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| Narrated by Rebecca Soler |
Mirror, mirror on the wall,
Who is the fairest of them all?
Fans of The Lunar Chronicles know Queen Levana as a ruler who uses her “glamour” to gain power. But long before she crossed paths with Cinder, Scarlet, and Cress, Levana lived a very different story – a story that has never been told . . . until now.
Marissa Meyer spins yet another unforgettable tale about love and war, deceit and death. This extraordinary book includes full-color art and an excerpt from Winter, the next book in the Lunar Chronicles series.
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Warning! Potential spoilers for this book and other books in this series.
After reading the other books in The Lunar Chronicles, it was obvious Levana was unhinged. Fairest shows us what she's like as a child, and what likely caused her break from reality. I feel bad for the little girl Levana used to be, and I hate that her parents were so neglectful. If they had been more involved in their daughter's lives, they might have noticed Channery's cruelty and done something about it. However, it's hard to feel sympathy for the person Levana is today, because she likes to kill people for seemingly no reason (a perceived threat or just someone voicing a concern). It's obvious now that she just wanted someone to love her, which did fracture my heart a little. When her parents failed at showing compassion and understanding, she focused on Evret, and eventually the people of Luna.
Levana's obsession with Evret Hale was disturbing on many levels. She was a child chasing after a much older man, a man that clearly loved his very pregnant wife, and actually felt hatred towards a woman that had done nothing wrong . Evret offered friendship on his wife's behalf, because Solstice thought Levana was lonely and needed a friend, and that backfired in a big way. Levana took every smile and kind gesture, and warped them into something that fit the story in her head. No on stepped in to save Evret, or even to tell Levana that she was doing something wrong. She was a princess, and essentially left to her own devices. Even her sister hadn't been able to stop Levana's plan once she'd put everything in motion. Levana tortured Evret in the worst possible way, by using what he loved against him. She broke him from the inside, and made him do unthinkable things that he never would have agreed to on his own. She raped his mind and his body, because she thought their love was real. It didn't occur to her that forcing him made it something ugly and damaged.
Channery is definitely the cause of Levana's mental issues (at least at the beginning), but Levana's downward spiral continues even when Channery is no longer there to give her nightmares. When she takes over the responsibilities of the Queen, she makes a lot of bad decisions, although I truly believe she thought they were for the right reasons (except when she was killing people on Earth for the benefit of Luna). She seemed to really care about her country and its well-being, but she also wanted her people to love her unconditionally, which isn't something you can force people to do. Levana wanted perfection, and nothing is perfect.
Also, Levana criticized Channery for being unconcerned with the politics of Luna, but Levana's active involvement resulted in a lot of pain and death. Her paranoia and hatred, mixed with her skewed perception of reality, were a toxic combination.
I think Marissa Meyer wrote another excellent book, and she was able to make me understand a character that I love to hate. I believe this story is a wonderful addition the series, and wish I had read it before reading Winter. We get to see what makes Levana tick, and all of the ugliness that surrounds her life. Also, Rebecca Soler narrates this book as well, and she's amazing.
Wow, that sounds crazy as hell. She sounds like one dark character.
ReplyDeleteLevana is the worst! After reading this one, I feel like I understand her motivations better, but she's crazy.
DeleteI really liked this addition to the series too!!
ReplyDelete-Lauren
www.shootingstarsmag.net
I really enjoyed learning about Levana's past, and her interactions with Channery. I thought it was sweet that Channery felt a connection with her daughter, even if she was cruel to everyone else (including Levana). It doesn't excuse what she's done, but it did make her seem more human. Levana wants to be loved, and she tries to force it when it doesn't happen naturally. Can you imagine how differently the story would have been, if she'd tossed Cinder into the lake as a baby?
DeleteI can't tell you how much I cried in the beginning of the book, because of her life.
ReplyDeleteI hated that the death of her parents meant so little to her. A parent should be there for their children, especially after what happened with Channery. Maybe if they'd been paying a little more attention, they would have realized their eldest daughter was psychotic and liked to torture her sister. A lot of problems could have been prevented if the previous king and queen had cared more about others and less about themselves. Also, their deaths were horrific. I can't believe what Levana said about their blood being a nice color for rouge! That was an insane thought to have.
DeleteI loved this book! It was dark and disturbing, explains Levana but didn't excuse her actions.
ReplyDeleteKaren @ For What It's Worth
Super dark and disturbing! One, Channery was awful. I'm surprised she wanted to participate in motherhood. Two, Levana was way too young to be entertaining some of the thoughts she had. Three, that entire family was fucked up. Their parents weren't involved in their lives, so they a horrible example for their children, and they were also terrible leaders. Their lives wouldn't have ended the way they did, if they'd cared about something other than themselves. A lot of this could have been prevented!
DeleteI thought this was a great addition to the series!
ReplyDeleteMe too! It gives you perspective, and I like that we get see Levana's layers. Also, I was interested in Channery, and this is really the only book that talks about her.
DeleteI didn't read because of potential spoilers, but my sister has been tying to get me to start reading this series since the first book came out. I read a prequel short story recently, and was surprised how much I liked it, so I'm going to give Cinder a try at some point. I am hoping there won't be too much romance for me. ๐✨
ReplyDeleteThere's very little romance in this series. All of the characters do seem to pair off, but it's not the sole focus. There is so, so much to this series... friendships, biological warfare, family (good and bad), people resisting a tyrannical ruler any way they know how, etc. The audiobooks were phenomenal, Rebecca Soler is a gem. I highly recommend this series! You've got cyborgs and wolf hybrids, spaceships, espionage -- death.
DeleteI agree that this book definitely helped us understand a character we loved to hate!
ReplyDeleteNicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction
Yes! I don't like Levana, but we get to see what likely made her the way she is. Her parents should have done better, her sister should have been kept away from her, and someone needed to love that poor girl before she lost her grip on reality. Poor Evret, too.
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