“‘Can Cinder, Scarlet, Cress, and Winter defeat Levana and find their happily ever afters?’ Princess Winter is admired for her grace and kindness, and despite the scars that mar her face, her beauty is said to be even more breath-taking than that of her stepmother, Queen Levana. Winter despises her stepmother and knows Levana won't approve of her feelings for he childhood friend, the handsome palice guard Jacin. But Winter isn't as weak 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 find the power to launch a revolution and win a war that's been raging for far too long.”
What is the book about?
Princess Winter has no royal blood and can never be queen but her stepmother still believes she is a threat because of how much the people love her. They all admire her for her beauty, kindness and grace despite the scars that Levana inflicted on her to try to hide that the young princess was growing even more beautiful than her. Winter is also believed to be weak and crazy because she is unwilling to use her Lunar powers like everyone else on Luna. She doesn't want to manipulate anyone and people see this as weakness instead of strength. Everyone, including her closest friend Jacin (a royal guard who she wishes would be more than just her friend, even though her stepmother would never allow it), believes she needs protecting and she is helpless and useless, but she is so much stronger than they think. When she finds herself in the presence of the cyborg Cinder and her allies, Winter realises she might even be strong enough to help with the revolution and be able to help finally win the war against Levana. The final battle is coming and, if they win, Cinder, Winter and their friends will finally be free of Levana and will get their happy endings.
What were your initial thoughts on the book?
I was very excited to read this final book in the Lunar Chronicles series, though I was also sad to finally see it end. I didn't quite know what to expect of this final (very chunky) book but I was quite confident that I would enjoy it and would find it to be just as good as all the previous books in the series. Before I started reading the Lunar Chronicles series I wasn't quite sure what to expect and I didn't realise what an adventure it would be. When I saw that Rach of the books had a title that reflected a new female main character that would be introduced I was initially worried that the books wouldn't really flow into each other and that it would be individual stories, just like most of the fairy tale retellings I've read have been like. However, by the time I got to the end of Cress I was no longer worried and was so happy to find that this series had been so much more interesting and enjoyable than I ever thought it would be. I knew Winter would be great and I was surprised at how quickly I started to love the book, especially as I had found it more difficult to start each book and get back into the flow of things. This last book was amazing and I am so sad to see it all end.
Who was your favourite character and why?
My favourite character in this book was definitely Winter, though I loved many other characters in the book and whole series. Winter was a bit of an odd girl and was definitely going mad from not using her Lunar powers for years. However, when she wasn't hallucinating, there were many moments where it was clear why this girl was loved by the whole of Luna. She was kind and sweet and also incredibly brave and smart. The fact that she chose not to use her powers was one of the clear pieces of evidence for this, as she chose to sacrifice her own mind, her own life, so that she would never hurt or manipulate anyone again. The story of why she stopped using her power was so heartbreaking, but it was clear that she was happy with her decision and she would never manipulate anyone for her own gain, even if she lost her mind in her process. Secondly, when she was faced with a chance to overthrow her stepmother and put a better queen on the throne, she was ready and she didn't back down. She might have been crazy to some and her decisions may have seemed absurd, but she knew what she was doing. The hope she had for her people and the belief she possessed that everyone could be good, even the monsters Levana created made me love her even more. She was brave and crazy, but her strange quirks just made me love her more.
What was your favourite part of the book and why?
The whole of Winter was so good and I loved reading every second of it, however I definitely have a favourite part and it's definitely the very end after the final confrontation in the book. I don't want to say much about it as I don't want to spoil anything but the main reason I loved it was because of how I felt reading it. It was perfect and beautiful and I found that everything fell into place so well and everything that I wanted came true. It could have gone so wrong but it didn't. It honestly made me feel so happy and just the feeling I got when reading it was enough to make me love it. There were loads of other moments in the book where I felt the same joy, like when characters were reunited after ages apart, however this was one of the biggest. I loved it and I honestly am so glad it didn't end as disastrously as it could have done becaus I don't think I could have taken it.
What was your overall impression of the book?
Overall, I really enjoyed reading this book and loved finally reaching the end of this amazing series, though I am sad to finally see it go. One thing that I really loved about the book was how every character that I had met and every one of the main characters that I had grown to love came together in this final book. It felt so surreal to see how all of these characters found their way back to each other in the end, for the final battle, despite the many times they found themselves being separated and tortured in different ways. It was perfect that in the end they all came back together to make their final stand against Levana. It would all end in that moment, one way or another, but at least they were all together. Another thing that I really liked was the romance and how each of the couples that I had started to ship finally become canon. Even though I didn't get many romantic scenes throughout these 4 books, this final book had the final perfect scenes that actually mattered and that was more than enough to make me happy, though I wish I could see more of the characters. Although Winter was an amazing book and the ending was (mostly) perfect, there was one slight thing that made it a little less intense and perfect. In the end, I found it to be a little bit underwhelming and I didn't enjoy how the final battle, the one that had been built up throughout the book ended. I also found that it was a little unrealistic that after fighting for their lives for months and constantly finding themselves in life or death situations, no one actually died, at least none of the important characters. Although I'm not complaining that I didn't have the heartbreaking experience of losing another fictional friend, it definitely made the reading experience a bit unrealistic and disappointing. I find that the best books are those that break my heart and there could have definitely been more of that in this book.
Which is your favourite book in the Lunar Chronicles series? (1, 2, 3 or 4)
Overall, I really loved reading the whole Lunar Chronicles series and I found that I enjoyed every one of the 4 books, however I think that my favourite book is probably Cress. One reason I enjoyed Cress more than the other books was that it was the first book where it felt like the real story and the real war had begun. It was clear that they weren't just planning anymore and they had started to execute their plan and begin to try to bring down Queen Levana. Although Winter clearly also had all these elements and was the main book with the plan starting to take place, I definitely found that I enjoyed Cress more than Winter. I found that Winter was a lot harder to read as it was a lot thicker and obviously took much longer to read because of this. Not only that but I found that I was slightly disappointed by the ending of the final novel and it could have been a more interesting final confrontation. However, overall Winter was great, but I just found that Cress stood out more to me and it was definitely my favourite. Honestly I'm just sad to see the series end and am so surprised at how much I enjoyed it, especially as I wasn't quite sure about it before I started.
Would you recommend this book?
I definitely recommend reading Winter and the whole Lunar Chronicles series in general. These are the perfect books for lovers of romance, dystopian fiction and fairy tale retellings with a twist.
Summarise the book in one sentence. (Verdict)
The stunning and action-packed final novel of a romance and dystopian fiction series.
Reviewed by Jimena Gutierrez Reviriego
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