Review: Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) by Marissa Meyer

Title: Winter
Author: Marissa Meyer
My rating: 5 perfect, emotional, sad-that-it's-over hearts
Genre: Young Adult, Science Fiction, Romance
Publication date: November 10th 2015
Publisher: Feiwel and Friends
Synopsis: 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? (synopsis from Goodreads)

"This is not the fairy tale you remember. But it's one you won't forget."

My thoughts: That sentence at the back of the book is such a fitting description! What an ending! That ending was way better than I’d expected (and I’d expected a whole lot, considering how awesome the other books were). I can't believe it's really over! I love the characters, although, I have to admit, I was a bit disappointed in Winter and Jacin, considering how much I’ve loved the other couples, I’d expected a bit more. It wasn’t that they weren’t good characters, don’t get me wrong, they were, but their chemistry just wasn’t as… well, perfect, as it had been with the other couples.

It was like reconnecting with an old friend

We get more of Cinder, Kai, Scarlet, Wolf, Cress and Thorne (I love Thorne, he is such an awesome character). You know that feeling when you meet a friend you haven’t seen in forever, and then you reconnect and remember why you’re such good friends? That’s what it was like to pick this book up. I’ve really missed all the characters, and I’ve waited to read this so long, I needed to know what would happen with everyone, if they would get their happily ever afters (I am a sucker for HEAs).

   We also meet two new characters, as usual – Winter and Jacin. Winter is kind of crazy, because she hasn’t used her Lunar gift since she was a kid, because she doesn’t want to trick people. She thinks manipulating people like that, even if it is to help, is wrong and that it never ends well, that there is no such thing as a small, innocent manipulation. I like Winter, how she cares so much for the Lunars, even though they aren’t her people, and she has no obligation to help them. She does it because she cares. She cares about everyone. Winter was, as all other characters, a good character.

   Jacin loves Winter, and he’ll do anything for her, no matter how dangerous and, sometimes (okay, pretty often) crazy, her ideas are. He’s trying his best to hide his feelings for her, though, to protect her from Levana.

   I liked both the new additions; they were great characters, as I’ve grown used to by Meyer.

We finally get to see Luna!

I’ve been waiting for this moment since I started reading Cinder. I am really interested in space, everything to do with space, so seeing how Meyer imagined the Lunars, and Luna itself, was a wonderful experience. The world-building was so great, and I could really see everything when I read. It felt so real, even though they were mostly on the moon, where I’ve never been (but how cool would that not be?).

   I also loved the plot, it was easy to get into, and once I got into the book, and this world, once again, I was stuck. This has been the case with every one of her books so far, and Winter was no different. It was fast-paced, but there were still some quiet moments. Meyer managed the balance between action and quiet perfectly.

   I couldn’t have wished for a better ending of the series, but there is so much I will miss.

   I will miss the banter between Cinder and Thorne.

   I will miss Iko.

   I will miss Kai (so swoon-worthy!)

   I will miss all the relationships and friendships.

   I will miss the world Meyer has created.

   Maybe I should start re-reading the series, to mend my broken heart after finishing the series. This series is one of the best (possibly the best) retellings I've ever read. If you haven't read this yet, you need to pick it up, like, now, because you're seriously missing out!