Review: Stars Above by Marissa Meyer

Stars Above by Marissa Meyer
Series: The Lunar Chronicles
on 2016-02-02
Length: 369 pages
Reviewing eBook from TN R.E.A.D.S.
Rating:

The enchantment continues....

The universe of the Lunar Chronicles holds stories—and secrets—that are wondrous, vicious, and romantic. How did Cinder first arrive in New Beijing? How did the brooding soldier Wolf transform from young man to killer? When did Princess Winter and the palace guard Jacin realize their destinies?

With nine stories—five of which have never before been published—and an exclusive never-before-seen excerpt from Marissa Meyer’s upcoming novel, Heartless, about the Queen of Hearts from Alice in Wonderland, Stars Above is essential for fans of the bestselling and beloved Lunar Chronicles.

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The Little Android: A retelling of Hans Christian Andersen’s “The Little Mermaid,” set in the world of The Lunar Chronicles.
Glitches: In this prequel to Cinder, we see the results of the plague play out, and the emotional toll it takes on Cinder. Something that may, or may not, be a glitch….
The Queen’s Army: In this prequel to Scarlet, we’re introduced to the army Queen Levana is building, and one soldier in particular who will do anything to keep from becoming the monster they want him to be.
Carswell’s Guide to Being Lucky: Thirteen-year-old Carswell Thorne has big plans involving a Rampion spaceship and a no-return trip out of Los Angeles.
The Keeper: A prequel to the Lunar Chronicles, showing a young Scarlet and how Princess Selene came into the care of Michelle Benoit.
After Sunshine Passes By: In this prequel to Cress, we see how a nine-year-old Cress ended up alone on a satellite, spying on Earth for Luna.
The Princess and the Guard: In this prequel to Winter, we see a game called The Princess
The Mechanic: In this prequel to Cinder, we see Kai and Cinder’s first meeting from Kai’s perspective.
Something Old, Something New: In this epilogue to Winter, friends gather for the wedding of the century...

Stars Above by Marissa Meyer is a wonderful addition to The Lunar Chronicles. There are 9 novellas in this book, each telling a unique story about the characters you love! There’s one story for each of them, along with the an epilogue to Winter that I didn’t know I needed til I read it. If you’re a fan of the series, I highly recommend you pick up a copy of this book and read it ASAP.

The Keeper: This story may have been my favorite of the entire book. In this prequel to the entire series, Michelle Benoit finds her one-time lover at her door with a proposition to hide the severely injured, presumed dead Princess Selene while she recovers. It was interesting to me to see how this story played out, the quirks that Scarlet saw in her grandmother are explained, and we see how a young Scarlet came to live with her. It was an interesting story, spanning several years, but it gives such insight into the grandmother we see only briefly in the series.

Glitches: This one starts about a week after the end of The Keeper. We see a young Cinder coming to live with her stepfamily and still adjusting to being a cyborg. It also shows the first interactions between Cinder and Peony and Iko, which gives a ton of insight in their relationship in Cinder. While this one was okay, I wasn’t that impressed. It was all information we’d heard before in the previous books.

The Queen’s Army: Wolf’s story 😀 Honestly this one was brutal to read. A 12-year-old Z is ripped from his family, undergoes massive surgery to give him animalistic traits, and then he’s thrown into a pack, expected to fight for the queen. It was interesting to read from Wolf’s POV what happened to him and the other’s like him, conscripted to Queen Levana’s army. Wolf is one of my favorite characters and this novella explains why. Despite everything done to him, he clings to the pieces that are still him, that make him human, NOT wolf.

Carswell’s Guide to Being Lucky: I really, really didn’t care for this one. I love Thorne in the series, but this book just reminded me of what a scoundrel he was prior to Cinder finding him in the palace. It explains a lot of the questions I had about him, but at the same time it really made me dislike him…

The Little Android: This one really has nothing at all to do with the series, but is a retelling of the classic The Little Mermaid set in the world of The Lunar Chronicles. Mech 6.0 realizes that something is wrong with her when she begins to fall in love with one of the human mechanics that over see her. It was an oddly sweet, yet disturbing tale about a droid who wants to be more than she is. I really enjoyed it more than I should have and rooted for the mech droid!

After Sunshine Passes By: This is Cress’s story. Cress was never one of my favorite characters but this book made my heart-break for her. She was only 9 when Sybil locked her in the satellite, all alone, to spy on Earthen leaders. I really wanted to cry for her. It explained her naivety  when she first meets Throne and the rest of the characters. It made me want to reread her story with this new information.

The Mechanic: This novella is a scene from Cinder but with a different perspective, Kai’s. Kai is in desperate need of a mechanic who can fix Nainsi and he’s heard praises about Linh Cinder in the marketplace. So in disguise, Prince Kai sets off and boy is he surprised to find a girl younger than him is the famous mechanic. I loved this scene in the book but now I really love it! Kai’s reaction wasn’t clear in the book but reading it from his perspective was insightful and so telling about how their relationship progressed.

Something Old, Something New: Wolf and Scarlet are getting married and everyone is coming! This novella is the entire reason I read the book 😀 It’s set around 2 years after Winter ends and really is amazing! I couldn’t stop smiling while I read it. All the characters are back together and this time there’s no fighting for their lives, they are just enjoying being together. It’s perfect and such a sweet, romantic end to a wonderful series!

Final Conclusion:

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