{Flash Review} GLITCHES and THE QUEEN'S ARMY by Marissa Meyer

Welcome to A Week of Little Red in celebration of our favorite scarlet-caped heroine...
not to mention the launch of Marissa Meyer's SCARLET!
Check out my daily schedule of events!
Grab some promotional buttons for your blog
and stop back all week long for fun guest posts, exciting author visits, giveaways, reviews,
and blog tour stops for SCARLET!

What would the launch of SCARLET be without a look at the novella that goes with...as well as the one that sits by side with its predecessor, CINDER?

SPOILER free, hence...shorties!  

TITLE: GLITCHES

Author: Marissa Meyer

Release Date: Out now (Dec. 5, 2011)

Publisher: Tor.com / Macmillan

Received: Purchased

SUMMARY:

Cinder, a gifted mechanic, is a cyborg. She’s a second-class citizen with a mysterious past, reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsister’s illness. In “Glitches,” a short prequel story to Cinder, we see the results of that illness play out, and the emotional toll that takes on Cinder. Something that may, or may not, be a glitch...

My review of CINDER

You can read GLITCHES before CINDER, but it will spoil a little bit of CINDER for you in some ways.  It's a prequel, so it takes place before CINDER begins, and we get a beautiful glimpse of Cinder when she was younger.  She's scared and wants to fit in.  We can see the way she connects with characters who will become incredibly important in CINDER, as well as what makes them tick.

There are little nuances that make you smile if you've already read CINDER because you get it in a way you won't if you don't go back and re-read the novella after reading the full novel.  I wanted to wrap Cinder up in a big hug and cuddle her after reading this!

COVER FLASH:

I love the artwork for this.  It's beautiful, both traditional and futuristic in one fell swoop.
Plus, there are cherry blossoms.  I am a sucker for cherry blossoms.  Gorgeous artwork!
Goni Montes did the cover art for both novellas, and it's really quite lovely.

Title: THE QUEEN'S ARMY

Author: Marissa Meyer

Release Date: Out now (Nov. 23, 2012)

Publisher: Tor.com / Macmillan

Received: Purchased

SUMMARY:

It is time. The boy must leave his family to serve in the Queen’s army. To be chosen is an honor. To decline is impossible. The boy is modified. He is trained for several years, and learns to fight to the death. He proves to the Queen -- and to himself -- that he is capable of evil. He is just the kind of soldier the Queen wants: the alpha of his pack.

My review of SCARLET

I personally wouldn't read THE QUEEN'S ARMY until after reading SCARLET.  It features the mentality of certain characters who are integral by the books end and creates a foundation, but it may not make sense before reading SCARLET...and you may not want it to.  Part of SCARLET'S appeal is the way readers don't understand the history behind a horrific occurrence  and I wouldn't have wanted to lose that element of surprise by reading this first.

That said, THE QUEEN'S ARMY is my favorite of the two novellas so far, perhaps because it's grittier and darker.  It portrays the rise of someone dangerous, the motivations behind it, and gives you new reasons to hate--or feel for--various characters.  This novella is more emotional and leaves readers attached to characters in new ways.

COVER FLASH:

Again, Goni Montes does a great job.  I love the scene he pulled out of the book and the way he made it comic-book style.  It has a unique flair all its own that makes you sit up and take notice!