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noellegrace8'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
Also. Winter & Jacin > everyone else. I freaking love them.
Winter's story also has the most clever parallels to her fairytale as well (in my humble opinion). Cinder is a close second, but I think Winter's story is a lot more exciting.
The revolution is a bit challenging, as it (understandably) has to wrap up every bit of convoluted plot line and can be a bit anxiety-inducing. Sometimes you genuinely feel that the characters are about to die and/or lose.
The last chapters are done in the way of the movie version of the Return of the King - where we get to see each person's ending. It is a bit saccharine, but in the perfect way that modern fairy tales are.
I was glad to see Cress & Thorne finally be solid. It was frustrating to read their back-and-forth in book 3, but there are some PERFECTLY written scenes between the two of them in this one. Also, can I just say that I love the mild allusion to other versions of Rapunzel? Like how Thorne stabs Cress in the side just like Mother Gothel stabs Flynn in Tangled?
I did struggle a bit when it was revealed that Levana has a disfigured face. Mostly because I don't understand how cyborgs are a reality but plastic surgery isn't? But more than that, it seemed like a weak/frustrating plot device, one that goes against the whole idea of Snow White (that the Evil Queen *is* in fact gorgeous on the outside, but can't understand that her *heart* is ugly). Still not anything worth docking stars for.
Seriously. So. Good.
I don't factor audiobook narrators' performances into my overall star rating, but I would give Rebecca Soler a 4.25/5 for this one. As previously stated in my other reviews of books 1-3, I got used to her slightly different voices and grew to appreciate them, especially certain characters. There were still some pieces that should have been re-recorded due to minor errors, but again, that feels like it should be on whoever did the mixing and production. But the one thing that really made me dock that .75 this time was Winter's voice. She is voiced like a baby, and it was grating on my ears. I also don't appreciate the infantilization of a character who is 17 with a love interest who is 19. It just feels icky. I think she could have come across as "crazy" yet "alluring" and "innocent" without being voiced as a child.
Graphic: Schizophrenia/Psychosis , War, Classism, Blood, Gaslighting, Body horror, Death, Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Pandemic/Epidemic, and Violence
Moderate: Colonisation, Emotional abuse, Grief, Animal cruelty, Slavery, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Fire/Fire injury, Ableism, Animal death, Murder, Physical abuse, Abandonment, Cannibalism, Chronic illness, Death of parent, Torture, Xenophobia, Medical content, and Gun violence
Minor: Alcohol, Body shaming, Grief, Suicide attempt, Child abuse, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Forced institutionalization, Gore, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Child death, Genocide, Sexual violence, and Adult/minor relationship
melissaslibraryy'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: Death, Injury/Injury detail, Slavery, Gore, Medical trauma, Pandemic/Epidemic, Blood, Police brutality, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Suicide, Violence, Kidnapping, Medical content, Mental illness, Self harm, Suicide attempt, Classism, Panic attacks/disorders, Fire/Fire injury, Gun violence, Body horror, Confinement, Torture, Murder, and War
laneelizabeth'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? No
5.0
Incorporating Adri and Pearl back into the story was seamless and so important to the ending. I didn't see it coming and I had no idea where she was going with it, but boy did she make it work!
Getting Levana's point of view more often in this book, especially after "Fairest" really solidifies the dislike for her character and we can see how twisted her thinking is and how delusional she is even from her own point of view.
I am glad that in the end, the revolution became as much Winter's as Cinder's. She deserved it so much. And I am glad that we got to see Cinder and Levana finally have a civil conversation (even if it didn't end very well). Also, we all knew Cinder was a great leader- we saw it- but now shes proven to be an amazing ruler as well, and especially because she's not afraid to be new at it. She's okay with asking for help and i think that is really important for someone who didn't grow up royal i think the people will respect her more for it.
Working Émilie back into the story was such a thoughtful touch that Im really glad she added.
I didn't want this story to end. I want to stay in this little fictional world. Also, with someone who has a chronic illness that has complicated so many things in my life, I really feel that this is one fantasy world I could survive in (if only with the support from the Rampion crew)
Now. Mrs. Meyer. I need a novella for Iko and Kinney to fall in love as well. Please and Thank you
Graphic: Blood, Death of parent, Death, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Body horror, Gaslighting, Gore, Mass/school shootings, Torture, Violence, Police brutality, Self harm, Slavery, War, Adult/minor relationship, Kidnapping, Classism, Murder, and Suicide attempt
bean_7088's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
!Spoilers ahead!
Sometimes I forget that these are YA and that often means pining teenagers, and boy is there a lot. It gets very annoying especially when it's the possessive teen romance tropes. I really don't like the whole Wolf growling just because Scarlet is talking to someone else 🙄 or Cress being mad at Thorne when he kissed someone when she knew he was really manipulated and assaulted.
I really didn't like Winter using her gift the way she did. I get it, but I didn't like it, and think that there was probably a better way to deal with that situation.
I'm also surprised how little the whole lunar gift was talked-about for how it was dealt with on a day to day regular basis. Like how does a society that has those kind of abilities really function?
Speaking of, I'm surprised that the whole Winter never using her gift and that convincing a whole bunch of people to join them never came up again considering Cinder had killed a bunch of people by then and also threatened to punish some that didn't obey her...
Also wasn't super comfortable with some of the description and reactions to Levanas burn scars and some of the plot around that.
Anyways. I'm glad it got a neat ribbon for all the characters, but that also feels less realistic. I'm all for happy endings, but the bitter sweet ones always feel more fulfilling to me.
Graphic: Medical trauma, Blood, Death, Gun violence, Body horror, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, and Mental illness
It's a revolution with mind control powers and animal body modifications. It gets roughmsradiosilence'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
3.5
Content warnings at the bottom. :)
Listen, Levana was wrong. She was bad, she killed LOTS of people, and she deserved retribution, but the way they defeated her was just horrible. So she
This book is also like 200 pages too long. The rest of them just kept running and hiding and separating and it kept happening. Twice is redundant, three times is annoying, and four times is fucking ridiculous. Talk about tedium.
And somehow, even with the book being too long, Winter and Jacin’s relationship was too rushed. How can a book be too long and have the main romance be so quick? Yadda yadda, that’s how. Those 200 pages of the same shit could’ve been dedicated to building Winter and Jacin’s relationship.
The one thing that we had a decent time of was the setting, at least. Meyer did a grand job describing the moon and its colonies, which…if you could do it well in this book why didn’t you in literally all the other books? Ugh.
Rating: 3.5
Would I recommend? Not really, unless you enjoy hypocrisy, 16yo moon queens, and long drawn out action sequences.
Content warnings: Genocide, Medical content, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Classism, Car accident, Colonisation, Emotional abuse, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, War, Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Grief, Murder, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Gun violence, Bullying, Child abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Animal death, Child death, Death of parent, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Body horror, Body shaming, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Graphic: Animal death, Ableism, Body horror, Genocide, Alcohol, Blood, Body shaming, Torture, Medical content, War, Car accident, Grief, Pandemic/Epidemic, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Death of parent, Mental illness, Child death, Bullying, Child abuse, Colonisation, Death, Murder, Violence, Fire/Fire injury, Classism, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, and Suicide
csmall73'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
Moderate: Sexual violence, Self harm, Genocide, Gaslighting, War, Gore, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Suicide, Racism, Misogyny, Medical trauma, Child abuse, Violence, Suicide attempt, Slavery, Mass/school shootings, Physical abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, and Gun violence
psliz'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? No
3.75
Graphic: Torture, Violence, Murder, Gun violence, War, and Death
Moderate: Suicide, Gore, Ableism, Kidnapping, Confinement, and Sexual assault
Minor: Injury/Injury detail, Rape, Blood, and Alcohol
tiana_king'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
4.75
Graphic: Child abuse, Classism, Torture, Injury/Injury detail, War, Confinement, Gaslighting, Gun violence, Kidnapping, Mass/school shootings, Medical trauma, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Self harm, Body shaming, and Blood
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, and Terminal illness
Minor: Death of parent, Sexual harassment, Suicide, and Gore
jfield351's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Graphic: Murder, Mental illness, War, Violence, Torture, and Death
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Suicide, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Gore, and Animal death
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