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A review by myleejmiller
Fairest by Marissa Meyer
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
In Fairest by Marissa Meyer, young princess Levana faces the hardest trial of her spoiled life: unreciprocated love. When her ambition to find a companion turns into manipulation of someone who refuses to adore her as much as she adores him, she starts down the deep and dark path of denial, anger, and villainy.
When I first bought Fairest, I didn't realize it was meant to be read between books three and four of The Lunar Chronicles. However, my late readthrough didn't make the story any more difficult to understand. As always, Meyer does a phenomenal job of crafting vivid characterization, advanced worldbuilding, and bone-deep motives for every aspect of the storyline. It was a joy to see the stories told through the original series expanded into the heart of this backstory. Readers don't have enough villain origin stories and reading about Levana's past made me want even more stories with villains at the forefront.
The reason I rated this novella four stars was because of two things: one, the descriptions of the setting and the people weren't as profound or in depth as I would have liked. While a few characters were described, such physical descriptions were rare. Rarer still were details informing the setting, which I feel would've enhanced the storyline even further. Two: the villain was absolutely, undeniably evil.
"But Mylee!" you might say, "it's a villain origin story; of course they're evil." Which is fine, considering how Levana was shown to grow up in (hinted at) the past of the narrative. I do understand. However, I find myself more drawn to villains who become what they are throughout the course of the story as it plays out on paper. The late revelation as to why Queen Levana became a villain deterred me, rather than drawing me in.
Otherwise, this novel was a wonderful addition to the Lunar universe!
When I first bought Fairest, I didn't realize it was meant to be read between books three and four of The Lunar Chronicles. However, my late readthrough didn't make the story any more difficult to understand. As always, Meyer does a phenomenal job of crafting vivid characterization, advanced worldbuilding, and bone-deep motives for every aspect of the storyline. It was a joy to see the stories told through the original series expanded into the heart of this backstory. Readers don't have enough villain origin stories and reading about Levana's past made me want even more stories with villains at the forefront.
The reason I rated this novella four stars was because of two things: one, the descriptions of the setting and the people weren't as profound or in depth as I would have liked. While a few characters were described, such physical descriptions were rare. Rarer still were details informing the setting, which I feel would've enhanced the storyline even further. Two: the villain was absolutely, undeniably evil.
"But Mylee!" you might say, "it's a villain origin story; of course they're evil." Which is fine, considering how Levana was shown to grow up in (hinted at) the past of the narrative. I do understand. However, I find myself more drawn to villains who become what they are throughout the course of the story as it plays out on paper. The late revelation as to why Queen Levana became a villain deterred me, rather than drawing me in.
Otherwise, this novel was a wonderful addition to the Lunar universe!