This is the story of how Levana came to be the vicious ruler that we hear about Cinder, Scarlet and Cress. I listened to this book out of order, I listened to Cinder and then Fairest. I got more enjoyment out of those few chapters than I did from the entire story of Fairest. A full 30 minutes is given to the beginning chapters of Winter, which is supposed to complete the series and is not due out until the fall. Also, buyer beware that this book really only clocks in at around 6 hours, which I generally feel is not worth an entire credit. Rebecca Soler's narration is fine, but it's not going to redeem a story like this for me. How many times would you want to listen to a child being forced into a fire, or a absolute monarch deciding to cut off a servant's feet so she'll have nothing better to do than sew the queen's clothes? See what I mean? It's ALL like that. It is unrelievedly dark and sad, as Levana first experiences horrible physical and mental abuse as a child, always feels unloved, and grows up quietly turning into a sociopath. It has no humor, no light moments at all. I never intend to listen to this book again. However, my primary criterion for an audiobook's success is 'Will I listen to it again?', and by this measure, Fairest fails completely. As a fan of the series, I'm glad to have listened to it, although you can easily give it a miss and not lose any momentum of the main story arc.

It's an interesting backstory on Queen Levana. This should really be called The Lunar Chronicles 0.5, not 3.5, because it is a prequel that takes us up to the start of events in Cinder.

Fairest by gail carson levine