Review: Cress by Marissa Meyer

Title: Cress (The Lunar Chronicles #3)
Author: Marissa Meyer
Pub Deets: February 2014, Feiwel & Friends
Source: ARC was won from Tor.com!
Series/Stand Alone: Series

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In a sentence or so: Cinder and crew are trying to figure out how to stop Queen Bitch Levana from destroying Earth. Along the way they discover an expert Lunar hacker from a satellite who may just give them the edge they need...if they can get her out of her guarded satellite. 

Yeah, okay, so I know you've already heard from everyone and their neighbor that this series is the best ever and you should read it. THEY ARE RIGHT.

It's hard for me to pinpoint what it is I adore about this series. Or even to form coherent (or complete) sentences about it. These are my attempts.

Mystery and Action: I love that we know where the gang is going but we're not sure how they're going to get there. This provides lots of suspense with purpose and I respect that a ton.

The World Keeps Growing: We get more Luna! We find out more about what the what is going down on the moon! (Hint: IT IS NOT GOOD, YOU GUYS) But the world of our characters grows as well as they have to figure out how to work together to accomplish something SO HUGE.

Strong Female Leads: Okay, I'll admit it. Cress wasn't my favorite. But after much internal debate, I figured out why! It's because to me Cress = Sansa Stark. Just like Sansa has her head filled with fairy tales and marrying a prince and that is her sole purpose in life, Cress fills her own head with this idea that she'll get swept up in an epic romance and that is her whole driving force in everything. I don't connect with that idea because I'm more of a Scarlet/Cinder/Arya person myself, but I UNDERSTAND Cress/Sansa. It's just fine that I'm not a super duper Cress fan because Iko more than fills that void in my heart with all of her android upbeat attitude and just loving everything to bits. I LOVE YOU, IKO. I look forward to us making each other friendship bracelets at our next best friend slumber party.

Meyer's Writing is Crack: This woman can write, y'all! Her characters are so authentic and genuine and awesome and unique from each other. This is a rare, completely unputdownable book. I woke up early today to finish it. YES. I WOKE UP EARLY TO READ. This is serious.
The plot is refreshing, passionately detailed and so all encompassing that long after I'm done reading I find myself thinking "I wonder what Cinder's going to do about ____". Seriously. I'd be embarrassed if I were ashamed of that in any way, but I'm not. I own it.

TL;DR - Meyer has created some of the strongest characters I've ever read within the most addictive "must save the world" plot I've ever read and I just cannot get enough of any of it.

Fave Quote: "Now, let's never talk about you being related to her again, because I'm technically still engaged to her, and that's really weird."

Pairs Well With: Love Lockdown by Kanye West (808s & Heartbreak). YOU GUYS. MY MIND BLEW UP when I made this connection. The electronic/autotune fits in perfectly with the computer heavy world so initially I was like yeah that makes sense. But then I really listened to it and I was like IT IS CRESS AND THORNE AND MY HEART CANNOT TAKE IT. Hell, you know what? That whole album is perfect for this series. Just listen to it and read the series and thank me for the rest of your life. Oh, and Marissa Meyer too for writing such a divine and addictive and badass series.