A stunning novella that explains the disturbing upbringing of a villain we all love to hate.

Growing up in the shadow of her sister, Channery, was hard, and Levana has to constantly hide behind her glamour. She has never purposefully shown another the burns that mar her face and half of her upper body; she instead pretends to be as effortlessly beautiful as her sister. But it comes with a price--a personal desperation to have something her own, something her sister hasn't touched before.

Levana is willing to do anything to set herself apart, to make herself a stronger, better leader than her sister could ever be. And when she has the opportunity to prove herself as Queen, she knows that it is going to end eventually. And she can't let that happen. She's willing to do anything, even kill her niece, to keep the crown on her head.

This was fantastic. I have to admit, when I first heard about it, I was kinda of peeved. Sure, I was stoked, but its publication meant pushing back the release of Winter, and that is practically sacrilege to me. The Lunar Chronicles is one of my favorite series still being published, and I am desperate to see how it all ends. But once I got over that (which took about four minutes), I was excited. Levana is a crazy, evil bitch, and reading her origin story sounded like a thrilling treat.

And it was exactly that. It was an extraordinary novella, and though I was worried that it was going to make me sympathize for Levana, it didn't. And I'm glad. I don't want to feel bad for that crazy woman. She is the worst person in the world, and I hope she falls down a hole. Sure, she had a terrible sister who treated her horrifically, but we discovered that that wasn't the reason she was so desperate for power, willing to destroy an entire country. She is dark inside, pure revenge and cunning. That's why she is the villain.

I don't even need to fangirl over the writing, because it's Marissa Meyer. We know that it's superb. She has a way with writing everything, from characters to land descriptions, with simplicity and beauty. It's a gift, and I bow down to her excellence every time I read one of her novels.

Seriously all, this is a great continuation of the series, and I highly recommend that you check it out.