Synopsis From Goodreads:
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?
What I Thought:
I absolutely would not consider myself a fan of fairytale retellings. I wasn't a Disney kid growing up (I know, shocking, same reason I wasn't a potter head) so the idea of a new Cinderella did not impress me at all. In fact I hadn't even discovered this series until Cress was released which was actually perfect for me. I would rather read a series when it's completed anyway as I detest waiting.
ICYMI, Winter by Marissa Meyer is the final conclusion to the Lunar Chronicles series. Cinder, a mistreated cyborg turned out to be the lost princess Selene of Luna. Cinder fights her way to regain her throne picking up a hosts of unlikely quirky and loyal allies along the way, to save both Earth and Luna of the evil Queen Levana.
There are a huge hosts of characters! Each of them unique, intriguing and feels needed for the plot.
Of course we have Cinder. Her life has been truly terrible if you think about it. Her mom died before she could even remember her. Her only living relative, her aunt Levana tried to kill her. In saving her life she was separated from the only person who might have loved her, Winter. And put here on Earth to be stuck with Adri and Pearl. (yuck) verbally abused and unloved until one day her life has meaning. She has a reason to fight to live, to learn to love. Her relationship with Kai was sweet.
Kai the handsome Prince is exactly what you would expect of a Disney Prince. Attractive, kind, gentle and fair with his people. Determined to fight for his people to do what needs to be done. A little mischievous. Obviously a super cool person to have loved Cinder when she was just a dirty mechanic. Before she was a cyborg, lunar or queen.
Scarlet had the smartest mouth. Her loyalty of her friends and family really shined through. Always willing to jump into battle. When she didn't even know Cinder well. And she FELL IN LOVE WITH THE BIG BAD WOLF!!! You go girl!
Cress and Thorne are so adorable. Talk about the sweet soft-spoken kind girl to tame the big mouthed play boy. Cress was probably one of my favorite characters. By the time her book came around I'd already started to get to know Cinder and Scarlet and the world in which they lived. So Cress felt like a natural addition that was always meant to be. Her personality less jump into the fight felt so right. Like the natural normal instinct unlike Cinder and Scarlet. Cress is exactly how I imagine I'd act. And her skill is ridiculous. Invaluable. There is no way they could have done any of that without Cress.
Winter makes me melt with happiness. First of all she represents a minority. She's been physically abused, by her stepmother. Everyone knows it and can do nothing about it. The experience has made her detest manipulation to the point of hallucinations. She see's and hears and feels things that aren't there. If not for a protector she probably would have died because she did not seem to care much for her own life. PTSD? And yet you love her. You LOVE Winter. I don't feel pity for Winter because she feels more than I do. She inspires me to be a better person. She was endless and unconditionally kind. Humble, so humble. I am happy to see such a disease used in an epic war battle. She made Damsel in Distress not look so bad.
I can't leave out Iko, she'd be thoroughly annoyed. We must all have a faulty personality chip because she sounded incredibly human with her wide range of emotions and sarcastic responses. I also can't leave out Jacin, even though he wouldn't even care. The only thing Jacin would care about it Winter.
Each character came together to make this plot work. Cinders plan was full of failures, left and right. With every mission someone got hurt or captured. The first half of the book was kind of slow. I get it, building the scene. We had to truly understand why everyone loved Winter. But the second half really picks up. Every time I held my breath I though it'd get better when their chances seemed to only get worse. There were a bit too many death defying scenes towards the end battle. But the ending felt so final and satisfying.
