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Cress: Chapters 1-5

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Download the first five chapters of CRESS by Marissa Meyer, the third book in the New York Times bestselling Lunar Chronicles series.

Cinder and Captain Thorne are fugitives on the run, with Scarlet and Wolf in tow. Together, they’re plotting to overthrow Queen Levana and her army.

Their best hope lies with Cress, who has been trapped on a satellite since childhood with only her netscreens as company. All that screen time has made Cress an excellent hacker – unfortunately, she’s just received orders from Levana to track down Cinder and her handsome accomplice.

When a daring rescue goes awry, the group is separated. Cress finally has her freedom, but it comes at a high price. Meanwhile, Queen Levana will let nothing stop her marriage to Emperor Kai. Cress, Scarlet, and Cinder may not have signed up to save the world, but they may be the only ones who can.

52 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 2, 2013

60 people are currently reading
2582 people want to read

About the author

Marissa Meyer

84 books132k followers
I live in Tacoma, Washington, with my husband and beautiful twin daughters. Represented by Jill Grinberg. Learn more about me and my upcoming books at http://www.marissameyer.com.

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Displaying 1 - 30 of 76 reviews
Profile Image for Sinead.
616 reviews80 followers
November 29, 2015
Why is the first 5 chapters of Cress a book?? Whatever; still amazing :)
Profile Image for Addie.
228 reviews1 follower
January 18, 2014
AHHHH! I am in a mess right now. I have no idea whether to be thankful to this or be ungrateful because now the wait for 'Cress' is going to be torture. Then I just really want to read the rest after we are left hanging at the end of the fifth chapter. Right when something is finally happening, they cut us off. Right when we're totally into it we're let down. ARRGGG!

Well, anyway, in this book, we are introduced to Cress, the new protagonist in the series. So far, what I can catch is that she has been bullied for seven years to finding out information for Queen Levina. She is stuck in a satellite, lonely with only her computer, "Little Cress," as company. Cress also has quite a crush on Thorne (assuring me that my guess on who ends up with who is right. :P)

We are also given a new insight on Thorne. In this short sneak peek, Cress gives us a peek into Thorne's file, showing us his cheekiness and knack for getting in trouble from a very young age. But, you find that he has a good heart, getting in trouble for the sake of others. Awww, now isn't he just so sweet under his 'criminal mastermind/ womanizer' facade.

And also, to my giddy happiness, we're given a glimpse on Scarlet and Wolf's romance. Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeek! When they're together now, I can't help but grin or smile widely, especially since you start to see the romantic and cheeky side to Wolf in this preview. Sadly, there's bits here in which they give you heartache as Scarlet is haunted with her grand-mere's death and its relation to Wolf's tattoo which she constantly sees.

Arrggg. Now I really cannot wait until Cress is released. I am in dire need of this book. AHHHHH!
Profile Image for Syahira .
665 reviews71 followers
December 10, 2013
I receive the first chapter a couple of weeks ago as an ARC but how on earth does one review a chapter? Then I found four more additional chapters released as a free ebook on Amazon and it provided more material than the ARC I received. Which was great considering from the first chapter I kept thinking that Cress was more and more as Sailor Moon than Cinder did. Or Sailor V. Yep, it is the hair.



In "Cinder", Cress who gave a warning about Lunar Queen's nefarious plan on Earth from the broken android Kai had send to Cinder for fixing. In this short chapters, Cress have been trapped inside a satellite for seven years that was orbiting around earth by her captor Mistress Sybil. She was also the one who was responsible for most Lunar infiltration from space and was deeply guilt-ridden with her role in the lunar werewolf massacres in "Scarlet". The stakes are getting higher since the Queen Lavena and Kai was engaged to be married to prevent an all out invasion. But the engagement was merely a facade as the queen intend to murder the emperor to usurp the Commonwealth and conquer Earth. It was up to Cinder to claim her rightful place as the true heir of the Lunar throne and defeat Lavena.

I do like the much shy and timid version of Cress and she's really cute with her crush on Thorne. Cinder on the other hand was increasingly being stressed by the deadline of the royal marriage and was preparing physically and mentally for the war she'll face head on against her evil aunt, Lavena. Scarlet and Wolf's relation seem to pick up from the last book although they're still being awkward with each other. It wasn't much but if you love the first two books and want to read the continuation of the series, you'll probably pre-order the book already. From the excerpts, Cinder, Thorne, Wolf and Scarlet will be coming for Cress for her help in their revolution to save Earth and its people including Kai. But February is just a couple of months away.

The first chapter was an ARC supplied by the publisher via Netgalley. The first five chapters of the book was published on December 5 and is available for FREE on Amazon.
Profile Image for Sheila G.
520 reviews95 followers
March 9, 2017
I'm so frustrated that I didn't like this book more. Whatever momentum Scarlet had attained, Cress lost.

I drug myself through this book, frustrated with how drawn out it was. I literally yelled at Cinder when she took what seemed like 50 pages to FINALLY reveal her secret to Emperor Kai.

Basic breakdown of characters:

Cress - annoying "school-girl" who lives in a fantasy world. Yes, she was on a satellite by herself for years. But her redundancy was almost unbearable.

Cinder - I still don't like her. Her character is so...empty.

Prince Kai - Meh, I don't really have an opinion, other than he's quick to oversee the obvious.

Captain Thorne - He's the only (and often times, quite enjoyable) comic relief in the story. Well, along with Iko whom I won't be discussing here.

Scarlet - She's my favorite character of this entire series. Everything about her is real, interesting, and raw. I'm my opinion, she's what keeps this plot moving.

Wolf - I'm still inspired with Meyer's way of integrating his character into this series. However, his sulkiness throughout Cress tended to remind too much of the men...boys...of Twilight.

Princess Winter - I'm VERY interested to learn more about her. Her character is so aloof and mysterious, it is really the only reason why I am looking forward to Winter, well, and to see how the series wraps up. I'm not a loose-ended kind of gal.

Queen Levana - Clearly, pure evil.

This series has been so hyped about, but I am finding myself more frustrated than entertained. I had to FORCE myself to get through this book, hence, why it took me so long. Either way, I'm hoping the last installment will be not only more entertaining, but enjoyable. This series is no doubt entertaining, but its overall quality...ehh. We'll see.

This review can also be viewed on my blog: She's Going Book Crazy
Profile Image for Riikka.
118 reviews
August 14, 2014
I received an ARC of the first chapter of Cress from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

How on earth one can review a chapter? It's not easy, there's not lot of material to do so, but I'll try. Well. Based on one chapter I can say that I'm excited. I can wait to read the whole book. Can you give it to me now? Like this second? No? Are you sure? Yeah, I thought so, but one can hope, right? I would to ANYTHING to get my hands on ARC. But 52 days of waiting ahead for me. I know that there are chapters 1-5 available for free, but it seems that not internationally. I haven't found any place that lets me download it, so that sucks.

But about this chapter.. Do I regret reading it? Yes. Why? Because I can't wait to read the whole book. This waiting is absolutely torture. This one chapter was perfect teaser. It really did its job. Cress as a character seems interesting. It will be interesting to see her actually get out of that satellite. And the last paragraph in this chapter? I have my own theories about what that means, but we'll see if I'm right about that one...
Profile Image for Sarah Churchill.
477 reviews1,173 followers
November 19, 2013
Received chapter 1 from NetGalley for review. I really enjoyed Cinder, and Scarlet was ok (though Scarlet herself wasn't great), so I'm looking forward to reading Cress. This first chapter didn't offer much - mostly reiterating what's happened in the series up to this point, so I couldn't get much of a feel for it. My first impressions of Cress as a character are good, though, so I'm going to stay firmly on the fence for now!
Profile Image for Nicole.
18 reviews12 followers
November 10, 2014
It was the best scifi intruging book I have ever read! I have read a lot of books in my day, and this one stood out the most. Im not saying it was the sacior of all books but it was the savior of all sci fi chapter books! I mean it is so well thought through, and interesting how she incorperates her own version of fairy tale characters and how she makes them meet and talk with each other, yet doing all this she makes eeach character have its own personel story. mindblowing.
Profile Image for Traci Wooden.
32 reviews
June 17, 2015
Great!

Can't wait to read the rest! The series seems to really be heating up!! Definitely will be purchasing the full book.
6 reviews
July 10, 2016
I'ts a great read, lots of fun. Made for the young at heart, and a reminder of how it was to be a teenager . Young love built around a well contrived story of space and war.
Profile Image for Steff Fox.
1,580 reviews167 followers
February 22, 2021
| Review on Reader Fox Blog |


“But you’re a prisoner,” said Thorne.
“I prefer damsel in distress,” she murmured.
One side of Thorne’s mouth quirked up, into that perfect half smile he had in his graduation photo. A look that was a little bit devious, and all sorts of charming.


Cress sent me on a whirlwind of emotions from beginning to end.

Of all Marissa Meyer’s novels, Cress is my favorite and remains so to this day. Unfortunately, to describe all my reasons for loving this book would be to riddle this review in spoilers, so I won’t do that. But I'd be remiss if I did not point to how much this book has come to mean to me. I don't think I ever expected to see myself so thoroughly in Cress, but she speaks to me on a level I never even knew was possible. So often we speak of the importance in seeing ourselves in characters we read. For me, I have never felt it more strongly than I do with Cress.

"I am an explorer," she whispered, "setting courageously off into the wild unknown." It was not a daydream she'd ever had before, but she felt the familiar comfort of her imagination wrapping around her. She was an archeologist, a scientist, a treasure hunter. She was a master of land and sea. "My life is an adventure."


Crescent is a young tech wiz imprisoned in a satellite by Lunar Queen Levana’s most important dignitary. Cress’ entire life has been shaped by the laws of her planet (the moon), an unfortunate circumstance in her birth, her own brilliant intelligence with technology, and the misfortune of Sybil Mira learning about it. Kept isolated from everyone but Sybil herself, Cress’ social skills and understanding of the world are sorely underdeveloped. Everything she's ever learned has come almost solely from the internet.

And she is perhaps one of the most impressive characters I’ve ever seen.

I related to Cress quickly. This wasn't because I’m some technology or programming genius, but rather that the way Cress reacts to the world resonated deeply with me. While I did not grow up wholly isolated from the world, I was an incredibly shy bookish sort. In a sense, I had a sheltered upbringing that left me floundering somewhat as an adult. I felt exceedingly connected with Cress' anxiety, determination, and coping mechanisms. She has always, without fail, felt incredibly similar to me in a great many ways.

As an added bonus, Cress was also infatuated with Carswell Thorne almost as soon as she learned of him. Which only made me love her more.

Maybe great, epic romances don't just happen. We have to make them ourselves.


This is the book that I leave wanting to immediately turn around and re-read. It's the one I connect to in a way feels more real than most books I’ve read. Readers always parrot the very real idea that books allow them to experience different lives and adventures we'd never have otherwise. Cress hits this very nail on the head exceedingly well. The main character's immense relatability made it impressively easy to fit myself in her shoes. Of course, I do realize this is closely related to who I am as a person, but I doubt I am the only one who felt this way.

Inspired by the tale of Rapunzel, Cress hits all the best points of a story I’ve always loved immensely. Cress is a novel of adventure, love, self-actualization, growing, and of loss. Centered around Cress, the book spends quite a bit of time with her and, to my everlasting pleasure, Carswell Thorne.

Thorne’s development from Scarlet to Cress could not be more perfect. Carswell's personality growth as a result of meeting Cress and sharing experiences with her is beautifully written. There's something to be said for the ways in which another person can influence our own development as people. I don't think either Cress or Carswell would have ever grown into impressively amazing people without the other.

In its own way, this beautiful romance that has permeated every aspect of my emotional connection to this book, mirrors a huge part of my own life. Now, my partner isn't a debonair criminal mastermind, but having him in my life has allowed both of us to grow exponentially as people. I will always feel eternally grateful for the opportunity to re-experience this every time I read this novel.

Maybe there isn’t such a thing as fate. Maybe it’s just the opportunities we’re given, and what we do with them.


I could go on forever about the relatability aspect of Cress and how much it has impacted me. But Cress shines for more than just this reason. I’ve always made no secret of my adoration for Meyer’s work, but I believe this novel truly showcases the brilliance of her abilities. In every way, Cress is the best book I have read in my entire life. The plot is a continuation of the first two books; following that theme of twisting a fairytale into Meyer's pre-established world.

Cress is a very character-driven novel. Each moment is centered around choices characters must make to survive through their circumstances. With so many characters involved now, we jump between a wide variety of them. Each leads into important and impactful moments that have the power to change the course of the future. I love how the lives of these different characters intertwine. Adventure comes of connecting moments. Before they even realize, a group of people become involved in saving the world, a fate they likely never imagined for themselves.

Except for Cress. Cress always imagined it.

You can help me pick out a tiara when we’re done saving the world.


This is also the book in which readers meet Princess Winter for the very first time. Winter's debut in this novel was nothing short of amazing. The misfortune that plagues her and the ways in which she manages it is astounding. We meet her for a mere chapter. And in that short span of time, I was blown away.

Prince Kai's point of view returns, even more prominent in its importance here. In fact, so much happens through Cress it's difficult to write a review that truly encompasses the brilliance of each moment. We gain and lose characters, illustrating the ever-growing high stakes Cinder faces. Revelations are made and characters grow, all leading up to one final moment that sets up the series end.

I'd once been certain Meyer could do nothing more to improve my high regard for her skills as a writer. But, without fail, she manages time and time again to surpass herself entirely. This, of course, marks Cress as the most unforgettable and amazing book I own.

| Reader Fox Links |
Profile Image for Daiana Letras Florecidas.
30 reviews1 follower
January 3, 2022
Al principio comienza muy lento para mí gustó pero simplemente perfecto, creo que el personaje favorito de este libro es Thorne sin él nada hubiera sido igual. Me encantó, simplemente no lo podía soltar
8 reviews4 followers
September 14, 2018
This book was really intriguing but it was a fiction book and they were saying thing about magiqnd other stuff and that’s not real. In the book there is nothing realistic about it
Profile Image for Sterre°.
47 reviews8 followers
August 8, 2021
Idk, maybe I'll continue reading the real book. But not anytime soon.
Profile Image for Laura Bull.
10 reviews
September 16, 2023
I devoured this book in one sitting! It's a charming story with a powerful message about the importance of kindness. I couldn't stop smiling while reading it.
Profile Image for cc.
425 reviews170 followers
August 28, 2016
**This review is for Chapter One only**

Glorious first chapter. I can already tell I'm going to love Cress with the same intensity that I love Cinder and Scarlet. And that's A LOT.

The most heartbreaking thing for me in this chapter was to find out that Cress's only companion on that satellite is the voice of her ten-year-old self, the "Little Cress", a voice that calls her "Big Sister". I just couldn't stop thinking about little Cress all alone in that place, recording her voice because there was nothing else to do, no one to play with, no parent to take care of her. Just heartbreaking!

One would think that a prolonged isolation with only a few visits from an evil thaumaturge would have turned Cress into someone totally different than the adorable young lady she is, but she's everything I hoped she would be and I cannot wait to read the rest of her story.

(I received this sample from the publisher via NetGalley)
Profile Image for Natasha Collazo.
1 review7 followers
January 27, 2014
OhMiGod! I love, love, loved the first two books and although I've 0nly read the first five chapters I'm all like "EKK! ITS COMING 0UT IN EIGHT DAYS!!! HOW DID NO 0NE THINK TO TELL ME!!! IM GOING CRAZY WAITING FOR IT!!! AHHHH!"

This is me seeing the cover:


And this is me seeing the due date:

And now.... I think I should go before I deflate like a balloon.
Profile Image for Amanda.
1,574 reviews72 followers
June 2, 2019
Somewhere I already read the first 1-2 chapters of this, but I'm intensely excited to have gotten to read even more of Cress. I love more of what she is doing and how. I love her headset, and getting to see more of what is happening to Cinder & Her crew (all the best appearances by all our favorites) and long distance, news feeds updating us on the queen and the prince and everything moving.
Profile Image for Saru (Queen of Bookland).
237 reviews201 followers
February 8, 2014
Don't get me wrong, I liked Carswell Thorne plenty from Scarlet. But that like has blossomed into full-blown love from these 5 chapters. I love his and Cinder's friendship, and I couldn't wipe the grin off my face reading the chapters with Scarlet, Cinder, Wolf, Thorne, and Iko all together on the Rampion. I'm so excited for this book. <3
53 reviews3 followers
October 23, 2014
This book was amazing. Cinder and her crew have a lot going on and it really amazing to see how all of their individual lives work together. I love the emperor's character, and think the Lunar Princess is misunderstood, Scarlet should give her a chance. Because I think she will be Scarlet's angel in disguise.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
5 reviews2 followers
November 11, 2016
I couldn't put this book down! The romance in it was so sweet! I absolutely loved it! I loved how it ended! It wasn't a huge cliff hanger, like the previous ones. I loved how the book changed perspectives every other chapter. I also liked how feelings changed between characters. I can't wait to read the next one!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 76 reviews

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