Stars Above (The Lunar Chronicles #4.5)
Author: Marissa Meyer
Genre: Fantasy/Sci-Fi, Young Adult
Originally Published: February 2nd 2016
Format: Paperback (369 pages)
Synopsis: The enchantment continues….
The universe of the Lunar Chronicles holds stories—and secrets—that are wondrous, vicious, and romantic. How did Cinder first arrive in New Beijing? How did the brooding soldier Wolf transform from young man to killer? When did Princess Winter and the palace guard Jacin realize their destinies?
With nine stories—five of which have never before been published—and an exclusive never-before-seen excerpt from Marissa Meyer’s upcoming novel, Heartless, about the Queen of Hearts from Alice in Wonderland, Stars Above is essential for fans of the bestselling and beloved Lunar Chronicles.
My Rating: ★★★★★
Overall I thought this collection of short stories was a brilliant addition to The Lunar Chronicles. Whilst not all of the stories were as strong as the others, they each had their own charm and there weren’t any that I disliked. There’s a short summary of my thoughts on each one below!
The Keeper: A brief history of how the severely burned Princess Selene ended up recuperating on Michelle Benoit’s farm in Toulouse. This is a charming but quick story. I would have liked to see more of the details about Selene’s journey to becoming the cyborg we know and love. I thought the ending was really nice on this one. 4*’s
Glitches – I loved this story! I really liked Peony when reading Cinder and wanted to learn more about her. It’s no wonder that her and Cinder had such a good relationship with her being so welcoming and adorable. This also showed the beginning of Cinder and Iko’s relationship. 5*’s
The Queen’s Army – I loved learning more about Wolf and his journey to becoming one of Queen Levana’s soldiers. This was an action packed little story which was also emotionally fuelled. It was interesting to see how Wolf earned his title as Alpha. 4*’s
Carswell’s Guide to Being Lucky – Thorne is a relentless flirt, we know this from the Lunar Chronicles but gosh did the extent of his flirting show here. He is such a charmer but it was lovely to see those moments of pure emotion towards Kate. I kept forgetting this was only a short, I wanted more! 4.5*’s
After Sunshine Passes By – I love, love, love Cress as a character and this little story of how she came to live in the satellite alone is a little heart breaker. Her character shone through in this and I was surprised by how emotional it made me feel in so few pages. 5*’s
The Princess and the Guard – This is definitely my favourite in the collection so far! Winter is one of my favourite characters in TLC and this story showed the exact reasons why. I loved seeing her and Jacin’s relationship as youngsters and how her selflessness led to her resenting her Lunar gift. This was a touching and emotional addition. 5*’s
The Little Android – I was really expecting/hoping this to be about Iko as she was easily one of my favourite TLC characters. Whilst this was a nice story and well told, I missed our main TLC cast. 3*’s
The Mechanic – This is a flipped view of when Cinder and Kai first met. It’s a cute little story about one of my favourite TLC pairings. 3*’s
Something Old, Something New – Okay, this is by far my favourite story in the collection. I have always loved the characters in these books and this brings together everything I love about them as well as a very special marriage. 5*’s
Memorable Quotes
“I will accept any amount of monsters my mind wants to give me, but I will not become a monster myself.”
“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”
Final Thoughts
Basically, if you’re a fan of The Lunar Chronicles then you should definitely add this to the collection! Brilliant!
Have you read The Lunar Chronicles? Which is your favourite book in the series?
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