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margindoodles 's review for:
Winter
by Marissa Meyer
I'm... shocked that I'm not rating this higher? If it were based purely on ships, it would undoubtedly be 5 stars!!! There's also a chance that my expectations were too high to live up to anyway. But Meyer's editor seemed to be MIA; the writing could have been tighter and it ended up feeling a lot like I was reading unbeta'ed fic for the series rather than the actual book. Not necessarily a problem, but some of the plotting got sloppy and there was one deus ex machina too many for my liking. (Ravenclaw brain completely took the reins on this one, blerg.) Spoilers after the jump.
Scratch that. My real problem is that the threat of death never feels substantial until the very end (and even then I wasn't left fretting for long before I learned that everyone was okay). On the one hand, I'm pleased that everyone got a happy ending because they all deserve it! On the other, peril feels cheap when there are such easy fixes for everything.
Scarlet contracts an especially virulent, rapidly-acting strain of Letumosis? Cinder and co. still have enough time to: a) discover where she and Winter are, b) break into a medical lab to steal vials of the antidote, c) travel all the way to the distant sector to deliver the cure. Maybe the progression of the disease was slowed because Scarlet's not a Lunar, but that's a significant time gap for them to find Scarlet still up and about barking orders to people when they arrive.
And the list continues. Cress gets practically disemboweled? There's a magic suspension tank to heal her! Iko gets riddled with bullets and her android body is shredded? She's still ok! (Where the hell is her power source/central wiring?? How is it possible that none of those bullets struck her head?)
I will allow Wolf's mental wiring righting itself at the first sight of Scarlet in danger because, WELL.
I'm also kind of surprised that Cinder... actually ended up on the throne? (I'm surprised that a lot of things played out more or less the way our heroes wanted them to.) There was so much set-up with Winter galvanizing the revolution and having the love of the people that I felt it would have made sense if she became queen instead of Cinder. In all fairness, she may still become president or something in the future. But it's strange when you think you're following a narrative staircase to someplace specific -- only to find yourself somewhere else entirely at the top.
ANYWAY ENOUGH COMPLAINING. I'm exhausted of my own negativity. Because there was also a lot I enjoyed! I definitely went into this wanting to love the book! THE LAST 10 CHAPTERS WERE BASICALLY JUST ROMANTIC FULFILLMENT AND I WAS 1000% HERE FOR THEM. (I do feel my mental teeth aching a little from all the sugar, but I will soldier on~)
Winter/Jacin hit so many sweet spots for me: a Queen and Huntsman dynamic, the hurt-comfort trope, CHILDHOOD FRIENDS WHO BECOME MORE. I also spent half of the book grinning at Thorne's angst over Cress, going, "He loooooooves her, he loves her so much". Their makeout session just before the coronation was immensely satisfying (shhhh no one cares that they were technically off-task). SCARLET AND WOLF, ALPHA SOULMATES, THE STARS IN MY EYES. Kai acknowledging that Cinder never wanted a crown of her own! BUT her willingness to consider becoming empress in the future!!!
So. 5 stars for LOVE, 2 stars for length/plotting/pacing, 3 to 3.5 stars overall.
Spoiler
I... can't believe I feel like there should have been more deaths? I HAVE NEVER BEEN THAT PERSON, THIS IS UNCOMFORTABLE.Scratch that. My real problem is that the threat of death never feels substantial until the very end (and even then I wasn't left fretting for long before I learned that everyone was okay). On the one hand, I'm pleased that everyone got a happy ending because they all deserve it! On the other, peril feels cheap when there are such easy fixes for everything.
Scarlet contracts an especially virulent, rapidly-acting strain of Letumosis? Cinder and co. still have enough time to: a) discover where she and Winter are, b) break into a medical lab to steal vials of the antidote, c) travel all the way to the distant sector to deliver the cure. Maybe the progression of the disease was slowed because Scarlet's not a Lunar, but that's a significant time gap for them to find Scarlet still up and about barking orders to people when they arrive.
And the list continues. Cress gets practically disemboweled? There's a magic suspension tank to heal her! Iko gets riddled with bullets and her android body is shredded? She's still ok! (Where the hell is her power source/central wiring?? How is it possible that none of those bullets struck her head?)
I will allow Wolf's mental wiring righting itself at the first sight of Scarlet in danger because, WELL.
I'm also kind of surprised that Cinder... actually ended up on the throne? (I'm surprised that a lot of things played out more or less the way our heroes wanted them to.) There was so much set-up with Winter galvanizing the revolution and having the love of the people that I felt it would have made sense if she became queen instead of Cinder. In all fairness, she may still become president or something in the future. But it's strange when you think you're following a narrative staircase to someplace specific -- only to find yourself somewhere else entirely at the top.
ANYWAY ENOUGH COMPLAINING. I'm exhausted of my own negativity. Because there was also a lot I enjoyed! I definitely went into this wanting to love the book! THE LAST 10 CHAPTERS WERE BASICALLY JUST ROMANTIC FULFILLMENT AND I WAS 1000% HERE FOR THEM. (I do feel my mental teeth aching a little from all the sugar, but I will soldier on~)
Winter/Jacin hit so many sweet spots for me: a Queen and Huntsman dynamic, the hurt-comfort trope, CHILDHOOD FRIENDS WHO BECOME MORE. I also spent half of the book grinning at Thorne's angst over Cress, going, "He loooooooves her, he loves her so much". Their makeout session just before the coronation was immensely satisfying (shhhh no one cares that they were technically off-task). SCARLET AND WOLF, ALPHA SOULMATES, THE STARS IN MY EYES. Kai acknowledging that Cinder never wanted a crown of her own! BUT her willingness to consider becoming empress in the future!!!
So. 5 stars for LOVE, 2 stars for length/plotting/pacing, 3 to 3.5 stars overall.