Fairest: The Lunar Chronicles - Levana's Story

I finally finished Fairest by Marissa Meyer and I must say what a delightful read this was! It's the perfect addition to the Lunar Chronicles because who doesn't want to get a better understanding of the villain? And that's exactly what we get here! A better understanding of Levana. I have to say that I did sympathize for her a bit because she was horrendously mistreated growing up, but I still think she needs to be held accountable for her actions!The book opens up to Levana's parents' deaths. They were murdered and yet, she can't find it to be too worked up about it. Her parents weren't the best parents. They were neglectful and rarely cared that they had two daughters. So when her sister, Channary is about to take the throne, all Levana really feels is an envy of sorts. She doesn't think Channary is fit to rule Luna, mostly because Channary doesn't care to help better Luna and make the moon a better place for her people.Channary is yet another character who was horrible to Levana. She always made Levana feel bad about herself, especially her appearance when she let a glamour drop. And we do get to learn why she always wears a glamour too.Levana finds herself falling in love with a solider, Evret. She believes he loves her too, but is suppressing his feelings because he is married. I feel like it's at this juncture that we get to see the inkling of the Levana we have always known. She wants something she cannot have and she will do whatever it takes to get it. She's manipulative and it's sickening. What she does in taking away a person's rights is despicable. But as I said, this all plays out to how she became the villain she is.True, there are moments when I felt sorry for her, but they soon faded away at the disgust I always felt towards her. It was a back and forth battle.I love seeing how some things came into fruition. Like how the battle with Earth was instigated, how Winter came into the picture, how Selene came into the picture. All those little things are answered in this one and it was all quite shocking! Even more so was how at time Levana knew what she was doing was questionable, but she would have some reason or other that convinced herself that she should do it anyway. She wasn't always a horrible person, she really did just come from a neglectful family; nurture vs nature really plays a part in this scenario!I found myself quite intrigued with the Selene bits. How she was born and set to rule Luna one day and the drastic measures Levana went to prevent that from happening. It may seem obvious as to origins and what not, but I won't reveal anything anyway. I just was quite surprise with it all, especially her mother. I mean it was weird seeing it, I can't explain why really. Guess the whole motherhood changes everyone kind of thing. I was a little disappointed that her father was never revealed, but oh well.I forced myself to resist temptation in reading the sneak peek of Winter. I can't handle sneak peeks because I'm always left wanting more and the sneak peek ends up doing me more damage than good! LOL! So yes, I refrained from reading that. Otherwise, this was a fairly fast read! Highly enjoyable and highly recommended if you have read the Lunar Chronicles to date. And like most everyone has said, despite that this is a prequel story, it's far better to read it after reading Cress, because there are little events and whatnot that you might not quite get or will be spoiled for.An delightfully intriguing read and I so can't wait to read Winter later this year to see how this amazing series comes to an end!Overall Rating 5/5 stars

Throughout the entire Lunar Chronicles, the main villain has been the ruthless Lunar queen Levana, an ambitious, merciless Lunar who hides her true self behind false glamour, and whose past holds treacherous, mysterious secrets that caused her to become the Evil Queen. Fairest reveals those secrets, and paints a picture of the lonely, disfigured Lunar princess who has lived without support and acceptance her entire life.Plot: Fifteen-year-old Levana Blackburn lives behind the shadow of her beautiful, cruel older sister Channary, who becomes queen of Luna after their parents are brutally murdered. Levana, who is deformed due to an "accident" caused by her sister in their childhood, desperately seeks love and acceptance, and feels that the only way to accomplish that is to disguise her ugliness by a beautiful glamour. She falls in love with a loyal guard who is married, and his wife is pregnant with their child. Somehow Levana ignores this, and gets it into her head that the guard, Evret Hayle, loves her, even though he makes it clear on numerous occasions that he does not. Levana dismisses this, and uses her Lunar manipulation powers to convince Evret that he does love her, and slowly travels down this dark path, manipulating anyone who stands in her way. And when Channary dies, she leaves Levana as the queen regent, and Channary's baby daughter Selene as the future queen. Now, as the temporary queen of Luna, Levana holds unlimited power, and she stands in nobody's shadow. No one can oppose her... except for the tiny, perceptive baby that will one day inherit the throne. If only Levana could find a way to dispose of Selene, she could rule forever. She will kill off Selene, she will become the permanent ruler of all of Luna, and she will grow so powerful, that eventually she would rise to become Empress of the planet Earth. Levana is determined to succeed in her evil plan, and will forever hide behind her glamour so that she can live free of pain, free of her burden of disfigurement.But a mirror can tell no lies...Review: This was sort of an anticipated read for me, considering that I was slightly curious about Queen Levana's past, and what happened in the events leading up to Cinder and the rest of the series. And the novella was mostly enjoyable. I did like how we got small cameos from different characters in the series, such as Cinder, Kai, Jacin, and Winter. I got to learn more about Winter in Fairest, so hopefully that will help when reading the final book. It was also kinda cool that we got to spend some time on Luna, and learn about how the Lunar aristocracy works. I didn't really mind the fact that it was just one long paragraph broken up into sections with no chapter breaks, but I can see how that might irritate someone. I wasn't a fan of Levana's interactions with the other characters, and how her thought process worked. I mean, get over it already! Evret's not into you! There are probably plenty of other unmarried, good-looking Lunar guys AROUND YOUR AGE! (Okay, calming down now. But still.) Levana didn't really interact well with the supporting characters, probably because unlike the rest of the Lunar Chronicles, nobody in Fairest really liked one another, other than Evret, Garrison, Jacin, and Winter. In the Lunar Chronicles, we are dealing with intelligent, respected characters that treat each other as equals, while in Fairest, our protagonist is an obsessive, sheltered princess who is fairly unlikable, and has been alone for most of her life. Even so, I still did see similarities between her and the other main female characters of the series. Both Levana and Cinder are deformed, and are treated horribly and unfairly because of it. Scarlet and Queen Levana share a similar strength and determination to accomplish their goals, and Cress and Levana also share the same naive, daydreamy quality in this book. Finally, both Queen Levana and Princess Winter were raised as Lunar princesses. Other than that, the writing in Fairest was especially descriptive and enticing, and it was really interesting to find out more about an infamous storybook villain's past.However, while SOME of Levana's actions are somewhat justified by this book, Channary just seemed pure evil. It's hard to believe that this malicious, beauty-obsessed woman is Cinder's MOM.In conclusion, this isn't the most necessary book in the Lunar Chronicles, but it is an informative novella that ties together nicely with the overall plot of this series. I do recommend reading it, but mostly for the important backstory on Luna and Levana, and not mainly for enjoyment. I do think this will be valuable for Winter, and I can't wait to finish the anticipated finale of the Lunar Chronicles, yet will definitely miss this series.

Muito bonita a edição, está de acordo com os outros livros da coleção

Spedizione puntualissima come sempre. Il libro è arrivato in ottime condizioni, anzi la copertina è ancora meglio di come me la aspettavo e il prezzo è un affare.Questo spin off su Levana è necessario per capire più a fondo il suo personaggio e per poter proseguire con il quarto libro della serie "Winter".

„I know you must be hurting now, but don't give up hope on future happiness, and all the good things that still to come to you.” – „Ich weiß, dass du jetzt verletzt sein musst, aber gib die Hoffnung auf ein glückliches Ende und all die guten Dinge, die noch folgen werden, nicht auf.“Dies ist eine Vorgeschichte zu den Luna-Chroniken, eventuelle Spoiler lassen sich dadurch nicht vermeiden!Zum Cover: Dieses Buch gibt es ja derzeit nur auf Englisch – wer weiß, ob es jemals übersetzt wird –, aber das Cover ist einfach der Hammer. Generell mag ich ein schlichtes jedoch aussagekräftiges Cover immer sehr gerne und das trifft auf „Fairest“ definitiv zu. Nicht nur, dass das Bild mit dem Spiegel, der sehr viele Schnörkel inne und eine Krone oberhalb besitzt, wahnsinnig gut zu Levanas Person passt, sondern auch die Flammen dazwischen noch ihre Berechtigung haben, finde ich großartig. Die Szene aus dem Buch, wo Levana dann auch tatsächlich vor diesem Spiegel steht, hat mir eine Gänsehaut beschert und ich denke, das soll schon 'was heißen.Zum Inhalt: Spieglein, Spieglein an der Wand, wer ist die Schönste im ganzen Land? – Das pure Böse hat einen Namen, versteckt hinter einer Maske aus Täuschung, wobei sie ihre glänzende Schönheit nutzt, um die Macht zu erlangen. Aber wer ist Königin Levana?Lange bevor sich ihre Wege mit Cinder, Scarlet und Cress in den Luna-Chroniken kreuzten, lebte Levana eine sehr andere Geschichte, eine Geschichte, die niemals erzählt wurde. Bis jetzt.Ihre Geschichte handelt dabei nicht weniger von Liebe, Kampf, Täuschung und Tod, und dennoch ist sie es wert erzählt zu werden. Denn Levana liebte auch einst und hat diese Liebe jedoch leider nicht bekommen können. So allerdings musste kommen, was in den Luna-Chroniken geschah.Meine Meinung: Da ich grundsätzlich liebe, nochmals in eine Welt einzutauchen, von der ich restlos begeistert war, musste ich das Prequel zu Königin Levana aus den Luna-Chroniken einfach lesen. Wie gesagt, ich habe an dieser einen bestimmten Spiegel-Szene Gänsehaut bekommen, also hat mir das Buch demnach unglaublich gut gefallen. Es hätte zwar irgendwie mit etwas anderem gerechnet oder ich hatte andere Erwartungen an das Buch, aber geliebt habe ich diese Geschichte trotzdem.Es war so schön, wieder nach Luna, also auf den Mond oder eher in das Königreich von Artemisia, zurückzukehren. Auch die vereinzelten Auftritte von Winter und Jacin, die hier noch Kinder sind, mochte ich sehr. Daran erwähne ich jedoch nochmal, dass es besser ist, „Fairest“ in der Tat vor „Winter“, dem letzten Teil der Luna-Chroniken, zu lesen, weil es so einfach von der Geschichte her am schönsten zu entdecken ist. Nichtsdestotrotz kann man es natürlich auch so wie ich erst nach dem letzten Band lesen, das tut der Sache keinen Abbruch.Die Atmosphäre bleibt dieselbe, auch wenn sie teils doch recht düster ist, aber gut, ich meine, was will man von einem Prequel zum eigentlichen Bösewicht auch schon erwarten. Ich mochte es jedoch, wie hier das Thema erneut aufgegriffen wurde, dass Levana Angst vor Feuer hat. Hierbei wurde auch erklärt, warum und dieses „Warum“ hat mit ihrer Schwester Channary zu tun. Diese wirkt in diesem Buch nun auch gar nicht mehr so heilig, wie sie in den Luna-Chroniken immer dargestellt wurde, zumindest ist das so mein Empfinden. Channary ist in Levanas Fall geradezu die Böse, obwohl das fast zu Recht ist, denn sie zu ihrer kleinen Schwester wirklich ganz schön gemein. Gut, Schwestern vertragen sich ja auch nicht immer, aber irgendwie finden sie ja schließlich doch wieder zusammen, sollte man jedenfalls meinen. Bei Channary und Levana ist das allerdings eher weniger der Fall.Man erfährt nun aber auch nicht nur mehr über Channary, sondern auch über ihre Tochter Selene, oder wie sie bei uns bekannter ist, über Cinder. Sie kommt zwar auch nur als Kleinkind vor, da hier immerhin nur die Szene mit ihrem maßgeblichen Tod, der ja eigentlich gar keiner war, vorkommt, doch dass sie sich davor mit Winter so gut versteht, bekommt man dennoch mit, was auch wieder sehr toll in Szene gesetzt wurde. Marissa Meyer weiß einfach, wie man seine Geschichte noch weiter ausfeilt. Das merkt man auch an der Tatsache, wie Evret in die Geschichte eingeführt wurde. Er ist Levanas Leibwächter und Winters Vater. Es entwickelt sich zwar zwischen Evret und Levana eine ähnliche Geschichte wie bei Winter und Jacin, doch im Gegensatz zu den Winters Geschichte geht Levanas nicht so glücklich aus, was man, so viel sage ich noch, jedoch in Evrets Fall dann wirklich nachsollziehen kann.Fazit: Schließlich bekommt „Fairest“ von mir nun, wie sollte es anders sein bei den Luna-Chroniken, seine für mich wunderbaren 5 Sterne. Mir hat es wirklich gefallen und wenn dieses Buch dann vielleicht doch nochmals irgendwann auf Deutsch übersetzt werden sollte, werde ich diese Geschichte bestimmt erneut zur Hand nehmen.

Interesante ver el punto de vista del antagonista, y la autora no trata de redimirla, al contrario, nos muestra a Levana tal como es egoísta y sin capacidad de amar, debido si, a todos los sucesos de su vida. Recomendable para ver los libros desde otro punto de vista. Sigo preguntándome porque las editoriales no publican estos en español. Hay dos libros de la serie en español y como siempre nos dejan, a las lectores de habla hispana , sin continuar las series.

Fairest is just a novella, not a full-length novel like Cinder or the other books in the series. This story introduces us to Levana in her mid-teens back when she had no power or confidence, and still had a small (very small) shred of humanity left in her.From the beginning, Levana is an incredibly damaged person. She is nearly incapable of empathy and is truly warped. She does not come across as a sympathetic character, even though we do get a glimpse into the physical and emotional abuse her older sister put her through. Barely 16-years-old, Levana arguably rapes an older man. Emotionally manipulating him as well as subtlety threatening him and his daughter, he has no choice but to sleep with her. I interpret this as rape, but maybe other readers will see it differently. It's very rare in YA fiction for the main character of a novel to be so completely evil. Although I came to understand Levana so much more, I don't hate her any less. She has a sick mind, which makes for a very entertaining story.Although I am really upset that Winter's release date was pushed back by several months, I did enjoy this novella of Levana's early years. It will definitely appeal to all Cinder fans and there are some familiar characters in the story, as well as great new ones. The novella includes some chapters for Winter, so I am more excited than ever to read the last book in the series.