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4.38 AVERAGE
4.38 AVERAGE
A satisfying end to a series I really ended up enjoying, although I think this may have been my least favorite of the four novels. A surprisingly delightful quartet of novels for the YA/futuristic set.
Did this need to be 823 pages long? No. Did it feel like a slog at times? Sure. Was it still an enjoyable read? Absolutely.
I've enjoyed this series a lot, now to go back and read all the inbetween novellas.
I've enjoyed this series a lot, now to go back and read all the inbetween novellas.
Review is up on my blog !
https://curlyhairbibliophile.wordpress.com/2016/01/24/book-review-winter-by-marissa-meyer/
https://curlyhairbibliophile.wordpress.com/2016/01/24/book-review-winter-by-marissa-meyer/
Loved this series, I didn't expect anything particularly special and I was pleasantly surprised to find a very well structured story, with good characters and strong characterization.
I liked how the author based her main characters on fairy tales princesses turning them in modern strong women with purpose, not to mention the little Sailor Moon references which I of course loved.
It's difficult for me to find a YA heroine to like, they all look pretty much Mary Sues to me, I was very glad Cinder's brain and sarcasm put her aside and made me enjoy the story even more.
The only thing that threw me off a bit is the changing of the main POV in every book, it was a little weird having to get accustomed to a whole new character and her story in each of them but the writing is excellent and manages to bring the main story - Cinder's story - on even if it's on a secondary level, merging it with the other girls's to become a very well balanced final book where everything clicks in perfectly.
*thumbs up*
I liked how the author based her main characters on fairy tales princesses turning them in modern strong women with purpose, not to mention the little Sailor Moon references which I of course loved.
It's difficult for me to find a YA heroine to like, they all look pretty much Mary Sues to me, I was very glad Cinder's brain and sarcasm put her aside and made me enjoy the story even more.
The only thing that threw me off a bit is the changing of the main POV in every book, it was a little weird having to get accustomed to a whole new character and her story in each of them but the writing is excellent and manages to bring the main story - Cinder's story - on even if it's on a secondary level, merging it with the other girls's to become a very well balanced final book where everything clicks in perfectly.
*thumbs up*
I CAN'T BELIEVE IT'S ALL OVER. I'm going to miss all the fun banter, the gut-dropping plot twists, and cute OTPs. Seriously, one of my favorite all-time series! <33
I love the series. I am so happy that I found it and that I was able to purge all four books. I love how each girl was independent and different from one another. I loved their friendships and how they were't built from hatred.
I found myself relating to all four of them in one way or another. I feel like I related most to Winter just because of what she had to deal with I think it had a lot a parallels with mental health and I think it was a great way of representing it. I loved the supporting male roles and I loved the adventure.
This is probably my second favorite out of the series. My top favorite is Scarlet. I just cannot help but die every single time my OTP Scarlet and Wolf are in a scene. I mean, I love all of them. Seriously.
Reread 2: I basically had tears in my eyes all 800 and something pages. Still love it. Will always love it. I bought the hardbacks along with paperback. They're just soooooo pretty!
Reread #3: Ooooooo big shocker I love it just as much as the first time. I listened to Winter on Audible, that was pretty fun. I couldn't really drop the fact that the word 'flesh' was said like every other sentence.
Besides that, I loved it.
I sympathized with the character a lot more this time around. I mean Wolf...my poor Wolf. Winter...Scarlet...Jacin, my poor baby. I was a wreck.
Stay tuned for reread #4 coming to you soon in 2019!
I found myself relating to all four of them in one way or another. I feel like I related most to Winter just because of what she had to deal with I think it had a lot a parallels with mental health and I think it was a great way of representing it. I loved the supporting male roles and I loved the adventure.
This is probably my second favorite out of the series. My top favorite is Scarlet. I just cannot help but die every single time my OTP Scarlet and Wolf are in a scene. I mean, I love all of them. Seriously.
Reread 2: I basically had tears in my eyes all 800 and something pages. Still love it. Will always love it. I bought the hardbacks along with paperback. They're just soooooo pretty!
Reread #3: Ooooooo big shocker I love it just as much as the first time. I listened to Winter on Audible, that was pretty fun. I couldn't really drop the fact that the word 'flesh' was said like every other sentence.
Besides that, I loved it.
I sympathized with the character a lot more this time around. I mean Wolf...my poor Wolf. Winter...Scarlet...Jacin, my poor baby. I was a wreck.
Stay tuned for reread #4 coming to you soon in 2019!
5 well deserved stars, my friends. Also this review is kind of all over the place, so beware.
The Lunar Chronicles is unlike anything I've read before; the plot was so original and fun and constantly caught my attention. I was never bored, and was always on the edge of my seat debating on whether or not I should close my eyes and stop reading before I skipped ahead to find out if the main characters were okay.
The Plot
I'm going to start off with the plot because it was so much more explosive than I ever would have guessed. It was one big hit after another, sometimes in a good way that made me want to weep with joy and most of the time it just made me want to weep. One of my favorite parts of this series is the fact that each and character is mirrored after a fairytale, and I was so happy with the ending. This book was really setting itself up to end in a really bad way and I was practically clawing my hair out every time Cinder and the group were separated. That's how I know a book is really good, when I'm unsure of the ending and I'm afraid to read it because of that uncertain ending.
Cinder
I wanna talk about Cinder's character development real quick because she's awesome and I love her. When we first meet Cinder, she's this quiet mechanic cyborg unwilling to put herself out there in any way in fear of being shunned. By the end of the first book, Cinder is no longer that meek cyborg; suddenly she is accepting her fate as the lost Lunar Princess Selene and she no longer can fade into the background of life.
Kai
While I'm talking about Cinder, I'm going to briefly touch on Kai and then get to the real point of talking about both of them (their relationship, duh). I still love Kai; he is the sweetest, most selfless teenaged emperor the Commonwealth will ever see. Sweet lil baby ugh I just really like Kai.
The Couples (because I love them all)
And while I'm talking about cute couples, I might as well talk about the other ones involved in the story.
Cress and Thorne:
Individually, I love both these characters as well. Cress's story was so interesting from the beginning and I'm glad that even though she was weak minded when she was first introduced that she didn't stay that way and used her knowledge of hacking and coding as her strength. She started off as this sweet, naïve girl who basically fell in love with the first person she met (Thorne) and grew from there. I was so happy to see her be brave when she was separated from Thorne in the palace and to really take a leap and put herself in danger in the hopes of helping Cinder's cause.
Scarlet and Wolf: Moving right along to my personal favorite: Scarlet and Wolf. UGH I JUST LOVE THEM SO MUCH. Okay really I think its Wolf that I love but I'll say its Scarlet too. They just kept getting ripped apart and smashed back together and while I loved every single one of their reunion scenes, it was so hard to read the parts where they were separated. I especially loved that Wolf got over his awkwardness about his feelings for Scarlet and his protectiveness over her is just about the best thing ever. I definitely would not have minded if Marissa Meyer wanted to get a little R rated with Scarlet and Wolf's reunion scene where he could barely stand to leave her to bathe. Hehehehe. Ahem.
Winter and Jacin: And of course, the sweetest couple of the series *drumroll* Jacin and Winter. So sweet, so cute, so perfectly imperfect. Where Winter was soft, Jacin was calloused. Where Winter was improbable, Jacin was always logical. They were so sweet together, like a slice of overly frosted cake. Winter is sort of similar to Cress, she's naïve and sweet and unwilling to see the bad in people. But I loved her quirkiness and the fact that her beauty didn't match the disarray of her brain. And of course Jacin was always there to balance Winter out. Again, a perfectly compatible couple that were so good together it was almost sickening if it wasn't for the fact that I also loved them.
Overall Thoughts
This series was so well crafted. It was cheesy and predictable at times, but there were also so many moments that I didn't see coming and was anything from pleasantly surprised to so shocked I wanted to throw something. I highly recommend this series to just about everyone because its such a fun read and its a great mix of genres so just about anyone would enjoy it. I already miss reading about all the characters *sigh*.
The Lunar Chronicles is unlike anything I've read before; the plot was so original and fun and constantly caught my attention. I was never bored, and was always on the edge of my seat debating on whether or not I should close my eyes and stop reading before I skipped ahead to find out if the main characters were okay.
The Plot
I'm going to start off with the plot because it was so much more explosive than I ever would have guessed. It was one big hit after another, sometimes in a good way that made me want to weep with joy and most of the time it just made me want to weep. One of my favorite parts of this series is the fact that each and character is mirrored after a fairytale, and I was so happy with the ending. This book was really setting itself up to end in a really bad way and I was practically clawing my hair out every time Cinder and the group were separated. That's how I know a book is really good, when I'm unsure of the ending and I'm afraid to read it because of that uncertain ending.
Spoiler
Speaking of the ending, WOW and FINALLY. I was getting really worried when everyone seemed to be either practically dying or controlled by a thaumaturge or whatever. Winter eats those dumb apple candies? I could have killed Levana myself. Cinder and Wolf get taken to Artemisia? About to the throw the book. Wolf is even more wolf-life? I wanted to scream. Scarlet is sick too? Omfg. Once poor baby Cress got stabbed, I was so done with the book but I was so close to the end and knew that it had to tie together even if everything seemed to have fallen apart. But then Levana stabbed Cinder and I was so mad until Cinder shot her. I was shocked. I really thought that Levana might live in the end, that Cinder and everyone else would spare her. As shocking as that was, it didn't change and affect Cinder in the way I would have expected, but I'll get back to that point. I'm still just so happy that Marissa Meyer decided to fully kill off Levana because I was getting so tired of that bitch.Cinder
I wanna talk about Cinder's character development real quick because she's awesome and I love her. When we first meet Cinder, she's this quiet mechanic cyborg unwilling to put herself out there in any way in fear of being shunned. By the end of the first book, Cinder is no longer that meek cyborg; suddenly she is accepting her fate as the lost Lunar Princess Selene and she no longer can fade into the background of life.
Spoiler
From there we witness her go through so many trying situations where someone more often than not is trying to kill her. I love that Cinder always stuck true to herself, only using her Lunar gift when she needed it and never using it for vanity as well as never showing the people of Luna a false side to herself. She is just a great role model in my opinion. She wasn't malicious or cruel even though her Lunar gift could have easily corrupted her and made her much more selfish like her aunt, or her mother. It was obvious that Meyer put a lot of thought into Cinder and her character development. Everything that Cinder did had its reason, either showing her selflessness or other strengths as well as showing her weaknesses and how she faces them. I just really like the way Meyer crafted Cinder's character, it was really well done and created someone that was both equally inspiring as she was frustrating.Kai
While I'm talking about Cinder, I'm going to briefly touch on Kai and then get to the real point of talking about both of them (their relationship, duh). I still love Kai; he is the sweetest, most selfless teenaged emperor the Commonwealth will ever see. Sweet lil baby ugh I just really like Kai.
Spoiler
His relationship with Cinder finally came to something in Winter. It felt like it took forever and the whole kidnapping thing was so necessary so Kai and Cinder could finally kiss and be cute and love each other. Cinder needs to marry him so they can rule the Commonwealth together and continue being cute while being surrounded by their friends. I almost wish Meyer didn't make Cinder and Kai so compatible though because their relationship was just so perfect. Obviously there were bigger things looming on the horizon than their relationship for them to deal with but still, they agreed on everything and rarely got mad at each other and it would have been nice to see some real issues spring up between them like a real couple. But that's nitpicking; not very often will you find someone wanting to read about turmoil in a relationship lol but yeah. They are super cute together and the Commonwealth will never be the same in the best way.The Couples (because I love them all)
And while I'm talking about cute couples, I might as well talk about the other ones involved in the story.
Cress and Thorne:
Spoiler
I'm gonna start with Cress and Thorne because FINALLY THORNE GOT HIS HEAD OUT OF HIS ASS. Omg. I can't tell you how happy I was for them to share that ~steamy~ kiss in that atrium even though it was probably not the best time to share a steamy kiss. But still. Very necessary and I was soooooo happy because it was making me incredibly mad how Thorne kept stringing Cress along. But man their ending together was so sweet and perfect and Thorne can fly me around in the Rampion any day.Individually, I love both these characters as well. Cress's story was so interesting from the beginning and I'm glad that even though she was weak minded when she was first introduced that she didn't stay that way and used her knowledge of hacking and coding as her strength. She started off as this sweet, naïve girl who basically fell in love with the first person she met (Thorne) and grew from there. I was so happy to see her be brave when she was separated from Thorne in the palace and to really take a leap and put herself in danger in the hopes of helping Cinder's cause.
Scarlet and Wolf: Moving right along to my personal favorite: Scarlet and Wolf. UGH I JUST LOVE THEM SO MUCH. Okay really I think its Wolf that I love but I'll say its Scarlet too. They just kept getting ripped apart and smashed back together and while I loved every single one of their reunion scenes, it was so hard to read the parts where they were separated. I especially loved that Wolf got over his awkwardness about his feelings for Scarlet and his protectiveness over her is just about the best thing ever. I definitely would not have minded if Marissa Meyer wanted to get a little R rated with Scarlet and Wolf's reunion scene where he could barely stand to leave her to bathe. Hehehehe. Ahem.
Winter and Jacin: And of course, the sweetest couple of the series *drumroll* Jacin and Winter. So sweet, so cute, so perfectly imperfect. Where Winter was soft, Jacin was calloused. Where Winter was improbable, Jacin was always logical. They were so sweet together, like a slice of overly frosted cake. Winter is sort of similar to Cress, she's naïve and sweet and unwilling to see the bad in people. But I loved her quirkiness and the fact that her beauty didn't match the disarray of her brain. And of course Jacin was always there to balance Winter out. Again, a perfectly compatible couple that were so good together it was almost sickening if it wasn't for the fact that I also loved them.
Overall Thoughts
This series was so well crafted. It was cheesy and predictable at times, but there were also so many moments that I didn't see coming and was anything from pleasantly surprised to so shocked I wanted to throw something. I highly recommend this series to just about everyone because its such a fun read and its a great mix of genres so just about anyone would enjoy it. I already miss reading about all the characters *sigh*.
I hate that I hate this cover.
Oops this was v well fun
Oops this was v well fun
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated