Fairest
Fairest is a prequel of the Lunar Chronicles that tells the story of Queen Levana and her rise to power. When Levana’s parents are murdered, her older sister, Channary, becomes queen. But while Levana does not like how Channary rules, Levana is more focused on capturing the heart of the royal guard she loves. Too bad she just found out that he’s married.
Being inside Levana’s head was certainly interesting. She has a twisted way of thinking, but you can also see where that comes from with her family and surroundings. It’s shown best with her love for the guard. Because he is the only own to show her any kindness, Levana is drawn to him and believes that he must feel the same for her. Discovering that he has a wife is a huge blow for her, but instead of giving up on him, she grows more and more obsessed. This is no cute love story like Levana thinks.
I liked the fact that the book doesn’t excuse Levana’s actions, even while showing where they are coming from. You can see the logic of her actions, even though that logic is very twisted and wrong. And Levana is shown to be a competent ruler. There are quite a few times where a book has an evil ruler who is so bad, you wonder how they were able to rise to power and maintain it. Levana may not be a good person, but it is very easy to see how she came to power and kept it.
If you liked The Lunar Chronicles, this book will give you a closer look at the villain of the series and flesh her out quite a bit.
