Stars Above: A Lunar Chronicles Collection
Ratings131
Average rating4
Ahhhh, I've finished the Lunar Chronicles. I feel like this series has become a huge part of my life and I wish it didn't. Very stupid to get attached to a book series.
Although I loved the series, some stories in this book were subpar and I wish they weren't. But the ending was beautiful, downright amazing!
3.5 stars!
I ADORED THIS BOOK.
I wasn't expecting anything less than adoration; The Lunar Chronicles will always be a longstanding favorite of mine, and when I remembered this addition existed, I couldn't wait to get my hands on it.
And it definitely didn't disappoint- it answered questions about the main characters I never knew I had!
Marissa Meyer's writing style and obvious love for the characters she's created comes through stronger than ever, and the connection the reader feels to the characters makes you feel even more submerged in their world.
While it was a bittersweet end, knowing I would never read anything more from the Lunar Chronicles for the first time, I would easily read it again, as these characters and this universe will forever have my heart.
Yesssss bonus material!!! I especially loved the last one! You just gotta love an epilogue to a series!!!
I finally finished all the Luna chronicles series and I just can't describe how beautiful it was
Favorites in order:
1. The Princess and The Guard
2. The Queen's Army
3. Glitches
4. Something Old, Something New
5. The Little Android
The Keeper: Scarlett and her grandmother's story from when Scarlett ran away and came to live with her, and when Cinder was given to Michelle for safekeeping.Glitches: Cinder's POV from the time she woke and came to live with her stepmother, Adri. This was really good because it showed Garan, a character who was always mentioned in the main story but never had any lines.The Queen's Army: This is the backstory for how Wolf became the Alpha of the pack, and the one that hurt the most because Ze'ev is the one character that went through colossal shit over and over again! Leave him alone already!Carswell's Guide to Being Lucky: The backstory with Kate that was briefly mentioned in Cress. Nothing noteworthy here.After Sunshine Passes By: A story of how Cress came to be in the satellite. Nothing new here. This story just reminded me how much I wanted Sybil to be goneeee!The Princess and the Guard: The claustrophobic story of why Winter stopped using her gift, of how she got the scars and how Jacin became a palace guard. Every single character in these stories was so badly trapped in situations they couldn't get out of. I loved this one!The Little Android: Why in the name of stars was this so sad and tragic? The end was a real punch in the face.The Mechanic: Kai's POV for his first meeting with Cinder. It was fine and nothing overly exciting.Something Old, Something New: So cute! <3 Nice wedding planning :D I loved this with all my heart. Everyone is so cute together!
BEAUTIFUL!!
I loved each and every one of these stories.
My thought when reading the last one “So, she doesn't hate them after all” hahahaha
I wouldn't say they are my favorite, but they hold such a dear place in my heart.
Again, I waited too long to review this, so I forgot most of what I wanted to write.... this is a definite read if someone is reading TLC.
I cannot get enough of The Lunar Chronicles. I love this series so much, I would read anything set in this universe. That's the only reason I liked this little Novella collection, because I love the characters.
The only story I didn't care for was “The Mechanic” it felt like I'd already read it. (Probably because I basically had). Just not really a fan of re-reading the same scene from a different perspective I guess.
I absolutely adored the rest of the stories though, especially Something Old, Something New. My heart was mush! I couldn't stop smiling, so cute and precious and I just love The Lunar Chronicles and the characters.
《This was only the second time Carswell Thorne had stopped to ponder one Kate Fallow. The first time, he had wondered why she liked books so much, and if it had anything to do with why he liked spaceships. Because they could take you somewhere far, far away from here.》
This was one of my favorite novellas from The Lunar Chronicles :)
Thorne is love, as always <3
Merged review:
The Keeper ★★★★☆
Glitches ★★★★☆
The Queen's Army ★★★☆☆
Carswell's Guide to Being Lucky ★★★★★
After Sunshine Passes By ★★★★★
The Princess and the Guard ★★★★★
The Little Android ★★★★☆
The Mechanic ★★★½☆
Something Old, Something New ★★★★☆
《They had stood against all adversity to be together, and now they would forge their own path to love.》
What a disappointing set of short stories.The only one really worth reading, was one that I had read already, [b:The Queen's Army 16075962 The Queen's Army (The Lunar Chronicles, #1.5) Marissa Meyer https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1349734763s/16075962.jpg 21871423], which is available online for free. All the other ones I trudged through, and I was pretty annoyed with them. Especially the The Little Android, as it didnt add anything to The Lunar Chronicles, and it had nothing to do with any of the main characters, it was just a short story based in the world. I suppose this was my fault, I knew that the last short story had an epilogue to [b:Winter 13206900 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles, #4) Marissa Meyer https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1470057036s/13206900.jpg 18390887], and this is what I was most interested in, but even this was a little underwhelming. They all got their HEA, and I didn't really need the details, because honestly it would have been better, and I would have saved myself 4 or 5 hours.
I've loved this series so far, but I think this is a totally unnecessary book, since everything that happened has been already mentioned in the books. Besides, these stories didn't catch my interest, even though they were a nice reading and I love the characters.
So, how much would you hate me if I said that I think I'm over the Lunar Chronicles? Because, honestly, I was excited for this book when I bought it, but really, I feel little towards it. But, let's talk about the stories individually.
The Keeper
This tells the story of Princess Selene first arriving at the Benoit farm and, also, Scarlet's first several years there.
I was actually super excited for this story - only one in this collection that I was more excited for - but I was really bored/disappointed with it. I feel that it adds so little to the story. Everything was already pretty well explained in the other books and I feel that this added nothing to the story. (Truthfully, I would have much rather read about Michelle when she was still a pilot. That would have been awesome!)
Stars: 2
Glitches
The story of Cinder's first couple of weeks at the Linh house.
Peony's great. Beyond that, I really didn't like this story. Cinder has always been my least favorite of the main girls in this series and...I really never felt any curiosity as to what her early time at the Linh house was like. Although, I now have several questions, such as: if they were hurting for money, why didn't Adri get a job instead of complaining about it? If they were already behind their rent, how could they still be living there five years later? If money was so important, why didn't Pearl get a job, too? (And, really, why's Adri such a bitch?)
Stars: 2
The Queen's Army
This is the story of the queen's army. LOL. No, it's the story of a young Wolf in the queen's army.
While I did find it interesting, I also found it super depressing. And, it was bad enough what happened to Wolf in Winter, but reading this made it take on a whole new level of horrifying. So, if you wanted to make me feel disgusted and angry, good job!
Stars: 1
Carswell's Guide to Being Lucky
This is a story about...hmm...Really, I'm not sure what is was supposed to be about. I guess, Thorne and what he was like as a young teen. In short: a burgeoning con artist.
I gotta admit, this isn't exactly the most flattering look at Thorne - but even in the books, he had his fair share of flaws. I did find it entertaining though, and interesting because I don't remember ever reading anything about his parents - so it was nice to see what they were like as well as his life growing up. But, really, what was the purpose of this story?
Stars: 3
After Sunshine Passes By
This is the story of Cress' arrival at her satellite.
...I fail to see the point of this story. I mean, yeah, pint-sized Cress is cute - just like I long suspected she would be - but nothing about this makes me think this story needed to be told. Really, I feel that the only reason this story was in here was because of something like ‘everyone else has one so Cress needs one too.' (It also doesn't escape my note that this is one of the two shortest stories in here.) I just don't see how this story adds anything and, to me, this is not something that I ever thought needed to be expanded on.
Stars: 2
The Princess and the Guard
A story of young Winter and Jacin and how/why Winter quit using glamour.
Now this is what short stories are supposed to be! Finally, one of these stories took something that was actually interesting and expanded on it. Sure, most of this was alluded to during the books, but there was so much more to the story. And this was a tale that actually had plot not one that just read like a ‘deleted scene.' (I seriously wish Winter had had more of this.)
Stars: 4 (Definitely my favorite story of this collection!)
The Little Android
A retelling of The Little Mermaid set in the Lunar Chronicles universe.
This is quite an interesting story. I especially love the way certain key aspects of the fairytale makes it's way into this updated version. And I do think there were some interesting choices made in telling the tale. However, I just didn't really enjoy it much,
Stars: 2
The Mechanic
Cinder and Kai's first meeting from the prince's perspective.
I actually found myself enjoying this story a lot more than I expected to - though I don't know why I was suspicious of this story to begin with. I actually like extras that show the same scene from a different perspective and I also like Kai. He's pretty far from my favorite of the guys - in fact, he's probably my least favorite between the four main guys - but there's something so compelling about him. I like his determination and his insecurity and this story showcases both aptly.
Stars: 3
Something Old, Something New
The so called ‘wedding of the century'.
I think what I like about this story the most is how it really could be any of the couples getting married. Admittedly, I don't really like it when a YA series ends with a wedding or a proposal, but this...wasn't as bad as I expected. (And then we had the proposal at the end that still causes me problems.)
Stars: 4 (Really, 3 ½ but I'm feeling generous.)
All in all, this was really a mixed bag for me, as most anthologies are. I really think that most of these stories added nothing to the Lunar Chronicles world - though for me, it was definitely worth it to read The Princess and the Guard.
My biggest problem is that most of these stories just expand on things that we were already told about in the books. Most of these stories don't add an new information and very little new knowledge. I would have much prefered this collection if it had covered either people or events that weren't already explained quite so well in the series.
(Originally posted on my blog: pagesofstarlight.blogspot.com)
4/5 stars
There's this thing about Novellas that I hate. You start to get really into them and then suddenly they are over. Nonetheless, Stars Above, in true Marissa Meyer fashion, was a phenomenally fun read.
The Princess and the Guard was by far my favorite of the nine novellas, and I just wish I had more of Winter's life growing up and a deeper inside about the ethics of the Lunar powers.
Also can we talk about the happy ending overload in Something Old, Something New. I don't think I can get enough of all these characters living out their happily ever afters.
My ratings are:
The Keeper:5/5 stars
Glitches:4.5/5 stars
The Queen's Army:3.5/5 stars
Carswell's Guide to Being Lucky:4/5 stars
After Sunshine Passes By:3.75/5 stars
The Princess and the Guard:10/5 stars
The Little Android:2/5 stars
The Mechanic:4/5 stars
Something Old, Something New:5/5 stars
Aww, I was so happy to have a little more time with all these characters :) I think some of these stories were available before online or as bonus content, but I'd never read any of them before. Some of them were SO SAD (but good) but I loved the last story, which serves as an epilogue to the whole series :')
A great collection for devotees of the series! Not something that I think would stand alone very well. But hey, if this sounds good to you and you haven't read the rest of the Lunar Chronicles... get on that ;)
How is there any way of describing this book without saying the words
Wonderful
Amazing
Lovely
Enlightening
Exciting
Fantastic
Awesome
Cool beans.
In awe of Marissa Meyer. I just. Fucking. Can't.
Honestly felt like a waste of time besides the last short story. After the long final novel it felt like going back to their pasts was just...not needed and I wasn't as invested.
Not yet read stories:
The Keeper: 4 Stars
After Sunshine Passes By: 5 Stars
The Princess and the Guard: 4 Stars
The Mechanic: 4.5 Stars
Something Old, Something New: 5 Stars
The contract is so perfectly fullfilled. I really feel empty AND heartwarmed right now. This is the end, officially. No. Marissa please write more of them, please... especially with such an ending, omg.
I was a little disappointed because we have no Cresswell/Jacinter scenes in SOSN? But then actually, that's fairly understandable. That's Scarlet et Wolf's wedding and Cinder and Kai are basically the main characters, so... :) (the proposal omg... the proposal!!)
But, oh damn. I give it five stars anyway because I love them so much and I want to cry because I'll miss them.
Really really much. [insert baby cryin gif here]
Long life to the most awesome lunar/earthen crew ever.
Carswell Thorne is awesome, that is all.
Merged review:
This would have been around 3.5 stars if it weren't for The Princess and The Guard and Something Old, Something New. Still a bit disappointed that Cress and Thorne didn't get a proposal, but I guess the happily ever after made up for it in the end.