Winter by Marissa Meyer
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 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?
Review:
Winter is the final installment in the Lunar Chronicles series. Each installment adds a new main character; and this one focuses mostly on Winter (if you couldn’t tell be the title). The large cast of characters, and wrapping up all of their interconnecting stories, led to an impressively large novel at 823 pages. While it took longer to read, the pacing never slowed.
I thoroughly enjoyed this big finale. Meyer did a great job of wrapping up everyone’s story. None can compare to the fantastic character of Cinder, the horribly-burned princess turned cyborg. But Winter is another wonderfully complex character – a beautiful stepdaughter who refuses to use her mind control gift to the detriment of her mental faculties. This story is full of intrigue, drama, suspense, and (since these are fairy tale re-imaginings) romance. I absolutely love these science fiction takes on Cinderella, Red Riding Hood, Rapunzel, and Snow White.