SOPHIE LI

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.

• Levana was a terrible villain throughout the Lunar Chronicles series, and I never thought that I’d be able to understand her… But this novel put me in her shoes, and gave me a glimpse into what Levana had gone through and why she had become the person she was. This book was certainly a strange experience because I soon found myself on Levana’s side and rooting for her to find happiness.
• I loved that Levana was independent and ambitious, with an interest in politics. From the start of the novel, it became clear that Levana’s goal was for Luna to become stronger and more prosperous. Unfortunately later on her actions became misguided and twisted.
• Levana’s relationship with her love interest was a complicated one. I liked that it wasn’t perfect. It was a nice break from all the picture perfect romances out there (in the present series included!)
• The book was a quick read for me. I finished it in less than 24 hours lol. I wouldn’t say that the pacing of the book was fast, however Levana’s engrossing personality made me continue turning the pages.
• It was pretty cool to catch a glimpse of some of the MCs from the main series as babies and as children!!
• I didn’t expect this book to be a tearjerker…. but it totally was! Even more so than any of the other books in the series (for me at least.)
• Going into this novel, I knew exactly how everything would end, but it still didn’t damper my enthusiasm to continue reading Levana’s story. Although I couldn’t relate to her, I did sympathize with her and hoped that she could have some form of happiness.
• Levana will forever be on my list of favourite villains.

• I couldn’t really get behind the relationship in this book. It was a bit twisted (but granted- Levana’s not your usual romance heroine) and I didn’t understand Levana’s love interest’s intention for most of the book… although towards the end it was explained. I still hoped that she would have her happily ever after though.
• Levana’s face and body was disfigured and that was the cause of much of the pain in her life. I was a bit disappointed that this series in general perpetuated the (very false) stereotype that beautiful people were good and those who weren’t conventionally beautiful were evil. I wished that Levana’s condition wasn’t associated with such devastating outcomes.

3/5 fishies!

Fairest was an enjoyable read and an unexpected tearjerker! I would definitely recommend it to anyone who loved the Lunar Chronicles series and wanted to read more.

Have you read this book (or other books in the Lunar Chronicles series?) What are your thoughts about Levana?

Photo by Shirly Niv Marton on Unsplash