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barrettbooks's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
As a finale to the series, this was satisfying! It's almost twice the page count of the previous books, which gives space for the quickly expanding cast to breathe and for each character and couple to get their moments. I like basically all of the characters in the series (and hate the villains) and the final book gives them all challenges that feel real and endings that feel earned. The growth of the characters is sometimes a little simplistic, but that doesn't particularly bother me in an action-packed romp based on fairy tales. Every character being painfully straight bothers me some, but I do appreciate the romances despite the unfortunate heterosexuality of it all.
I also don't mind hand-wavey science, and deeply love a brilliant girl hacker teaming up with a brilliant girl mechanic and their badass fighter friends and fucking up a dictatorship. This was a fun read with so many moving parts that come together very nicely. A fitting ending for a series I enjoyed.
<Spoiler>One thing I didn't like was the treatment of Levana's appearance. Until this point, she has always kept her face hidden. It is used as a twist that her face is severely burnt, and the video of her true face is considered politically damaging. Multiple characters remark on how horrifying her appearance is. Eventually, Cinder learns that Levana was burnt as a child by Cinder's mother, and realises that this is not a character flaw (unlike Levana's actual massive character flaws.) However, this epiphany is brief (and no other character seems to realise that being a burn victim is not a problem) and the whole plot feels unnecessary and unearned. Neither I nor Cinder care about the mother she doesn't remember so it doesn't feel like a useful twist. There is another book adjacent to the series, Fairest, which is Levana's story and which assume this section is setting up, but within the confines of Winter specifically, I did not like the way this was handled. </Spoiler>(Also to be noted, another character who has severe hallucinations is called "crazy" like....a lot.)
Graphic: Ableism
nrogers_1030's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Mental illness, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Violence, Death, Gun violence, War, Torture, Animal death, Ableism, Body horror, Emotional abuse, Gore, Grief, Kidnapping, Panic attacks/disorders, Murder, and Death of parent
Minor: Forced institutionalization
anielabooks's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Blood, Death, Violence, Chronic illness, and Mental illness
Moderate: Colonisation, Death of parent, Animal death, Fire/Fire injury, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, and Torture
Minor: Body shaming, Confinement, Child abuse, Genocide, Emotional abuse, Grief, Kidnapping, Medical content, Medical trauma, Slavery, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Physical abuse, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual assault, and Ableism
jayranks13's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Graphic: Ableism
maria_pell's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Ableism, Blood, Body horror, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Medical content, Medical trauma, Murder, Physical abuse, Terminal illness, Torture, Toxic relationship, Trafficking, Violence, War, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Body shaming, Bullying, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual harassment, and Misogyny
Minor: Animal death
wiildsage's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Ableism and War