BOOK REVIEW: Winter (Lunar Chronicles #4) by Marissa Meyer

***Just a note about this review: there are no spoilers for Winter, but there are a few spoilers about hoe Cress left off.***

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?

I cannot believe that this series over. I am in serious denial. This may be the worst book hangover to date.

This was the BEST, MOST AMAZING finale I have ever read. I am a fast reader and I tried really, REALLY hard to slow my reading down on this one. I wanted to savor every single word. But I had a problem: I COULD NOT PUT IT DOWN.

Even though I read Cress just a few months ago, it still took me a minute to remember how everything ended. Thorne was still blind, Kai had been “kidnapped” by Cinder and her crew, and everyone was devastated when Levana took Scarlet prisoner. And then there was Winter. If I could change one thing about this book, it would be to have more of Winter! I did not realize that her tale would basically be a retelling of Snow White and it was epic. Her guard, Jacin, grew up with her and was in love with her. There was one scene where they had this epic kiss. And I mean it when I say it was HOT. The scene itself kind of broke my heart. Winter was suffering from Lunar sickness she refused to use her gift. I loved her character as much as I loved the others. I loved seeing all the couples and all of the friendships again. This little group had the best bond that no one, even evil Queen Levana, could break.

Another thing that I loved about this book was that the entire thing took place on Luna. Marissa Meyer gets an A+ with world building. I was fascinated to read about the extravagant palace and the lower class citizens in the outsectors and we learned a lot more about how Luna politics worked.

The first few chapters moved a little on the slow side. Not much was happening, except that Marissa Meyer was kind of easing us back into her world and reintroducing us to all of the characters and where everyone was. But after the first few chapters, there was NONSTOP ACTION. This book was over 800 pages and I would not change a single one. Marissa Meyer did not let me breathe at all. There were so many twists and turns that I was getting whiplash. 

Everyone kept getting separated and then reunited and then separated again. Every single character was in mortal danger at some point (duh) and I really hoped that Meyer was not going to break my heart with one of my favorite characters. There was not just action though. There was also some romance. I was OBSESSED with Cress and Thorne! They were my favorite couple by far and I just wanted them to admit how much they loved each other. Their kiss was probably as amazing as Winter and Jacin's. Ahhh . . . so much romance!!!

There was so much happening in this book and I was so afraid about the resolution. There were so many times when it seemed like Levana had won. But this finale had the most satisfying endings I have ever read. And the fight at the climax of the book where everything came to a boiling point was EPIC. Best fight ever.

I was so sad when I finished this book because I just did not want to let go of any of these characters. Thankfully, Marissa Meyer has a short story collection with some of these characters coming out next year. I will be first in line to buy that one! In the meantime, I have to go recover from the intense roller coaster that this book put me on.

Buy/Borrow/Skip: Is there even a question with this one?/ BUY IT IMMEDIATELY!!!