Hello everyone! I am back from my Fairest book tour and month-long maternity leave and anxiously waiting for the Winter copyedits to land in my inbox. (Which should be happening any minute.)
I wanted to take a second, though, and give a huge thanks to everyone who has sent me their kind and encouraging (and sometimes shocked and devastated!) words about Fairest. I really love having Levana’s story out in the world, and hearing how many of you have enjoyed getting a glimpse into her dark and twisted past has meant so much to me. Next up: WINTER!! *dances*
So with Fairest coming out prior to Winter, I’ve been getting lots of uncertain emails from both long-time fans and new readers to the series:
If Fairest is a prequel to the other books, what order should they all be read in? And when should I read the companion short stories?
The answer is both simple and complicated.
I personally think the books and stories should be read in the same order that they’ve been published, which is also the same order that I wrote them in. However, I recognize that this opinion is biased, because it’s impossible for me to imagine the takeaway from any one book or story without having the knowledge you gain in all the previous installments. That’s how the stories came to me, so that’s how it seems they should be read.
I also worry that skipping ahead in the series could ruin certain reveals in the books. But then, maybe reading things in this order ruin what otherwise would have been great reveals if you didn’t already know them? I don’t know. It’s difficult for me to wrap my mind around reading them in a different order and how that would impact the reading experience. See? Complicated.
My Suggested Reading Order, as Written and Published:
Cinder (Book #1)
Glitches*
Scarlet (Book #2)
The Queen’s Army*
The Little Android* <~ Note: As this short story is not directly related to the events in the books, it doesn’t really matter when you read it.
Cress (Book #3)
Carswell’s Guide to Being Lucky
Fairest (Book #0.5)
The Princess and the Guard
Winter (Book #4)
*Glitches, The Queen’s Army, and The Little Android can be read for free at http://www.wattpad.com/user/marissameyer22.
2018 Update: All of the short stories listed above, along with some brand new TLC tales, can be read in the short story collection Stars Above, now available from your favorite book seller.
THAT SAID, I have heard from plenty readers who started with Scarlet or Cress, and they’ve told me that they had no trouble following the events of the book, and many of them even went back and read from the beginning afterward. I have tried to write each book so that it could potentially be read on its own. (If you don’t mind cliffhangers, ha!)
I also understand many readers are choosing to wait to read Fairest until after Winter, because they don’t want to feel undue sympathy for Levana. I’m honestly not sure this is worth being concerned about (she’s really just not that sympathetic…) but I understand, and I think this will be fine. Though I also think you’ll enjoy Winter more knowing Levana’s backstory. But it’s totally up to you.
And then there are readers who are determined to read things chronologically. While again, this wouldn’t be my first choice, I don’t think it will ruin anything for you. You’ll just get certain reveals in the wrong order. Er, at least, a different order than how I’d planned them.
In other words—it’s totally up to you!
To read the story chronologically, go in this order:
Fairest (Book #0.5)
The Queen’s Army
Glitches
The Princess and the Guard
Carswell’s Guide to Being Lucky
The Little Android
Cinder (Book #1)
Scarlet (Book #2)
Cress (Book #3)
Winter (Book #4)
I hope that answers all your questions and doesn’t just confuse you more!
Have you read the books and stories out of the order I suggested above? Did you feel that they were easy to follow and didn’t harm your understanding of the story? Let us know in the comments!
On a side note, I’m going to be sporadically in and out of this blog for the next couple of months, as I work on finalizing Winter and Heartless, among other projects, but I will be sure to let you know whenever exciting new stuff is happening!