Fairest

The Lunar Chronicles: Levana's Story

By: Marissa Meyer

Narrated by: Rebecca Soler

Soon to be adapted into a major motion picture!

A standalone prequel to the #1 New York Times- and USA Today-Bestselling Lunar Chronicles series by Marissa Meyer! Find out what made the evil space queen from the beloved series so wicked.

"An interesting mash up of fairy tales and science fiction . . . a cross between Cinderella, Terminator, and Star Wars." —Entertainment Weekly

True love. She did not think she had ever witnessed it, not beside the fairy tales she’d been told as a child and the fanciful dramas sometimes acted out for the court’s entertainment.

Mirror, mirror, on the wall.
Who is the Fairest of them all?

Pure evil has a name, hides behind a mask of deceit, and uses her "glamour" to gain power. But who is Queen Levana? Long before she crossed paths with Cinder, Scarlet, and Cress in The Lunar Chronicles, Levana lived a very different story—a story that has never been told . . . until now.

New York Times–bestselling author Marissa Meyer reveals the story behind her fascinating villain in Fairest, an unforgettable tale about love and war, deceit and death.

Don't miss the other books in The Lunar Chronicles series:
Cinder
Scarlet
Cress
Winter
Stars Above
Fairest
Wires and Nerve Vol. 1
Wires and Nerve Vol. 2: Gone Rogue

Critic reviews

“She loves fiercely and kills with little remorse; her iron grip over the Lunar people is equal parts impressive and terrifying. Queen Levana from "The Lunar Chronicles'" is more than a beautiful villain. In this prequel, Meyer explains how she went from lonely, shy second daughter to the most feared and relentless woman in the universe. . . . Thorough world-building and fascinating character development will thrill fans and entice new readers.” —<i>School Library Journal</i>

Needed to be Told

Listened for Fun (Audible)
Overall Rating: 4.00
Story Rating: 4.00
Character Rating: 4.00

Audio Rating: 4.50

First Thought when Finished: Fairest by Marissa Meyer is a story I felt needed to be told!

Overall Thoughts Did I feel bad for L after this story? Nope! Granted her back story did have me pitying her just a bit. Everything she does is for one reason only: it is what she wants! She is very self-tunneled visioned (I know not a thing but it is the best way I can describe it)

Did I like getting her history? Sure! She is an evil queen and Marissa did a great job of showing that there are layers to even the most evil of characters. Granted they may just be more layers of evil but they are layers!

Did I like the sneak peak at Winter? You BETCHA! Can't wait! Though I am going to have to do a total re-listen before the final book! That will happen closer to release time.

Audio Thoughts:

Narrated by: Rebecca Soler /Length: 6 hrs and 36 mins


The series is narrated by Rebecca Soler and she does a wonderful job. The only one I did not listen to in audiobook was Cress. I missed Rebecca's narration while reading. She adds layers and emotions to the wonderful words that Marissa Meyer has written. If you have not given these a whirl on audio, you should!

Now We Wait

Great look inside the villains head

In ways you feel bad for her and in others you realize how crazy she is. I find it interesting that she is simultaneously a victim and a villain.

Meh... It wasn't bad

This is a good story of you wanted Levana's back story. Granted I think I really didn't like it because I prefer the good-person-forced-to -be-bad story line and this isn't it at all... Which makes it refreshing but also a bit of a downer. Spoiler alert! She's a selfish ignorant princess from day one. I think that kind of made this character flat.

Patience extender

What I really want is Winter, but this will help pas the time until it gets here. Good book, and it's nice to finally know the details surrounding the nursery fire.

An Excellent Lovely Edition to the series!

I really enjoyed this book as it filled in the missing pieces to the puzzle of what occurred prior to when Cinder was born on Lunar. It also taught the audience that Lavana was not always so evil and that her sister was much worse and even more heartless. It kinda made you sad for a moment in Lavana's younger days and made you feel some sort of pity towards her possibly. The story of Winter also opens at the ending of this book which makes you greatly anticipate the arrival of the next book in the series in November 2015. I can not wait to read it and it will be so hard to wait that long! I am truly a big fan now of Marissa Meyer!