Hi booklovers
Today I'm going to review a book I've actually only recently finished :-) *pats herself on the back*: Winter by Marissa Meyer. I read this for the March theme of the #OWBookclub on Goodreads: retellings.
Winter is the conclusion to the Lunar Chronicles - I know, there's also Stars Above, but that's a collection of short stories. Beware this will contain spoilers for Cinder, Scarlet and Cress (click on the names to read my non-spoiler reviews.)
Title: Winter
Author: Marissa Meyer
Genre: YA, sci-fi, fairy-tale retelling
Format: paperback
*Story:
At the beginning of the story we find ourselves aboard the Rampion where Emporer Kai is still being 'kidnapped'. We folow the gang trying to stop Levana from becoming Empress of Earth and even stop her reign altogether so Cinder - Princess Selene - can take her rightful place on the throne. They also try to rescue Scarlet and save Winter from the clutches of her evil stepmother.
*Characters:
-Cinder: She really comes into her own in this story. She has grown so much mentally and she is really ready to take her place on the throne. Although I do have to admit that at times I thought her 'rallying of the troops' went a bit too easily. I really liked how her struggle not to become like her aunt was portrayed.
-Kai: Again he finds himself torn between his love for Cinder and his need to obtain the Letumoses antidote. I loved how he stood up to Levana and didn't even hide how proud he was of Cinder.
-Scarlet: I loved how resilliant and strong she was throughout this story despite everything that happened to her.
SPOILER:
I also loved how she wasn't scared of the changes Wolf had been put through by Levana. She just continued to see the man he used to be, not his current exterior.
-Wolf: He is still one of my favourite characters. I liked how we got to know more about his past and his family. I found him to be incredibly strong, especially mentally.
SPOILER:
He doesn't succumb to the physical and mental changes that were done to him. I love how he still remains so shy, careful and even a little clumsy around Scarlet.
-Cress: I remember thinking in the previous book that she was a bit naive and whiny, but she really comes into her own in this story. She really goes from this shy, insecure girl from the sattelite to playing an important part in the revolution.
-Thorne: There were times I wanted to strangle him SPOILER: I know he was being glamoured when he kissed that Lunar, but still!!, but I liked how we get to see his softer side and his feelings for Cress.
-Winter: She is such an whimsical girl, although she has a great sense of humour as well. I loved her teasing Jacin and the way she cared for her wolf and Scarlet.
-Jacin: He is such a sweet guy whilst always remaining the loyal guard.
*Plot/worldbuilding/overall rating:
I found this to be a very good conclusion to the series even though I wanted there to be more emphasis on Winter and Jacin. I know there has to be a lot of emphasis on the revolution and Cinder overthrowing Levana, but some more of Winter's story would have been nice.
SPOILER:
Theirs was the relationship I found the least satisfying, because you don't really know where they will go from here.
I really enjoyed that we got to see more of Luna; the working sectors and the outside of the domes. I also liked that we got see how the Lunars percieved Earth.
*Physical book / audiobook:
At first I only read the physical book but I didn't have that much time to read for longer periods on end. So I decided to get the audiobook from audible and I really enjoyed it. The narrator did all the voices really well. Listening to the audiobook also helped speed up my reading.
Even though it's bittersweet because it concludes a great series, I'm still very happy that I finally tackled this monster of a book.
4.75 stars
I'm not going to read Stars Above right away, I think I'm going to spread it out and read one story at a time.
Have you read this book or the series? Let me know in the comments what you think of it.
Bye for now
Annelies
