Oh Cress, you have captured my heart - with your whimsical ways, unexpected feisty-ness, romantic heart and unwavering imagination. Without a doubt no other heroine in The Lunar Chronicles series thus far have I connected with so keenly. 
 In this third installment of Marissa Meyer's The Lunar Chronicles, we meet yet another re-imagined fairytale heroine, Cress. She is the modern day Rapunzel, trapped not in a tower but a lonely satellite orbiting the Earth. Isolated from from any other soul, her only company an A.I. programmed to be the likeness of her 10 year old self from some 7 years ago. 
 We first met Cress in the first book, when she warned Cinder of Queen Levana's treachery. While she is Lunar, she has no lunar gift and is what they term a 'shell.' Perhaps thats one of the reasons she can sympathize with the Earthens because she has no powers, but shells can't be controlled like Earthens can so there is still a difference there. Cress spends much of her time monitoring Earth, keeping tabs on Cinder and her crew and trying to make contact with them. When she finally does things race off to a fantastic start and the pace barely lets up for the rest of the 500+ pages. 
 There are twists and turns and little surprises in store for us readers and perhaps a smidge of heart ache. As many already expected, there is a new romance budding, and I do have to say I love the way this one developed. In a way I would say Cress grew up and out of her childish naivete and yet grew into her feelings. Now, I have to share my favorite quote of the books because well it was just too flipping funny. 
 "Listen, Cress, I hate to break this to you, but I am sweaty and itchy and haven't brushed my teeth in two days. This just isn't a good time for romance." - pg 204 
 Is there EVER really a BAD time for romance? I dare say there never is! And personally I'm usually not a fan of romance at all, but the way Marissa Meyer writes it I can't help but soak up every bit of it. I have loved every thing about this series since the day I first set eyes on the cover of Cinder. There never seems to be a word wasted for me and I was glad that this latest book was so considerably thicker than the last two because it gave her the opportunity to really delve deeper into the story considering that there were now three leading heroines & heroes to account for a long with the main story arc. The Lunar Chronicles has that age old magic feeling you got as a child reading or watching your very first fairytales but melded with a technologically advanced age of science fiction that creates an entirely new experience that book teens and adults can't help but enjoy. 
 Cress left me clamoring for more and aching for a time machine so I can get my hands on the last book Winter all the sooner.