There are 4 novellas, 3 of which aren’t mandatory, but if you love the series, you’ll want to read them for the small bits of insight they bring to the series and world. Fairest is the 4th novella, and it should be read (in my opinion), as part of the series. Technically, it’s not part of the progressing storyline, but it provides so much useful insight into the villain of this series, that it would be a shame not to read it before the final book. Read it after Cress and before Winter.
Total = 8 books with 2,741 pages
Glitches by Marissa Meyer (Novella 0.5)My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This novella explores Cinder’s life when she first came to live with the Linh family. It’s heartbreaking and gives you a glimpse of a younger Cinder.
Pages: 32
The Little Android by Marissa Meyer (Novella 0.6)My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This is a creative retelling of The Little Mermaid. It’s completely separate from the books, but it does have a Cinder cameo. It’s sad but good.
Pages: 35
Cinder by Marissa Meyer (Book 1)My rating: 5 of 5 stars
This is a retelling of Cinderella, complete with Cyborgs, and androids, and a lunar plague. Oh, my! Cinder is a cyborg who works as a mechanic in the marketplace, but all of her wages go to her evil stepmother, since cyborgs have no rights. When the crown prince brings by his android to the marketplace to be fixed, Cinder hides her true self, and the story spirals into chaos from there. If you’re not sure about the series, read this book first. Once you love it, you can go back and read Glitches (0.5) and The Little Android (0.6) at any point.
Pages: 448
The Queen's Army by Marissa Meyer (Novella 1.5)My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This novella provides more of the backstory on Wolf. I read it before Scarlet. It’s also a teaser novella to motivate you to read the next book, so don’t expect a complete story. It does cut off right at a point where you hope for more, which isn’t a problem if you already have book 2.
Pages: 18
Scarlet by Marissa Meyer (Book 2)My rating: 5 of 5 stars
This is a sci-fi adaptation of Little Red Riding Hood. The focus shifts to a new heroine, Scarlet, a farm girl whose grandmother has gone missing. Scarlet is not sure whether or not the lunar guy who was genetically modified into part wolf is to be trusted or blamed for that. This story is a continuation from book one and still includes most of the characters you loved from Cinder. It's a fantastic sequel, every bit as enjoyable and interesting as the first book.
Pages: 512
Cress by Marissa Meyer (Book 3)My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Cress is the futuristic version of Rapunzel. Cress has been trapped for almost her whole life inside a satellite, tasked with the job of spying on Earth for the head thaumaturge (evil government bad guys with mind control powers) of Queen Levana. Scarlet and Cinder attempt to rescue Cress from her isolation, but things go wrong. Very wrong. This is another fantastic book, and Cress is a refreshingly different heroine.
Pages: 592
Fairest by Marissa Meyer (Novella 3.5)My rating: 5 of 5 stars
From a fairy tale standpoint, this aligns with Maleficent’s story, but it’s far different from that and well worth reading for some excellent insight and background to Queen Levana, who is a fantastically evil villain. She's not nearly as redeemable as Maleficent, but I was fascinated by the depth of her issues and self-delusions.
Pages: 272
Winter by Marissa Meyer (Book 4)My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Ah, Snow White, re-imagined in the most unexpected way possible, complete with Winter, a main character who is mentally unbalanced and eccentric, but extremely lovable. This is how you end a series: not with a whimper but a bang.
Pages: 832
This fourth in the Inspector Gamache mysteries begins with Armand Gamache and his wife, Reine-Marie Gamache celebrating their wedding anniversary with a stay at the remote Manoir Bellechasse, a luxury inn located not far from the village of Three Pines. Also there is the rich, self-important Morrow family, there for a reunion. Of course, the idyllic setting is interrupted with a brutal murder, which puts Inspector Gamache and his team to work on an extraordinary mystery -- one that forces the Inspector to confront his innermost fears and a family history that haunts him.
This lovely tale is Ms. Flournoy's debut novel; it is the story of the Turner family -- parents who migrated from the south in the 1940s to Detroit. They purchased the house on Yarrow Street, in east Detroit and raised their 13 children there. It is well written, with nicely developed characters and a plot that is driven by the family drama, pathos, and humor. 
Chief Inspector Armand Gamache and his team investigate another bizarre
crime in the tiny Québec village of Three Pines in Penny's expertly
plotted third murder mystery. As the
townspeople gather in the abandoned and perhaps haunted Hadley house for
a séance with a visiting psychic, Madeleine Favreau collapses,
apparently dead of fright. No one has a harsh word to say about
Madeleine, but Gamache knows there is always more to the case than meets the
eye. Complicating his inquiry are the repercussions of Gamache having
accused his popular superior at the Sûreté du Québec of heinous crimes
in a previous case. Fearing there might be a mole on his team, Gamache
works not only to solve the murder but to clear his name. Arthur Ellis
Award–winner, Louise Penny paints a vivid picture of the French-Canadian
village, its inhabitants, and a determined detective.
In the midst of his morning nap, Carl Mørck, head of Department Q, receives a call from a colleague working on the Danish island of Bornholm with information about a local policeman's suicide, which is somehow connected to a cold case. Some years ago, a young woman was found dead, her body hanging high in a tree. This unusual case sends Carl, Assad, and Rose from the remote island of Bornholm to a strange sun worshiping cult. 
Warren Duffy has been living out of the United States in Wales for years, however, his marriage has fallen apart and his Irish father in Philadelphia has died so he returns. Not back in the U.S. a day, and he discovers a 17-year-old daughter, Tal, who assumed she was white. The story takes off on a wild ride through the insanity that is race and color and what that means and what it doesn't mean in 21st-century United States. This compelling story is thoughtful and wise; Mat Johnson raises some brilliant questions as Warren and Tal try to figure out their family.
