Even though I finished reading the Lunar Chronicles series quite a while ago and also read Stars Above, I held off on reading this one. Why, I'm not sure. Perhaps because I was afraid my perception of the characters would change after reading Levana's story. In any case, I love villain origin stories (as stated before in my review of Heartless) and I love Marissa Meyer, so it was inevitable that I would pick up Fairest eventually. And I am very glad I did. 
 I wasn't sure what I expected of this book; I pretty much dove into it without reading up on it much beforehand. It is the story of Levana, that much I knew, but I was curious as to how it would be told. Naturally, Marissa didn't disappoint (she never does). Levana is so obviously evil in the Lunar Chronicles, and Fairest doesn't justify her behaviour or absolve her of her crimes because of all the terrible things she has been through, but she did go through some terrible things. I suppose her background does explain, to some extent, how she became the person and queen she is in the original series. 
 (WARNING: I'm assuming you'll have read the Lunar Chronicles if you're looking at Fairest, but just in case I'll mention here that this review contains some spoilers for the Lunar Chronicles.) 
 Fairest begins when Levana is only fifteen years old. Her sister, Channary, is seven years older than Levana and their parents have just been brutally murdered inside the royal palace by a shell. They weren't very loving parents, so Levana doesn't mourn them much, but she is very annoyed by the fact that Channary, as the eldest, is crowned queen, yet doesn't care one bit about Luna or its people; she'd rather be off gallivanting with different men or having new gowns made for her. Levana, in the meantime, has her own ideas on how Luna should be governed and would love to have a say in it all, but doesn't, which frustrates her. 
 Her attention is drawn by one of the guards, Evret Hayle, and she soon falls in love with him. He is already married to Solstice, a beautiful woman who is very pregnant with their child, and Levana is infinitely jealous of her, partly because she is with Evret and partly because she is so beautiful while Levana herself is hideous without her glamour. When Solstice dies soon after giving birth to the baby, Levana sees her chance to be with Evret and have a lovely little family, manipulating Evret into marrying her. 
 Solstice pities Levana and that is really the way most readers will feel, too. Levana has always stood in the shadow of her older sister, who is vain and cruel and who burnt Levana when she was still a little girl, resulting in her deformed appearance underneath the glamours she always wears. Without anyone who has ever loved her and without parents now, Levana clings to the first person ever to show her kindness, Evret, and decides that she wants him. As the princess, and later, after Channary's death, the queen, she can get whatever she wants, especially when using her Lunar gift; and yet she never seems to really get what she needs. She is evil, yes, but she is also to be pitied, for the way she has been treated all her life and for the warped way she sees the world. 
 Aside from providing background on Levana herself, our favourite characters from the Lunar Chronicles also make an appearance, be it much younger versions of them. Princess Winter, of course, is the baby of Solstice and Evret Hayle and Levana's stepdaughter, but in this book we find out how Levana truly feels about her. There are mentions of some more minor characters from the Lunar Chronicles, too, such as Logan Tanner and Dr Darnel and his wife; and of course Princess Selene makes an appearance. It's very interesting to get a look at these characters from Levana's perspective for a change and I think it deepens the reader's understanding of not just Levana, but some of the other characters, and the society of Luna as a whole, as well. A must-read for Lunar Chronicles fans!