One of the series I have read recently is the Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer. The Lunar Chronicles is a four book series including Cinder, Scarlet, Cress, and Winter. When I started reading, I was unable to put it down, and thought all of them were very well written.

Each novel is a different twist on a fairy tale, Cinder is Cinderella, Scarlet is Red Riding Hood, Cress is Rapunzel, Winter is Snow White. It is a teen fiction novel, but I believe adults may enjoy the series as well.

The series is fantasy literature, young adult fiction, science fiction, utopian and dystopian fiction. The characters in Cinder are Prince Kai, Queen Levana, Cinder, Dr. Erland, Inko(Cinder’s robotic friend) Adri (Cinder’s stepmother), and Cinder’s two step sisters Linh Pearl and Linh Peony.The main character in Cinder is of course Linh Cinder, or Cinder for short. Cinder is a part cyborg and adopted by Adri. She is also a very complex character and changes drastically throughout the series. Although, going from a working mechanic for her stepmother to looking for the rumored lost Princess Selene, she is forced to change whether she likes it or not. Cinder is thrown into a whole new world when Prince Kai asks for his robot to be fixed, and she is put into testing to find the cure for a plague that has claimed thousands of lives for many years. Prince Kai is forced to marry Queen Levana of Lunar, or the Moon, and try to stop the upcoming war, yet Cinder has changed everything he once thought was true. Cinder thought she knew what she was meant to do in her life until she meets Dr. Erland, and he tells her a secret that will change the course of her life, additionally to everyone on Earth and the Moon. What will Cinder do when everything she thought she knew was a lie and the world could be destroyed?

The characters in Scarlet are Wolf, Michelle Benoit (Scarlet’s grandmother), Scarlet Benoit, Cinder, Captain Carswell Thorne, and Queen Levana.Scarlet is a farm girl who lives with her grandmother. While delivering tomatoes to a customer, Scarlet’s grandmother, Michelle, goes missing. Scarlet, with help from the mysterious fighter named Wolf, travel to Paris in hopes of finding Michelle. Meanwhile, Cinder has to find a way out of prison, and seeks the help of a Carswell Thorne, a criminal to the Commonwealth, or better known to us as the United States. Cinder hopes to go to Michelle to find some answers unknown to her that she is missing, and against the specific directions given to her from Dr. Erland. Scarlet and Wolf build their relationship, and Wolf keeps Scarlet in the dark about his identity and how he became a fighter. What will happen when Scarlet finds out the truth about her grandmother, who Wolf is, and discovers Cinder is not as bad as everyone has made her out to be?

The characters in Cress are Wolf, Carswell Thorne, Prince Kai, Cinder, Iko, Scarlet, Cress, Jacin, Princess Winter and Queen Levana.Cress is a shell or Lunar with no power, which has been orbiting Earth in a satellite for 10 years hacking into Earth’s network system under the direction of Queen Levana. Secretly, she has been helping the ragtag team of fugitives, Cinder, Scarlet, Carswell, Iko and Wolf stay hidden. Gaining confidence Cress reaches out for help and contacts the team. Feeling that Cress would be a great asset to them, they set out to get Cress off the satellite. When a fight breaks out during the escape plan, Cress and Carswell are thrown into the middle of the Sahara and Scarlet is taken prisoner. Cinder quickly makes the decision to go to Dr. Erland who is in Africa, and has long been waiting her arrival. Cinder takes care of Wolf and with the help of Dr. Erland starts to make a plan of her next move. Meanwhile, Cress and Carswell try to find out where they are and attempt to reunite with Cinder and Wolf. With her team separated, and thinking that her comrades are dead, Cinder starts to question what is fighting a war if her friends must die to prevent it.
The characters in Winter are Jacin, Princess Winter, Queen Levana, Cinder, Scarlet, Carswell, Wolf, Iko, Prince Kai, Aimery, and Torin. Princess Winter is more beautiful than anyone on Luna. Her stepmother, Queen Levana, blind by jealousy mares her face. The team sets out to start a rebellion on Lunar to stop the war, and the wedding has been stopped and moved to Lunar, the perfect opportunity for the team to land. Princess Winter has hated her stepmother, and when the team arrives on Luna she helps plan the rebellion to put the no longer rumored Princess Selene on the throne. Scarlet is hidden in the palace gathering information her friends, and trying to figure out how to stop Queen Levana. With her plan thrown to pieces, and trying to find a new way to stop the queen, figure out how to be the person the people need her to be, Cinder is in for the ultimate test.

The books are great for anyone who loves adventure, mystery and romance. The whole series is a page turner, and will keep you laughing, crying, and suspenseful throughout each book.