Series: The Lunar Chronicles #4
Published by Feiwel and Friends (11.10.2015)
Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult
Format: Hardcover, 824 pages
Source: I own it
Princess Winter is admired by the Lunar people for her grace and kindness, and despite the scars that mar her face, her beauty is said to be even more breathtaking than that of her stepmother, Queen Levana.
Winter despises her stepmother, and knows Levana won’t approve of her feelings for her childhood friend—the handsome palace guard, Jacin. But Winter isn’t as weak as Levana believes her to be and she’s been undermining her stepmother’s wishes for years. Together with the cyborg mechanic, Cinder, and her allies, Winter might even have the power to launch a revolution and win a war that’s been raging for far too long.
Can Cinder, Scarlet, Cress, and Winter defeat Levana and find their happily ever afters?
My thoughts
**Possible spoilers**
I loved seeing all the characters come together! I think that’s my favorite thing about this series, is that each book tells a different story yet they’re all tied together. I love the backstories of all of them, especially Winter!
The scene with Thorne and Cress in the castle gave me warm fuzzies! View Spoiler »
“I would have killed every one of them to get to you. I would have done anything to get you back. Knowing that we were coming here was the only thing that kept me sane.”
I. Love. Wolf and Scarlet. They are by far my favorite part of this series! I missed Scarlet’s snark, she’s still my favorite character! Scarlet remains my favorite book of the series because of her. I absolutely adore Wolf and Scarlet’s relationship. It’s beautiful! Everything Wolf does, he does with Scarlet in mind. She is his Alpha, and he would do anything to protect her. It was so freaking cute!
“We may be animals, but we will never again live in your cage.”
Winter was…um…insane? But quirky and strange and ridiculously charismatic as Cinder put it. (Couldn’t have said it better myself!) I couldn’t get a feel for her, but I think I liked her anyway! She was cute, in a crazy way. Endearing.
Somehow I was unsatisfied with the ending. It happened too fast and felt a bit anticlimactic. Cinder sacrificed NOTHING. I was expecting some sort of loss on their side, but the heroes won with little effort and zero casualties. How boring is that? I was expecting heartbreak in some form or another. I mean, HEAs are nice sometimes, but this one was just too clean-cut and convenient. All the pieces fit in perfectly, and everything went the way it should. There was never any doubt that the heroes would win the day. I like to have a little bit of doubt, some tears, and some sacrifice in one form or another. I suppose I was just expecting more out of the ending. Especially after four (five, if you count Fairest) books. (And 800 pages in this one!)
Favorite quotes
“Cinder and I are going to watch the video. If anyone comes into the house, hide. Don’t leave, and try not to do anything crazy.”
Winter winked. “I shall be a vestibule of unhampered sanity.”
Overall Assessment
Plot: 4/5
Premise: 4/5
Writing style: 4/5
Originality: 4/5
Characters: 3.5/5
World-building: 3.5/5
Pace: 4/5
Feels: 3/5
Cover: 4/5
Overall rating: 4/5
Ohh I am really looking forward to picking this one up soon soon! I must say though I really hope that this book will include a little bit more of all the other characters..even though I know each book has a set main character in a way. So glad to hear that you enjoyed it :D
Scarlet is also, by far, my favorite book in the series. I just love her so much! Her scenes with Winter were great. I also quickly started to feel something for Winter. You got to admire her strength and that madness made her so goofy and fun to read about. The ending also let me down a little. I also wanted more closure, in some way, but I hope the bundled novella’s will give me that :)
I loved how everyone came together in this book. It’s been a long time since I’ve loved a cast of characters as much as these ones.
I agree that the ending was anti-climatic but I feel like I would be SUPER upset if something else had happened. haha