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Winter (The Lunar Chronicles, #4)

Marissa Meyer

Start date: December 1, 2015

Finish date: December 31, 2015

Discussion: SPOILERS: What We're Reading

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SPOILERS: What We're Reading

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What Members Thought

Feb 19, 2014 ZOEY rated it it was amazing

Shelves: favorites, paranormal-fantasy-magic-scifi, ya-na, romance, series, audiobooks, fairy-tale-re-tellings

I'm so HAPPY!

The ending was just perfect.
Now I'm just sad that I won't be able to hype about an upcoming Lunar Chronicles book.

(as much as I'd like to write a detailed review, I won't. Don't want to spoil it for anyone who hasn't finished yet.) ...more

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Aug 23, 2014 Sajda rated it it was amazing

Shelves: 2015-releases

A perfect ending to a wonderful series. I loved seeing how much all of the characters in this series developed over the course of this book, especially Cress. Also, the romance scenes were so perfectly placed and definitely made me swoon. I read Fairest right before picking this up and definitely recommend doing so because the book references certain events that occurred in Fairest. It's was also nice to know a bit about Levana's history and even though she is crazy with a capital c, I liked lea ...more

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Oct 17, 2016 Sandy rated it really liked it

Shelves: own, 2016, 2016-series-enders

The Lunar Chronicles has been one of my favorite series for a while. Starting with Cinder, I've actually felt like each new book in the series was better than the one before. And that set Winter up for some pretty high expectations. I received Winter for Christmas last year--which was shortly after it released. However, the 800 pages of this hefty book kept me from picking it up sooner. Well that and my life changes really. And honestly, I have to say that even though Winter didn't exactly feel The Lunar Chronicles has been one of my favorite series for a while. Starting with Cinder, I've actually felt like each new book in the series was better than the one before. And that set Winter up for some pretty high expectations. I received Winter for Christmas last year--which was shortly after it released. However, the 800 pages of this hefty book kept me from picking it up sooner. Well that and my life changes really. And honestly, I have to say that even though Winter didn't exactly feel slow to me, it did feel LONG. I understand why it was released as one book, but for length's sake, I really wished it had been more like two or even three separate books. I don't think the story told within would have made as much sense had it been broken out though.

Winter has so much to cover too. It's not just about Cinder and Kai, or Scarlet and Wolf, or Cress and Thorne, or Winter and Jacin. (Or Iko.) They're all in. They're all present. They're all narrated from at different points. Marissa Meyer does a great job being able to write from so many characters within one book. It feels cohesive while also distinct. I never once got confused with who was narrating and with so many characters that is really impressive. Of course because all of these characters have such distinct roles to play within the plot of the story, we didn't get to spend as much one on one time with Winter and Jacin as we have with the other couples in prior books. I still liked these characters a lot, but I wasn't as attached to them as I am to Scarlet and Wolf or Cress and Thorne.

As always, I absolutely loved the way that Marissa Meyer worked in the details of the fairytale that she's retelling. In the case of Winter, we're looking at Snow White. (Cinder = Cinderella; Scarlet = Little Red Riding Hood; Cress = Rapunzel) It is always obvious when she's mimicking the main storylines from the fairytales, but I never really know how she's going to work those details in. Of course, my favorite aspect of this retelling is probably her take on the dwarves.

Of course, it isn't just Snow White that we're dealing with here. Marissa Meyer has to wrap up the series arc as well. Will Levana finally get what's coming to her? Will Cinder, aka Princess Selene, finally get what's rightfully hers? Will everyone end up in a happily ever after--especially considering that each character finds themselves in mortal peril at some point or other? Will everyone survive? I do have to say that I was happy with all of the answers to these questions. There was one aspect at the very very end of the book that felt entirely hasty and really not my favorite decision for Marissa Meyer to have made. It very much reminded me of The Crown by Kiera Cass.

All in all, I'm giving Winter 4 Stars. It was probably my least favorite of the series, despite being the ending point of all of these well-loved characters. Truthfully that only can be said based on how much I loved the prior books in the series. While I still liked Winter a lot, she was also my least favorite heroine. And even though I wouldn't classify Winter as slow like I feared it would be, it is still LONG. Nevertheless, Winter was a good end to an excellent series. Other than that one little thing at the very end that annoyed me I had no real complaints. Have you read Winter? What did you think? Let me know! ...more

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Jan 13, 2017 Think rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: books-loved, own-e-book, 2016-reads, own-hardcover

Of course, I thought it was awesome! This series is one of my all time favorites. And Meyer has definitely become a dependable author for me. I can't wait to read more of her stuff! ...more

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Oct 27, 2015 Savanes rated it it was amazing

Shelves: 2015, gcac-16, own-copy

5 stars!! Maybe it's not the best book of the universe but it's a d**n good ending to a great series. It kept me turning pages and sleeping way too little! :) ...more

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Feb 07, 2022 JULIA rated it liked it

I set a goal to finish reading this 4 book series because I never did back in 2015. After rereading the first three books I remembered why I lost interest but I was determined to stick it out this time. Whew! I’m so glad it’s over.

I enjoyed the first two books as quick, fun, inventive, charming, and youthful fairy tales. Book three showed that the publisher was just too eager to keep the fans engaged and buying books. You can tell Cress was rushed for publication. It’s overlong and contained sl I set a goal to finish reading this 4 book series because I never did back in 2015. After rereading the first three books I remembered why I lost interest but I was determined to stick it out this time. Whew! I’m so glad it’s over.

I enjoyed the first two books as quick, fun, inventive, charming, and youthful fairy tales. Book three showed that the publisher was just too eager to keep the fans engaged and buying books. You can tell Cress was rushed for publication. It’s overlong and contained sloppy writing tics that could easily have been fixed with a stronger editorial hand. But if book three was riddled with problems, book 4 was absolutely bloated with them.

Malapropisms jerk you out of the story. Thorn raises his “questionable,” not “questioning,” eyebrows. (An image of over plucked eyebrows briefly made me laugh.) Combatants launch into the “foray” of battle, not “fray.” And don’t even get me started on Winter exclaiming “I will be a vestibule of sanity.” Vestibule? Really?

Cinder also magically loses her ability to determine whether a guard is lying to her. Mostly so she can wail “nooooo…!” and cry. Continuity, folks!

Some of the more egregious issues (and what made me want to DNF this series again):
Each heroine (except thank goodness for Scarlet) whined and moaned about every bad thing being their fault. And it went on and on, a grinding self-flagellation that had to be endured before we could get back to the action. Every character would drop, collapse, fight until they were “completely unable to go on.” Only then in the next moment, they would get up and go on. As a tool for ratcheting up suspense, that trick only works the first 1-2 times. At the 40-50th time it just made me roll my eyes and imagine the 824 page book 300 pages shorter (and better) without all that nonsense.
The action was a hamster wheel of run, hide, get caught and held by Levana, fight, get free, run, hide, … start over.

One last thing… Queen Lavana was always a cardboard cutout of a Disney evil queen wannabe. We all knew she was using a glamor to make herself more beautiful. But I was disappointed and uncomfortable when Cinder taped her and exposed her real face. Bad plot choice, MM.

I gave this 2-star book an extra star for the great bones hiding under all the unedited crap. ...more

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Mar 29, 2013 Jen (NerdifiedJen) rated it it was amazing

I keep changing my mind between 4 and 5 stars. I guess my rating is 4.5. I thought it was a good ending for the series and the Snow White aspects were interesting, probably more well done than the Cinderella aspects.

It seems so odd to say, considering how long this book was, but I kind of wanted a little bit more for each of the central characters - perhaps a little more fleshing out of some of the off-screen scenes. I also want the whole crew back together going on space adventures, so maybe wh ...more

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