Winter by Marissa Meyer

Inserted pictures used in this review are not mine.
This excludes my name.

Title: Winter
Author: Marissa Meyer
Page count: 823 pages
Date published: November 2015
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
My rating: 6 OUT OF 5 STARS!

Blurb:

Princess Winter is admired by the Lunar people for her grace and kindness, and despite the scars that mar her face, her beauty is said to be even more breathtaking than that of her stepmother, Queen Levana.
Winter despises her stepmother, and knows Levana won’t approve of her feelings for her childhood friend—the handsome palace guard, Jacin. But Winter isn’t as weak as Levana believes her to be and she’s been undermining her stepmother’s wishes for years. Together with the cyborg mechanic, Cinder, and her allies, Winter might even have the power to launch a revolution and win a war that’s been raging for far too long. Can Cinder, Scarlet, Cress, and Winter defeat Levana and find their happily ever afters?

This is it. The conclusion of the Lunar Chronicles, one of my favorite series that I've had the pleasure to read. There's no more story to tell after this book. Everything comes to a head in Winter. Either Cinder will become the Queen of Luna or the plans of current Lunar Queen Levana will come to fruition and she will become unstoppable. This book is where the fates of all our favorite characters are hung in the balance. War is coming. It's all down to the wire now. Cinder, Kai, Cress, Thorne, Wolf, Scarlet, Winter, and Jacin are going to have to fight for their lives and the lives of the people they love. But one thing is for sure... war is inevitable. No one is safe.


Where do I start with this big (this book is over 800 pages) gem? I've been patiently awaiting the release for Winter from the moment I finished Cress. I remember thinking that Cress would be my favorite book of the series but since finishing Winter my mind has changed. Winter is mind-blowing. Now I understand why it took so long for this book to be released. There is so much depth to this book. The plot outline is simply genius, and I'm astounded by the depth of Meyer's mind to have a story so intricately woven from start to finish. I told a friend of mine earlier in the week that the plotting of this series reminds me of Harry Potter because the seemingly insignificant pieces of information from the first book becomes very important by the time the last book comes around. I know that Meyer outlined this series and it's apparent that this kept her plot together throughout all four books. The books in The Lunar Chronicles are intricately woven together so I wouldn't suggest reading books out of order. Start with Cinder, the first book, and make your way through the series.

My initial thoughts after finishing Winter was bittersweet happiness. I was and still am so impressed with the way this series ended. I can't help but be a little sad though. I've grown to love Cinder and her gang as I read the books, and I didn't want it to end. Even if the ending is so good. This series has left a lasting impression on me and sometimes once the story is over it's hard to move on to another book, especially after reading something so magnificent.

Yes, this book and its predecessors are magnificent.

The book begins after the events of Cress. Most of the gang is aboard the Rampion. Minus Scarlet, who is a prisoner on Luna. As this book is a big part of Winter's story, you'll read a lot of chapters in Winter's point of view and that of her true love, Jacin. I love all of the characters in this series but I'll admit that it was refreshing to read from two new point of views. As you could probably gather at the end of Cress, Winter isn't in the most sound state of mind. She represses  her lunar gift which in turn makes her a little crazy. I love her craziness though. It's entertaining to read about. There is never a dull moment with Winter's point of view.

It was so much fun to see more of Luna. The gang spends 99% of the book on Luna, and I loved every minute of it. It was nice to finally read about Luna after having heard so much about it throughout the series.

Cinder & gang are as lovely as ever. I like that their group is so loyal to each other. Each of them is completely different from the other but they all work so well together. All have their own faults and insecurities but they're nothing if not valiant and fierce and brave. Even Cress learns to stand on her own two feet and break out of her shell if even just a tiny bit.

The romance that makes this series so popular is just as adorable and endearing as it was in the other books. Maybe even more so. I ship all of the couples (Cinder & Kai, Scarlet & Wolf, Thorne & Cress, Winter & Jacin) but my favorite couple has still stayed the same. Thorne and Cress are just too cute not to love the most. That said, all couples have some sort of "awww" moment in Winter that makes me giggle like a schoolgirl. If you're a lover at heart this book won't disappoint.

One of my favorite things about Winter is that there is never a prolonged dull moment in the 800+ pages. The second I was beginning to get a little bored in between climatic scenes the plot would get rolling again. I never got truly bored with this book and that's saying something considering the enormous page count. There was always something going on that piqued my interest long enough for the plans of my favorite characters to go haywire and send me to a near heart-attack.

Let's just say that shiz hits the fan. No one is safe. The characters are going to have to put their lives on the line for the Lunar cause. This is scary because if you've read this series then you know how psycho Levana and Aimery are. They wouldn't blink twice about killing our beloved characters and that. scared. me. to. death. I spent most of the battle scenes cringing and biting my nails.. all the while desperately wishing that someone would kill Levana.

Speaking of Levana..

I spent a good part of this book despising Levana and wishing that she were dead. She's been horrible through the entire series but she's downright evil in Winter. I once thought that she could be redeemable but have long since discarded that idea. Levana is twisted. There is nothing good left in her. Her ideas and dreams for Luna are warped and have corrupted her to the point where she's willing to commit all kinds of horrible acts.

All of this is why she makes such a good antagonist. Levana is the character that you love to hate. There's more to her than just blatant craziness. I suggest that you read Fairest, the novella in Levana's point of view from her life as a child all the way up to how she became queen. It really gives an insight to some of the reasoning behind Levana's madness. I didn't pity her one bit but I did understand her better after knowing her backstory. Levana is such a strong character and such a good villain. I think that her point of view in Winter was very interesting and I always enjoyed reading through her 'eyes'. The way she feels and experiences things are so much different from Cinder and her gang. Levana is the true crazy one. Not Winter.

UGH. I just love this series and hate that it's ended. The ending was perfect. It was everything that I could have hoped for. I'm sad to see it end but I'm happy I had the opportunity to read it. This will be a series that I re-read for many years to come. And force others to read. He-he.

Until next time,