This book featured on my most anticipated reads list back at the start of the year and as I haven’t read anything by Marissa Meyer nor anything from the Lunar Chronicles world for quite a while, I was looking forward to catching up with these characters. This will only be a mini review because I don’t want to go into my thoughts on each individual story otherwise we’ll be here all day – if you do want to know my thoughts on a particular story, feel free to ask! However, I did really like this story collection and I loved learning more about the world and the characters’ pasts. The writing, as per usual, was enjoyable and engaging and very easy to read too.
In this collection there is:
– The Keeper: A prequel to the Lunar Chronicles, showing a young Scarlet and how Princess Selene came into the care of Michelle Benoit.
– 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.
– 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 young Winter and Jacin playing a game called the Princess and the Guard…
– The Little Android: A retelling of Hans Christian Andersen’s “The Little Mermaid,” set in the world of The Lunar Chronicles.
– 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.
I have to say that my favourite stories were probably The Mechanic, because I loved seeing Kai’s inner turmoil when he found himself crushing on Cinder, and The Princess and the Guard, because my adoration for Winter knows no bounds and her story was so horrific and gruesome that I physically had to put the book down for a moment. Now, the story that I expected to adore the most was Something Old, Something New because I love reading about what happens after the main plotline. But I don’t know whether it was because I just hadn’t been with the characters for such a long time, but the scene seemed to be really unnatural and I just couldn’t get my head around it.
Anyway, this was still a really enjoyable collection and worth a definite 4.25 of out 5 stars.
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