★★★★★ 5/5 Stars
Published by Feiwel & Friends
Published November 10th, 2015
Synopsis: 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 friends - 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 have absolutely no words to describe how wonderful this finale was - 823 pages of pure genius. Marissa Meyer, you beautiful author you. You know how to write a story, lemme tell ya. Winter was able to grab me by the throat and nonstop drag me through these pages like a reckless monster. I was indulging in these pages like a child at a candy shop. It was absolutely impossible to put this book down, and it was even more impossible to think "this is it, this is the end of the Lunar Chronicles!" It has been such a long time since I felt happy and at ease with the way a series ended, that I can't help but put this series on a pedestal above all others and just praise it.
To refrain from spilling any important spoilers, I will keep this review as short and simple as possible, but first I have to talk about my main girl Winter. Oh Winter, you beautiful girl, you had me wrapped around your finger the entire book. Winter is the type of person in which you feel blessed to be in the presence of. She is kindhearted, gentle, sweet as a lollipop, and exactly what the squad needed. Along with Winter, we learn more of Jacin and his personality. Jacin, though a jerk in Cress (which trust me, I found amusing), took a 180 and was totally invested in the protection and well-being of Winter. We experience a softer side of Jacin that was unknown in the first three books, and I can't help but want to hug him. Plus, did you guys see that fan art of him? Boy oh boy, is he handsome. These two are such a power couple, it's crazy to watch their dynamics and see their story unfold.
The Lunar Chronicles has to be one of my favorite series of all time. I was able to binge read it within the span of the month, and I just gotta say because of that, November was a fantastic reading month for me. This past Sunday I read 500+ pages of Winter because, one, I love to procrastinate my homework and two, just the mere idea of putting it down was wholly absurd and impractical. My praise of this series will live on and I just cannot wait for Stars Above, a series of novellas set in the Lunar Chronicles world. Thank you Marissa Meyer, for this extraordinary retelling of four fairytales that were a prominent part of my childhood. This journey has been epic and I cannot express that enough.
and they all lived happily to the end of their days ...