and her handsome accomplice Emperor Kai. But little does Levana know that those she seeks, and the man she loves, are plotting her downfall . . .

As paths cross and the price of freedom rises, happily ever after has never seemed further away for Cress, Scarlet and Cinder.

This is not the fairy tale you remember. But it's one you won't forget.

Cress, Wikapedia
Marissa Meyer, Wikapedia


**Please feel free to share your thoughts as you read.

**Please remember to mark your spoilers.

I have already read this book and am just about to finish Winter. One of the most fun series I have read in awhile.

Hope you all enjoy it as much as I did!! I really managed to fall in love with Thorne throughout this book.

Ellysa wrote: "I have already read this book and am just about to finish Winter. One of the most fun series I have read in awhile.

Hope you all enjoy it as much as I did!! I really managed to fall in love with ..."
Fantastic, I fell for Throne in the last book so I hope he's features heavily in this one!

Just finished Cress. Although I still don't like that each book is not a stand alone story with an overall building of the series story line from book to book, I enjoyed this book the most so far. Each character was was developed more deeply and became more interesting.

Spoilers ahead!


Well, first book finished and what an action packed opener.
I still love Thorne and I think I'm going to like Cress.
How's everybody enjoying it so far??
I think I'm going to keep reading, I can't leave Wolf bleeding, Scarlet kidnapped and Thorne and Cress heading for earth!

Mairzi wrote: "Just finished Cress. Although I still don't like that each book is not a stand alone story with an overall building of the series story line from book to book, I enjoyed this book the most so far. ..."
I'm finding that each book has improved on the last. I'm glad to hear we get done character development.

I enjoyed this series- I finished Cress last month and just finished Winter. I loved the use of the fairytale premise on the sci-fi utopian world conflict stage.
1. Does any one figure out how the name Cress related to Rapunzel . the Scarlet- Red Riding Hood and Cinder- Cinderella name correlations are obvious, but I never figured this one. Later in the story we get an explanation of where her name came from ( I don't want to give spoilers) but that still doesnt clarify it for me
2. Thorne is more like Flynn Ryder of Tangled than the prince of Rapunzel but with several of the aspects of the original fairy tale.

Carol wrote: "I enjoyed this series- I finished Cress last month and just finished Winter. I loved the use of the fairytale premise on the sci-fi utopian world conflict stage.
1. Does any one figure out how the ..."
That' s a really good question and I was wondering the same myself, I will have to try look it up when I have the book finished.
As for Thorne, I can see the Flynn resemblance but he's more Captain Malcolm Reynolds from Firefly.

Carol wrote: "I enjoyed this series- I finished Cress last month and just finished Winter. I loved the use of the fairytale premise on the sci-fi utopian world conflict stage.
1. Does any one figure out how the ..."

Spoiler---My guess about Cress' name would be that because the prince in the fairy tale came to see Rapunzel only at night under moonlight because the witch came in the daytime. Also Thorne' s very name is reminiscent of the fairy tale prince who was blinded when the evil witch threw him out of the tower onto thorns. And in the fairy tale, Rapunzel was given to the evil witch by her heartbroken father just like Cress.

I too noticed the Thorne name correlation with the original fairytale (view spoiler)[ and the blinding when he tries to save /escape with her (hide spoiler)] but he is definitely not a prince and hardly being altruistic in saving her-- I do relate to the Firefly reference ;-) He is very Reynolds like and now I cant get Nathon Fillion our of my head when I think of his role in the story --- Thanks a lot!

I have a lot of thoughts but as I no longer have the book in front of me i am not sure where they play withing the chapters. so i will wait till later to make the comments.

ps I just read in another review that the cress plant is related to the parsley plant (aka rapunzel) that the mother stole from the witch when she was pregnant.

I seriously have to read the original tale of Rapunzel, I think I only now the Disney versions. Absolutely loved Crass and Throne though!

I found a short online version to refresh my memory for the same reason. There is a lot more of the story Rapunzel in the storyline of Cress than you might think. What I did not know was that Rapunzel was also a name of an herb.
After a while many of these fairytales meld together. I used to think that Rumpelstilkin was part of the Rapunzel story.

Carol wrote: "I found a short online version to refresh my memory for the same reason. There is a lot more of the story Rapunzel in the storyline of Cress than you might think. What I did not know was that Rapun..."
I think I read most of them as a child but I only remember the outlines of them.

So,
What did everybody think?? Personally, I thought this was the best in the series so far.
Is anybody going to read Fairest before we start reading Winter??