Review: Winter by Marissa Meyer

Winter

Author: Marissa Meyer
Series: The Lunar Chronicles #4
Publisher: Feiwel and Friends
Genre: YA Science Fiction/Fairytale Retelling
Format: Hardcover
Release Date: November 10, 2015
Source: Bought
Rating: 5 Billion Stars
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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?

My Review:

I don’t think there’s any possible way for me to do this book justice. To say that this book is incredible is a massive understatement. There is no word in the English language that describes how amazing this book is. Marissa Meyer is an evil genius who took me on an emotional roller coaster ride. She yanked my emotions back and forth for 823 pages. I felt exhausted after I finished this book, exhausted and emotionally drained. And you know what? I loved every god damn second of it.

We’ve all been waiting a year and a half for this book. I remember when the release date for Winter got pushed back six months. SIX MONTHS!!! I thought I would die. I think I almost did. But it was well worth the wait. Well worth the agony. I’m not going to say too much about this book because well…spoilers. I’m not about to spoil a single thing for you guys because that just wouldn’t be cool. So here are a few reasons why this is one of the best books I’ve ever read:

• The characters: With eight main characters you would think that you would have your favorites, but that’s not the case here. I love each and every one of these characters equally. I could never pick a favorite because they are all so awesome individually. And the way they all come together in this glorious finale and work as a team to defeat the worst villain ever? Perfection.

• The plot: So intricately crafted, not a plot hole in sight. Marissa wraps everything up beautifully. I love all the layers to this plot that we’ve seen throughout the course of the series and Winter was able to add new layers and still have a solid conclusion to every plotline.

• The pacing: The whole series has been really fast-paced, but Winter was like holy shit what the fuck could possibly happen next? And then something else happens and you’re a train derailing and flying out of control and you’re on the edge of your seat, literally holding your breath (I think I almost died at the end because I held my breath for like two straight chapters) and praying that none of your precious characters die.

• The journey: This was NOT an easy journey for these characters. Every time I thought it couldn’t possibly get worse in this book, something would happen and IT WOULD GET WORSE. My heart can’t handle this, Marissa. But even though this was actual torture, I loved it. I hate when things are too easy and this wasn’t. Levana is a formidable opponent and Marissa made sure to show us that.

• The Snow White retelling: I love all the retellings in this series, but this one is definitely my favorite. I LOVED the Snow White parallels. It was in line enough with the original fairytale, but also different enough to make it super interesting. It was flawless.

• The humor: In the darkest moments, in the most horrible situations you can imagine, in times where you think there is no hope, that it's over, Marissa can make you laugh with characters like Iko and Thorne. Just when I'm about to give up and wallow in despair one of them would say something that would have me cracking up. It would instantly brighten my mood and perfectly balanced out the darkness prevalent in this book.

• The feels: OMG SO MANY FREAKING FEELS. I was a hot mess of emotion the whole time reading. I was leaving my friend, Wendy, voice messages the whole time and I’m pretty sure it’s all nonsensical, ramblings, flails and generally freaking out. And I’m not sorry about it. Remember when I said this was an emotional roller coaster? I wasn’t exaggerating. One minute I was angry, the next sad, the next just freaking the fuck out, then I would be swooning, then happy and then the cycle would start all over again.

In short, this book is epic and if you haven’t started this series, you are seriously missing out on life. Trust me on this people. This is one of the most intense, feels-inducing books/series I have ever read. Now please stop reading this and go read the books. 

Have you read Winter yet? Did you love it just as much as me? If you want to talk spoilers email me at lockhartbecca@gmail.com! Not convinced? Check out my #1 reason you should this series post.