Cress by Marissa Meyer

Cress by Marissa Meyer, 550 pages
Book 3 in the Lunar Chronicles

Since this is the third book in this series, spoilers ahead if you haven't read Cinder (book 1) or Scarlet (book 2).

Our story so far: Cinder, a mechanic and a cyborg living in New Beijing, finds her life turned upside down after discovering she could be the lost Lunar princess, Selene. Naturally, she finds out that she's Lunar for sure in front of the current queen of Luna (a civilization living on the moon, with many of its denizens capable of the power to manipulate how others see them, as well as their actions and feelings), Levana, who tried to kill her years ago, and Prince Kai, the leader of the Eastern Commonwealth and a guy she kinda likes.  Kai imprisons her to avoid a showdown between Earth and Luna, but she manages to break out with some help, picking up a dashing American soldier turned thief, Carswell Thorne, who conveniently happens to have a very nice spaceship, along the way. On the run, they connect with Scarlet, a French farm girl and pilot, and Wolf, a special operative of Luna, one of many secretly transported to Earth to help carry out a worldwide attack (he has defected, obviously).  After escaping yet again, they make contact with Cress.

Cress has been locked in a satellite, working for Queen Levana's right hand woman, Sybil Mira, for several years, deflecting Earth satellites' attention from Lunar ships and intercepting information from those in government.  It's lonely, with only the occasional nerve-wracking visit from Mistress Sybil as her only interaction; otherwise, she's kept company with shows and news from Earth, and the system she programmed at twelve to help keep her active.  So when she makes contact with Cinder and her crew, she jumps at the chance to be rescued.  Of course, it all goes wrong when Sybil decides to show up at the same time, capturing Scarlet, and locking Cress and Carswell in the satellite and sending it to Earth.  With everything gone wrong, Cinder heads for the only other person she thinks can help, while still working on a plan that will hopefully save both Earth and Luna from Queen Levana.

Basically, I love this series.  Fairy tale retellings are some of my favorite kinds of stories, and Marissa Meyer's futuristic take on Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood, and now Rapunzel are fantastic.  What amazes me the most is how she has been able to add in more and more characters and their various back stories without clogging up the main story arc or slowing down the pace at all. She's constructed this believable future world, filled with not only cyborgs like Cinder, but androids and hovercars and ID chips, using them to highlight issues like inequality, poverty, and immigration, that are perennial.  And then, of course, there's the usual will-they-or-won't-they romantic moments, which are always fun.  If everything I've been saying sounds good to you, definitely check them out. You'll find yourself impatiently waiting for the release of Winter next year just like the rest of us.