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

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 am simultaneously heartbroken that The Lunar Chronicles are over and super, duper relieved because GOOD GOD this book is huge. I have no idea what I should talk about first, because everything was pretty much flawless (even though there were a couple things that I will mention later). The couples are all here, and excuse me while I cry over Scarlet and Wolf, please. I am also so, so ridiculously proud of Cinder. She accomplishes so much and gets hurt so badly, but she's still herself. Still her stubborn, sarcastic, heroic self. The book does, in fact, kind of focus on her more than in Scarlet and Cress. Cress gets so much stronger and braver (I'm really happy that she is portrayed as brave and strong even though she's not like Cinder or Scarlet), Thorne becomes the hero we all sort of knew he was, Iko is remains the quirky best friend, Winter is crazy strong and lovable (I love how she stays so loving and gentle despite all she goes through), and Jacin, that little prick, is actually a (selective) sweetheart. I AM SO PROUD OF EVERYONE. (And may I just say that my respect towards Kai has skyrocketed). And Cinder and Thorne have more sarcasm! Yes. I love it when they sass each other. I'm not disappointed about what happened. At all. Which is crazy, because with everything that happens you'd think at least one when get on my nerves. Don't get me wrong-- it is emotionally devastating and I'm pretty mentally exhausted right now. I'm probably going to be stuck in this haze for a couple days. But the things that happened seemed like they could and probably would if such a world existed. The ending felt like it was wrapped up in a pretty bow very, very quickly compared to everything else. But I wanted it so badly that I wasn't even mad. I mean, c'mon. Look at everything that they have all sacrificed! They all deserve to be happy, so that Scarlet and Wolf can be together on their little farm and eat tomatoes together. (I think tomatoes are the grossest things ever but each to their own). They all kind of go their own ways, but with bonds that will never be broken and friendships that will last for the rest of their lives. I could legit cry from how close they've all become. As always, Marissa Meyer's descriptions are flawless. The world of the Lunars is beautifully written and the emotions that the characters feel are written in such detailed beauty that you can't help but feel some of it yourself. One thing that became exhausting is the length. It's 800+ pages long. THAT IS TOO LONG. My head hurt, my eyes hurt, everything kind of hurt because I'm suicidal and have to read everything in one sitting. (In case you're wondering, no, I did not read it in one sitting, I read it in two). I finished this in a total of 7 or 8 hours. That's a little more than 100 pages per hour, each page packed with action and important information-- so, yes, my mind is currently numb, thanks for asking. My advice? You know how Marissa Meyer splits her books into littler books? Winter has five (FIVE. I am in disbelief). Read one each day. You'll finish it in 5 days, but you also won't feel like passing out afterwards. (Or you might, if the feels are just too much, which they probably will be). ALSO. Reading Fairest will help your understanding of what happens in this book. A lot. It's not like it's absolutely necessary, but, regarding Levana, you know so much more about why she does what she does. And it's not terribly long. (LIKE WINTER).