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A review by themermaddie
Fairest by Marissa Meyer
5.0
this is an incredible in between story!! i was initially hesitant bc i wasn't sure if levana's character was going to justified through some really tragic backstory, but meyer does an incredible job of creating a nuanced and complex portrait of levana without leaning into the sob story. young levana evokes pity and awe, she's smart and undervalued and deeply traumatised by her sister's abuse, and her actions are never justified to the reader, only showing levana's warped thought process. meyer paints a complicated portrait of a woman who only wanted love and was never shown any, pushed to the brink.
i loved all the little details from the main canon that are revealed in this story, like watching winter grow up and seeing how her childhood unfolded, and the circumstances of selene's birth. i particularly liked the explanation of levana's hatred of mirrors and the real reason behind her excessive use of glamours, i liked that it wasn't just simple vanity or envy of winter's beauty. levana was so fleshed out and intriguing, you understand that she's doing bad things and getting into awful situations and it's all her own fault but you just can't help but feel pity and sympathy for her. you're not quite rooting for her because this story isn't removed from the context of the main canon, but i wanted to root for her and her personal development. she is so ambitious and clever and overlooked, she's clearly a talented and ruthless leader and you can't help but admire her for it, despite everything. this was an excellent extra novel in this series, i'm so glad meyer was able to execute it so well, because it makes levana a much stronger villain now knowing everything about her past. now not only am i excited to see how they defeat levana, but i'm also invested in levana's fate.
i loved all the little details from the main canon that are revealed in this story, like watching winter grow up and seeing how her childhood unfolded, and the circumstances of selene's birth. i particularly liked the explanation of levana's hatred of mirrors and the real reason behind her excessive use of glamours, i liked that it wasn't just simple vanity or envy of winter's beauty. levana was so fleshed out and intriguing, you understand that she's doing bad things and getting into awful situations and it's all her own fault but you just can't help but feel pity and sympathy for her. you're not quite rooting for her because this story isn't removed from the context of the main canon, but i wanted to root for her and her personal development. she is so ambitious and clever and overlooked, she's clearly a talented and ruthless leader and you can't help but admire her for it, despite everything. this was an excellent extra novel in this series, i'm so glad meyer was able to execute it so well, because it makes levana a much stronger villain now knowing everything about her past. now not only am i excited to see how they defeat levana, but i'm also invested in levana's fate.