Review: Winter by Marissa Meyer

Series: The Lunar Chronicles Book #4

Format: Hardcover

Pages: 827

Rating: 4 Stars

How I Got It: Christmas Gift

Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Sci-Fi

Publisher: Feiwel & Friends

Synopsis courtesy of Goodreads

Princess Winter is admired by the Lunar people for her grace and kindness, and despite the scars that mark 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? Fans will not want to miss this thrilling conclusion to Marissa Meyer's national bestselling Lunar Chronicles series.

Review

I only put off reading this for at least a year. It was a good conclusion, but a little long and drawn out for me. Seeing all of the characters come together was fun. And it did make me want to re-read the other books which is always a good sign.

I thought I remembered hearing people say they didn't like Winter as a character. I really enjoyed her and would've like more about her and Lunar sickness. Oh, Jacin, too. I want more development/information about him.

The big surprise for me was Iko and Scarlet. I remember being an Iko fan before, but she is definitely my favorite now. I could just read about her doing anything. Scarlet was never my favorite, but she really became interesting in this one. I especially liked her relationship and interactions with Winter.

Cinder had some America Singer moments here. She made some irrational and emotional decisions that hurt the "revolution". There's just only so many times that can be a source of conflict for me.

Overall, I'm happy with this series and would read it again.

Thanks for reading!

Holly

Review: Cress by Marissa Meyer

Series: Lunar Chronicles Book #3
Format: Hardcover
Pages: 550
Rating: 4 Stars
How I Got It: Purchased
Genre: Sci-Fi, Fairytale Retellings
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends

Synopsis courtesy of Goodreads

In this third book in the Lunar Chronicles, Cinder and Captain Thorne are fugitives on the run, now with Scarlet and Wolf in tow. Together, they’re plotting to overthrow Queen Levana and her army.

Their best hope lies with Cress, a girl imprisoned on a satellite since childhood who's only ever had her netscreens as company. All that screen time has made Cress an excellent hacker. Unfortunately, she’s just received orders from Levana to track down Cinder and her handsome accomplice.

When a daring rescue of Cress goes awry, the group is separated. Cress finally has her freedom, but it comes at a high price. Meanwhile, Queen Levana will let nothing prevent her marriage to Emperor Kai. Cress, Scarlet, and Cinder may not have signed up to save the world, but they may be the only hope the world has.

 
Review

This one had a lot more allusions to it's fairytale than the first two books. Or maybe I just notice them more because I'm very familiar with this fairytale. I did really enjoy the story, but I'm not all cockoo for coco puffs over it the way the internet seems to be.

Normally, stories that have a ton of POVs bothers me, but this works. I like that just because this is Cress's story she isn't the only one. Kai and Scarlet and Cinder's stories all continue. And Ms. Meyer did a good job of pacing the different POVs so that they came at the right time.

Cress is a very nice girl. Obviously she was sheltered, but she was also strong. There's so much she had to go through and she did it without complaint.

The way people talk about Thorne I thought he would be more swoon-worthy. I do like him and think he's generally a good person beneath the arrogance and sarcasm. But I think I like Kai more than him. I hope that's not blasphemy.

I'm really into the plot in this series. There's some mystery and suspense. I never know what Queen Levana is going to do and it makes me nervous when she shows up. There were some more things revealed and I am very interested in Winter as a character.

One thing that really impressed me was Ms. Meyer's use of humor. I wouldn't say this is a funny book, but there is a good amount of humor to lighten up the mood when needed.

Oh, and I love Iko. I mean I've always liked her, but she is just so amazing. She's funny and endearing. Seriously, if she dies somehow I'm going to be pissed. Anyone else can bite it, but not her. Don't spoil Winter for me.

Thanks for reading!
Holly

Sisters Red by Jackson Pearce

Retellings #1

Format: Paperback

Pages: 342

Rating: 2 Stars

How I Got It: Purchased

I really wanted to like this, but ended up being a disappointment. And I really only skimmed the last one hundred pages, because I couldn’t get invested in the world, plot, or characters. In fact, the characters fell particularly flat.

Scarlet was the only character I actually liked, but she had no development. Plus, I felt like she was sort of a second villain—always holding Rosie back. I completely sympathize with Rosie’s desire to do more but she came of as immature and childish.

There were two main plots in my opinion. First, is the romance between Rosie and Silas. I didn’t buy them as a couple at all. Plus, there’s the fact that she’s 16 and he’s 21. And no one brings this up as a potential problem. The other plot point follows the wolves. The big reveal was incredibly obvious and I didn’t think it was able to carry a story this long.

All that being said, this is probably one of the more accurate re-tellings-from a theme stand point. The fenris are evil men who go after young girl-especially when those girls are available sexually. But I’m torn, because except for Rosie and Scarlet, all these women/girls are easily manipulated and hurt by these men. I would like to think we’ve moved beyond this.

I probably won’t read the other books in this series. If I do than I’ll just get them from the library. If you’ve read them and liked them or think I should give them a chance let me know.

Thanks for reading!

~Holly