Winter by Marissa Meyer

Hardcover, 824 pages

Release Date: November 10, 2015
Published by: Feiwel & Friends 
The Lunar Chronicles, #4
Source: Own (Pre-Ordered)
For fans of: Sci-Fi, Dystopia, Retellings, Romance, Action, Sparkly Covers, Series Enders, YA


     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?

*MY THOUGHTS*

     I am incredibly sad to see this series end. I was late to the party with Cinder, but after reading it, The Lunar Chronicles quickly climbed the ladder of my favorite books. From meeting Marissa Meyer in Conroe, Texas, to having my blog name in  Scarlet, I am so sad to see this series end, but I’m so happy Meyer shared with all of us. 
“At some point, we have to stop planning and start doing..
pg. 84
     Princess Winter is loved by everyone, animals, humans, cyborgs, alike. Add on to the fact that she’s beyond beautiful, one would expect nothing less than Levana wanting to do away with her. But Winter has a few tricks up her own sleeve and does the last thing her stepmother wants her to do.,,, Make allies with Levana’s least favorite person.
“You know keeping busy helps. It’s when I’m idle the monsters come.
pg. 107
     To be completely honest, I was a little scared when I heard this book was 800+ pages. I knew there were a lot of strings to tie up, but I didn’t want it to get redundant or boring or anything. “Thank the Stars”, it wasn’t like that at all. There was non-stop action and I wanted nothing more than to continuously read it all the time. There were several times I stayed up late and had two double shots at work the next morning. I just couldn’t put it down. Also, for this to be a series ender, it didn’t seem rushed or like she was just trying to end it. Everything was nicely placed and everything happened for a reason. I can definitely say where I once was intimidated by the size of this book, I appreciate it after having read it. Any shorter and I don’t think it would have been the same. 
“Hope was a coward’s tool.
pg. 219
     As for the story, I won’t go too much into it because of spoilers, but I was super happy with the way all the stories tied in together and how it ended. *SPOILER* (highlight it if you’ve read it and want to know…) I really wanted to see Levana suffer more. She was a bitch until the very end lol I wanted to see her get what she had coming!* And of course, my ships. I won’t say anything too spoilery, but let’s just say, this one is DEFINITELY swoon worthy and it made me VERY happy. But all in all, Marissa Meyer truly has a gift. No, not a Lunar gift, (though I wouldn’t be surprised) but a gift with writing. I will read anything she writes. 
“…for who am I to presume what is good for others?
pg. 269
     Last but not least, I wanted to talk about Meyer’s world-building. From the very beginning I was impressed with how she was able to transport me to New Beijing, but now she was able to transport me to the moon and I am amazed. This is quite obviously a place I won’t be able to visit, but Meyer gave me a chance to be there. She really couldn’t have done a better job if she tried. From the “breath taking views” to the different ways the moon has sunrise, I could imagine I was there just through her words. 
“Broken isn’t the same as unfixable.
pg. 670
     Overall, this series is now one of my favorites and I enjoyed every page of this latest and last installment. If you haven’t read this series, do it now. You will fall head over heels with these characters, the author, and the fandom!

Overall, I give this

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Diverse Book Blogger. Diverse YA Librarian. Wonder Woman enthusiast. Bookish Blerd. "GryffinClaw" Geek extraordinaire. Pitbull mom. She/her linktr.ee/take_me_awayyy