Take a photo of a barcode or cover
4.38 AVERAGE
4.38 AVERAGE
Okay so first of all: finallyyyyy. I’ve been reading this for too long and it’s been giving me anxiety. This is the best finale to an incredible series and I’m just so happy I read it. Every step of it is perfect and every new character, like always, is charming and right in place. The plot development was incredible and thrilling and whenever you thought it was gonna be okay, it kept going. Also, I’m here for Thorne’s character development. Like, go Thorne! I also adored getting to know Winter and Jacob better, and the friendship between winter and scarlet and between cinder and Thorne are everything I’ve ever wanted to read about. Still not convinced about why Cinder likes Kali so much, but I ship Thorne with cress more than I ship him with cinder. I actually ship thorne with EVERYONE. Long story short: the most incredible 845 pages I’ve read in the series.
adventurous
emotional
funny
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
i am a proud thorne fangirl
anyways, im so sad this series is over i want more 😭😭
anyways, im so sad this series is over i want more 😭😭
I finally finished my reread of this big baby! *throws confetti* I was definitely faster the first time I read this.
Despite having been too busy with my own writing and daily life to properly sit down and binge read this mammoth of a book, I can't say it weighed on me. The Lunar Chronicles is exactly the read you need when you're looking for a light read with compelling characters, stories, OTPs that give you feels that last for a lifetime and amazing friendships. I loved every moment of it, even when I could only read for ten minutes and could manage one chapter alone. I reread this series because I am writing my thesis on fairytale retellings, but it doesn't hurt that reading these books again was good for my soul. It's like rereading Harry Potter: it's going back to a world that feels like home and characters that are like friends. I am definitely going to be returning to this series again, though hopefully then it won't take me a month to read Winter. *insert laughing emoji*
Despite having been too busy with my own writing and daily life to properly sit down and binge read this mammoth of a book, I can't say it weighed on me. The Lunar Chronicles is exactly the read you need when you're looking for a light read with compelling characters, stories, OTPs that give you feels that last for a lifetime and amazing friendships. I loved every moment of it, even when I could only read for ten minutes and could manage one chapter alone. I reread this series because I am writing my thesis on fairytale retellings, but it doesn't hurt that reading these books again was good for my soul. It's like rereading Harry Potter: it's going back to a world that feels like home and characters that are like friends. I am definitely going to be returning to this series again, though hopefully then it won't take me a month to read Winter. *insert laughing emoji*
A review of this book seems pointless; anyone who has made their way through the previous three installments in the series will probably read the finale, and enjoy it. And that's saying something - making a story engaging and enjoyable for 800+ pages, not to mention the 2000 or so pages that preceded it, is a significant achievement.
Still, this could have been so much more. There were places where the story seemed to stutter, characters who appeared and became important for a hundred pages or more and were then killed off unceremoniously, with no emotional consequences for the reader or the other characters, or simply allowed to disappear. Characters from previous novels were brought back, seemingly destined for great things, and then allowed to drift in and out of the story with apparently no purpose. These deficiencies of editing are understandable - the novel is long - and even at the end of the book I was excited for what I was sure would be a thrilling and dramatic climax.
But... it wasn't. In such an inventive and thoroughly written world, this undeveloped climax made no sense.
Also... Winter. She's the title character of this book, although she plays only a modest role in its story - which is a good thing, because she's a thoroughly annoying character. She is beautiful, pure, and insane, the latter entirely of her own volition, and everyone in the kingdom is devoted to her solely because of her beauty. It's almost enough to make one sympathize with Levana... who would, actually, have been a much more interesting title character for this story.
Still, this could have been so much more. There were places where the story seemed to stutter, characters who appeared and became important for a hundred pages or more and were then killed off unceremoniously, with no emotional consequences for the reader or the other characters, or simply allowed to disappear. Characters from previous novels were brought back, seemingly destined for great things, and then allowed to drift in and out of the story with apparently no purpose.
Spoiler
One character undergoes a major procedure meant to alter personality, wakes up a totally different person, and then goes back to his old personality, without explanation, in the next scene.But... it wasn't.
Spoiler
There was a climax, of course, but it was just a standard fight scene. Nothing epic. Nothing with any real meaning. Allies and enemies played predictable roles. The hero was brave and selfless, but not in any new way. The villain was selfish and small despite her enormous power, and that destroyed her.Also... Winter. She's the title character of this book, although she plays only a modest role in its story - which is a good thing, because she's a thoroughly annoying character. She is beautiful, pure, and insane, the latter entirely of her own volition, and everyone in the kingdom is devoted to her solely because of her beauty. It's almost enough to make one sympathize with Levana... who would, actually, have been a much more interesting title character for this story.
adventurous
hopeful
medium-paced
Favorite book of the series!!
This book is so long and I was worried that it wouldn't hold up for over 800 pages. But I was hanging on every word. I loved Winter - she quickly became one of my favorite characters. I loved how many points of view we got to see in this book. I loved how all the characters came together, how the uprising grew, the final battle, the ending. I honestly loved all of it.
And I'm still in love with Thorne and Cress. They are so precious.
This book is so long and I was worried that it wouldn't hold up for over 800 pages. But I was hanging on every word. I loved Winter - she quickly became one of my favorite characters. I loved how many points of view we got to see in this book. I loved how all the characters came together, how the uprising grew, the final battle, the ending. I honestly loved all of it.
And I'm still in love with Thorne and Cress. They are so precious.
i didn't expect to like this series as much as i did, but wow, i'm sad its over.
I apologize in advance for the messy review I am going to make, but I am a mess of feelings right now and I doubt I will be coherent any time soon. Let's hope this works!
You guys have realized by now that I was absolutely blown away by the Lunar Chronicles series, and it was no different with Winter. This book was huge, but it was the finale this series needed and I wouldn't have edited out a page even if I could have.
After seeing plenty of Earth in [b: Cinder|36381037|Cinder (The Lunar Chronicles, #1)|Marissa Meyer|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1507557775s/36381037.jpg|15545385], [b:Scarlet|13206760|Scarlet (The Lunar Chronicles, #2)|Marissa Meyer|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1470056982s/13206760.jpg|18390691] and [b: Cress|13206828|Cress (The Lunar Chronicles, #3)|Marissa Meyer|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1470057005s/13206828.jpg|18390772], in Winter our setting finally changes substantially into space, and not just floating in the galaxy with the Rampion. We finally get to see Luna and its inhabitants.
The society we find can be easily split down the middle: there is a working class who is highly limited in its freedoms (basically they are slaves in all but title), and the Lunar aristocracy, frivolous, superficial and cruel.
It is here, within the walls of Luna's castle, that we meet Princess Winter, Levana's stepdaughter and our Snow White in this story. Once again, I loved how Marissa Meyer incorporated elements of the classic tale that were easily recognizable, but spun in a way that was surprising and new. For starters, Princess Winter is a woman of color, and to have a woman of color be the most beautiful one in the kingdom is a strong, beautiful message for all the girls out there. Princess Winter loves apple sweets and she loves animals (she has a managerie filled with them!) She is also incredibly kind and empathic, to the point where she refuses to use her Lunar gift, and would rather go crazy with Lunar sickness than manipulate someone. Sounds like our Snow White, but better, right? And our Winter also has a beautiful, dashing prince! Except he's not a prince, he's a guard--our very own Jacin Clay!--and they haven't just met in an eye-rolling-insta-love way, but they've been friends since they were children. And it's that long time friendship and affection that makes it so that Jacin would do anything for Winter, and Winter for Jacin. Ship? Absolutely, gentlefriends!
But Jacin and Winter were not the only ones to make my heart flutter in this book. With the war against Levana as a backdrop of suffering, we get to follow Cinder and Kai as they try to save the world together, and with it their love, we follow Scarlet and Wolf as they struggle to find their way back to one another (and curse Marissa for giving them so much pain!), we follow Captain Carswell Thorne, known womanizer and heartbreaker, struggle with his insecurities and his flaws as his feelings for Cress grow higher than Rapunzel's tower.
Will they succeed?
I can't tell you. You'll have to read the book!
You guys have realized by now that I was absolutely blown away by the Lunar Chronicles series, and it was no different with Winter. This book was huge, but it was the finale this series needed and I wouldn't have edited out a page even if I could have.
After seeing plenty of Earth in [b: Cinder|36381037|Cinder (The Lunar Chronicles, #1)|Marissa Meyer|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1507557775s/36381037.jpg|15545385], [b:Scarlet|13206760|Scarlet (The Lunar Chronicles, #2)|Marissa Meyer|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1470056982s/13206760.jpg|18390691] and [b: Cress|13206828|Cress (The Lunar Chronicles, #3)|Marissa Meyer|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1470057005s/13206828.jpg|18390772], in Winter our setting finally changes substantially into space, and not just floating in the galaxy with the Rampion. We finally get to see Luna and its inhabitants.
The society we find can be easily split down the middle: there is a working class who is highly limited in its freedoms (basically they are slaves in all but title), and the Lunar aristocracy, frivolous, superficial and cruel.
It is here, within the walls of Luna's castle, that we meet Princess Winter, Levana's stepdaughter and our Snow White in this story. Once again, I loved how Marissa Meyer incorporated elements of the classic tale that were easily recognizable, but spun in a way that was surprising and new. For starters, Princess Winter is a woman of color, and to have a woman of color be the most beautiful one in the kingdom is a strong, beautiful message for all the girls out there. Princess Winter loves apple sweets and she loves animals (she has a managerie filled with them!) She is also incredibly kind and empathic, to the point where she refuses to use her Lunar gift, and would rather go crazy with Lunar sickness than manipulate someone. Sounds like our Snow White, but better, right? And our Winter also has a beautiful, dashing prince! Except he's not a prince, he's a guard--our very own Jacin Clay!--and they haven't just met in an eye-rolling-insta-love way, but they've been friends since they were children. And it's that long time friendship and affection that makes it so that Jacin would do anything for Winter, and Winter for Jacin. Ship? Absolutely, gentlefriends!
But Jacin and Winter were not the only ones to make my heart flutter in this book. With the war against Levana as a backdrop of suffering, we get to follow Cinder and Kai as they try to save the world together, and with it their love, we follow Scarlet and Wolf as they struggle to find their way back to one another (and curse Marissa for giving them so much pain!), we follow Captain Carswell Thorne, known womanizer and heartbreaker, struggle with his insecurities and his flaws as his feelings for Cress grow higher than Rapunzel's tower.
Will they succeed?
I can't tell you. You'll have to read the book!
I dove right into Winter after finishing Cress and was so excited to see the conclusion of this series but ended up being somewhat disappointed after finishing it.
Things I liked:
- The cover. It's the best of the series for me, hands down. It's gorgeous!!!
- Cress and Thorne. There was not enough of them for me in this book, not even close.
- Finishing the series and finding out what happens to everyone, especially for Cress and Thorne (obviously!).
- Learning more about Levana's backstory.
Things I didn't like:
- World-building is definitely a weak spot. I really wanted to see/feel/experience Luna now that we finally get a whole book taking place there. Brief descriptions of rooms and a district or two (definitely had a Hunger Games/Panem vibe) were given but it came across as bare minimum. Just enough to get by.
- Pacing. Clocking in a 800+ pages, Winter is unnecessarily long. Don't get me wrong, I love chunky books but one of the things that's so amazing when it works, is that it doesn't FEEL long when you're in the thick of it. Not the case for the final installment. Winter felt so longgggggggg.
- Ending. While the majority of the book crawled at a snails pace, the ending zipped by far too quickly for me. It felt like Meyer woke up one day and said, "I'm so tired of writing this book, let's just end it today!" Also, the resolution for Winter's lunar sickness = HARD PASS.
- Levana's true form. The way her burn injuries were described was appalling. Is she a horrible person? Yes, 100%. Does her disfigurement need to be put on display for the whole planet and reveled in? NO. If Cinder had gone into what a terrible person Levana is (and she did somewhat) that would've been perfect. For a beat it just felt like Levana was brought down another peg because of her disfigurement alone. And when we eventually learn how it happened, it made me dislike Cinder's reaction even more.
- The lack of Cress in this book! I know this was Winter's book and had the gigantic task of closing out the series, but I wanted/needed more Cress and Thorne!!!
3 conflicted stars
⭐️ ⭐️⭐️
Things I liked:
- The cover. It's the best of the series for me, hands down. It's gorgeous!!!
- Cress and Thorne. There was not enough of them for me in this book, not even close.
- Finishing the series and finding out what happens to everyone, especially for Cress and Thorne (obviously!).
- Learning more about Levana's backstory.
Things I didn't like:
- World-building is definitely a weak spot. I really wanted to see/feel/experience Luna now that we finally get a whole book taking place there. Brief descriptions of rooms and a district or two (definitely had a Hunger Games/Panem vibe) were given but it came across as bare minimum. Just enough to get by.
- Pacing. Clocking in a 800+ pages, Winter is unnecessarily long. Don't get me wrong, I love chunky books but one of the things that's so amazing when it works, is that it doesn't FEEL long when you're in the thick of it. Not the case for the final installment. Winter felt so longgggggggg.
- Ending. While the majority of the book crawled at a snails pace, the ending zipped by far too quickly for me. It felt like Meyer woke up one day and said, "I'm so tired of writing this book, let's just end it today!" Also, the resolution for Winter's lunar sickness = HARD PASS.
- Levana's true form. The way her burn injuries were described was appalling. Is she a horrible person? Yes, 100%. Does her disfigurement need to be put on display for the whole planet and reveled in? NO. If Cinder had gone into what a terrible person Levana is (and she did somewhat) that would've been perfect. For a beat it just felt like Levana was brought down another peg because of her disfigurement alone. And when we eventually learn how it happened, it made me dislike Cinder's reaction even more.
- The lack of Cress in this book! I know this was Winter's book and had the gigantic task of closing out the series, but I wanted/needed more Cress and Thorne!!!
3 conflicted stars
⭐️ ⭐️⭐️