Winter By Marissa Meyer (Spoiler Free Review)

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author, book, book reviews, books, characters, cinder, Cinder by Marissa Meyer, cress, Epic Fantasy, Fairytale retelling, fantasy, fiction, Ice Like Fire, Ice Like Fire by Sara Raasch, literature, Lunar Chronicles, magic, magic system, Marissa Meyer, novel, plot, read, reader, review, Sara Raasch, Scarlett, sci-fi, science fiction, snow like ashes, Snow Like Ashes by Sara Raasch, stories, story, who dies in cinder winter, who dies in lunar chronicles winter, who dies in winter, winter by Marissa Meyer, winter cinder spoilers, winter spoilers, world building, write, writer, writing, young adult

Genre: Science Fiction, Young Adult, Fairytale Retelling

Pages: 827

Point of View: Third Person (Winter, Jacin, Cinder, Kai, Cress, Thorn, Scarlet, Wolf, Lavana, Iko, and one more)

Released: November 10th 2015

Series: Cinder 4

Predictability: 5 out of 5 (Where 1 is totally unpredictable and 5 is I knew what was going to happen way ahead of time.)

Source: Library

My Rating: 7/10 Stars

My Summary:

Winter is the beautiful princess of Luna. Since she refuses to use her Lunar powers of deception, she’s slowly losing her mind.

Cinder and her friends are on their way to Luna to stop the evil Queen Levana once and for all.

Spoiler free review! (Even if you haven’t read Cinder) You will be warned before the tiniest of spoilers! 

Click here to find out who dies in Winter! (This obviously has spoilers!)

My Review:

I am the oddball. Again. Everyone loved this book. Except me. I LOVED this series! It’s one of my favorites! I had such high expectations for this book! I was disappointed.

The Good:

It was nice to finally see Luna. The moon and the domed cites were cool! And the crazy Lunar fashions which incorporated their Illusion abilities.

I wasn’t sure if I’d like Winter based on her part in Cress. I was worried about the crazy thing, but I found myself wanting to get back to her parts! I especially enjoyed her banter with Jacin!

Iko got to narrate!!! It was great!! I need more! How about a whole Iko book, okay?

The Bad:

I know Snow White is the Fairest of them all, but it got annoying how often we were told. Winter is so so pretty. Her scars only make her prettier.

I read this 800 page book quickly, but it did feel a touch long. Some sections could’ve been tightened up a bit. (Like Kai’s parts. They were just boring.)

This series has been predictable, but it’s just been the major plot points. In this one almost everything was predictable! It felt like the author was just going through the motions to me.

The writing just wasn’t as good and the plot got repetitive.

If you want to go into this book blind, skip to the conclusion! (Small Spoilers!)

Which couple is going to be separated next, so they can be reunited and have a moment?

There were quite a few romantic moments. Maybe it’s because I just read a Rowell book, but none of them were that amazing. Big romantic scene and I’m all ‘meh, okay.’

Some previously smart characters acted idiotically! Example:

Your friend is fighting someone with mind control powers, you’re easily controlled, so what do you do? Go to ‘help’ of course! *facepalm*

It wasn’t only stupid good guys:

Levana left her top secret research center unlocked and virtually unguarded. Seriously?!

I am mostly mad about what she did to one of the characters! I was so angry with the book I set it aside for the day. I couldn’t believe she would do that! I could rant all day about how that ruined this book, but I won’t. (Click here to find out what I mean. Spoilers!)

Conclusion:
I’m glad I read Winter and it was a quick enough read, but it wasn’t great or amazing like I hoped. Iko’s first POV chapter was terrific! And there were a few good moments, (especially between Winter and Jacin) But it wasn’t half as good as the other books! They were just so fantastic! With some really great lines! This one? Not so much. It just fell flat for me.

What books are you wishing for for Christmas?

I asked for Winter, Magnus Chase, and the Copper Gauntlet. I obviously couldn’t wait to read Winter. (Oops!)

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Top Ten Sequels I Can’t Wait To Get

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A Song of Ice and Fire, Discworld, Grisha, Lunar Chronicles, Magnus Chase, mortal instruments, Percy Jackson, Red Rising, Saga of Recluse, Sequels I Can't Wait To Get, top 10 tuesday, top ten tuesday

 

Two in a row! I wasn’t sure I could do it, but I manage not to procrastinate two weeks in a row! (Who else is shocked?)

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. They come up with top ten lists that people can blog about every week.

I usually wait until an entire series is released before jumping in, because I hate having to wait to find out what happens next and this way I can just binge read the entire thing! But there have been a few times this year when I actually read a book in a series before they were all out. (A couple of times I was tricked!) And some of these are series I’ve been reading for years and they just keep on going.

1. The Sword of Summer (Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard #1)

Expected Release Date: Oct 8, 2015

Okay so technically it’s book one, but I’m hoping Percy Jackson or Annabeth Chase make at least a cameo appearance. Riordan’s new book features Norse Mythology and stars Annabeth’s cousin Magnus.

He’s living on the streets when his uncle tracks him down and tells him he’s descendant from a Norse god. To prevent the end of the world (Ragnarok) Magnus has to search the nine realms for a weapon.

I mean Rick Riordan and Norse gods (secretly hoping for a Loki appearance) I just know this book is going to rock!

2. Winter & Fairest (The Lunar Chronicles #4 & 3.5)

Expected Release Dates: Fairest: Jan 27, 2015 Winter: Nov 1, 2015

I never expected to love Cinder, I mean cyborg Cinderella? But I do! And finally the last book is almost here! We also get a novella staring the evil queen Levana to tide us over for fall.

Things that need to happen: All of the couples live and are happy, obviously Levana is defeated and the Lunars freed. Cinder becomes queen of the moon and of New Beijing. Don’t want much, do I? Oh, and I want something nice for Iko too, she’s the best!

3. The Young Elites #2

Expected Release Date: ???

It doesn’t have a title yet, but I need it! The epilogue in the first one convinced me that the sequel is going to be even more epic than it’s predecessor!

4. Raising Steam (Discworld, #40)

Release Date: Nov 7, 2013 (Tiffany Aching: Unknown)

(I have a feeling Pratchett is going to make every one of my lists somehow.) Okay technically the next Discworld book that’s going to be released is The Shepherd’s Crown (Tiffany Aching, #5), but I’m not as big a fan of Tiffany as the regular Discworld and I still don’t own Raising Steam! (I’m hoping for Christmas) I’ve owned Thud since it came out, but I’m still saving it so technically that could be on my list too.

5. Six of Crows (The Dregs #1)

Expected Release Date: Oct 8, 2015

Yes, I know technically this is another first book of a series, but it’s in the Grisha universe, so I say it’s a sequel.

A crew of dangerous felonious misfits face impossible odds when they are pulled together to break into one of the most guarded places in the world. We have new setting, Kerch which is the opposite of Ravka and the center for all world trade. Also there will be a Grisha in the Dregs and the magic will be expanded upon.

My least favorite part of Shadow and Bone was the two “main characters” so I have high hopes for this novel, since it sounds like it’s staring people more like Sturmhound.

6. The Copper Gauntlet (Magisterium #2) / Lady Midnight (The Dark Artifices #1)

Expected Release Dates: Copper Gauntlet: 2015 Lady Midnight: Sept 2015

I loved the Iron Trial and I have high hopes for where the story’s going to go next! Since nothing’s been released about Copper Gauntlet, I’ll group it with Lady Midnight, which takes place five years after Mortal Instruments (See it is a sequel) and stars Emma Carstairs.

There are mysterious killings in the city and Emma is determined to investigate, because they are strangely similar to her parents deaths, but not only humans are being killed downworlders are too. After the fairy queen makes a deal, the shadow hunters stop whose doing this and they’re release Mark Blackthorn the stakes are higher than ever, because if they fail it means war. And they only have two weeks!

I don’t expect this to be as good as Mortal Instruments or Infernal Devices, but I’m hoping to see more of Tessa and Jem! I don’t like the sounds of her falling in love with her parabotai, I know it’s forbidden, and maybe she’ll convince me, but it’s not really doing it for me. I liked Mark much better!

7. Cyador’s Heirs & Heritage of Cyador (The Saga of Recluce #17 & #18)

Release Dates: May 20, 2014 & Nov 18, 2014

I know none of you have heard of these books, but I love Modesitte’s epic fantasys. (The Corean Chronicles is my favorite, followed by Recluse)

The novels in the Recluse Saga are written out of chronological order, but in pairs (can’t spell duologys) and I wait until both are out to read them. This story line takes place after Cyador fell, so sixth? chronologically. Another coming of age story with a young male protagonist who wields both chaos and order powers, but I know Modesitte will make it awesome!

8. Golden Son (Red Rising Trilogy #2)

Expected Release Date: Jan 6, 2015

I really liked the start of Red Rising and I expect Golden Son to be more like that. I have a feeling we’ll finally get to see the space battle I expected from the first one. My main problem with Red Rising was the main character, Darrow and I’m hoping that he matured through everything the first book put him through. ‘Now a part of the elite, Darrow tries to bring down their society from the inside.’ doesn’t tell me much, but the first novel was nothing like I expected, so I’m trying to go into this one without expectations.

9. Siren’s Fury (Storm Siren #2)

Expected Release Date: Jun 2, 2015

After that ending I needed more, but I’m not too eager to read this after the blurb. First it reveals something that was the main reason I wanted to read the book to find out. Then it tells us that the bad guy stole Nym’s powers. So the whole book is a quest for her to get new powers? I’m not so sure I care. The cover’s pretty though.

10. The Winds of Winter (A Song of Ice and Fire #6)

Expected Release Date: This Decade?

The first book came out in 1996 (That’s almost 20 years ago!) I want them to be good, but come on! I NEED to find out what happens already! It’s supposed to start with two epic battles and tying up all of thee to be continued-ness in the very beginning.

Honorable Mentions: Sequels I want, but there is literally no information on them yet.

Griever’s Mark 2 (My review of the first one) I loved this book and I NEED to find out what happens next!

Faerie Revolutions 2 (The Last Changeling) Another good book that left me wanting more.

The Shadow Ravens 2 (Cipher) I look forward to seeing what the other two authors will do with this interesting world.

Do you read series as they’re published or like me do you wait until they’re all released? What sequel is at the top of your for must have now list?

Book Review: The Lunar Chronicles By Marissa Meyer

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android, author, book, book reviews, books, Carswell Thorne, characters, cinder, cinderella, cress, cyborg, disease, dystopian, fairy tale, fairy tales, fiction, Iko, Kai, Levana, literature, little red riding hood, Lunar Chronicles, novel, plot, rapunzel, read, reader, reimagined, review, scarlet, science fiction, scifi, snow white, stories, story, winter, wolf, write, writer, writing

Cinder, Scarlet & Cress (Winter forthcoming)

Oddly enough the book I recommend most right now is Cinder, where Cinderella is a cyborg. Seriously that’s the plot, but it’s a good book honest.

The market is flooded with fairy tale retellings, and I almost didn’t read Cinder, but it looked popular on goodreads (and I found it on sale for $2) so I decided to give it a shot and I’m glad that I did.

Cinder is set after the fourth world war, where the world is divided into six kingdoms. Cinder is a mechanic living in the capital of New Beijing. The crown prince, Kai comes to her to have his android fixed. She keeps it a secret from him that she’s a cyborg, because cyborgs are looked down upon and have few rights.

Yes, Cinder has an evil step-mother, her legal guardian who practically owns her, and two step-sisters, but only one is evil and she’s really more bratty than evil. And of course there is a ball coming up, which both the stepsisters are preparing for, but that’s where the Cinderella plotline ends.

The plague that has swept the globe has come to New Beijing and Prince Kai’s father, the emperor, has been diagnosed with the disease. There’s no cure and it has a 100% mortality rate. Desperate to combat the disease, the government issued the cyborg draft. Cyborgs, considered less than human, are used as unwilling test subjects.

As if that wasn’t enough for the young prince to deal with, the evil Lunar queen is threatening war if her demands are not met, and one of those demands is to marry the prince. Her spaceships aren’t even her biggest threat. Lunars, the people who colonized the moon, have evolved into a separate race with the ability to create glamours and bend others to their will.

The Lunar Chronicles has excellent world building, an interesting plot, and good characters. (My favorite character is one of the minor ones, Iko, an android with a personality as the result of faulty programming.) A couple of the reveals which were supposed to be a surprising twist were rather predictable in this series, but it didn’t hurt the overall story for me.

The second book stars Scarlet as re-imagined red riding hood and a man with a shady past called wolf. This was my least favorite of the series, because it felt more like a side story with most of the book focusing on two new characters. I kept yelling at my book ‘Where’s Cinder? Get back to Cinder!’ As you can tell it took me a while to warm up to Scarlet. I understand she was going through a rough situation, her grandmother had been kidnapped after all, but it annoyed me when all she did was stress and complain. Scarlet gets better, mostly through her interactions with wolf, and towards the end the action really picks up.

Cress, re-imagined Rapunzel, is trapped on a satellite instead of a tower. I liked her character right away, and it’s nice that we get to learn more about Carswell Thorne. Cress doesn’t feel like a side story the way Scarlet did, because much more happens to advance the plot of the trilogy. I feel like the author really followed the ‘what would be the worst thing I can have happen to this character now?’ method of writing for this book. I can’t say too much about Cress without spoilers, but it’s almost as good as Cinder.

Cinder 9/10 stars

Scarlet 7/10 stars

Cress 8/10 stars

I’d recommend all three books, but I have no idea which books to compare them to, because they’re just so unique. Maybe dystopian, because the main plot features a world in chaos and characters that are trying to make things better.

Now I can’t wait for Winter! (Never thought I’d say that, I hate the cold.)

Do you like fairy tale retellings? Usually I don’t, but Cinder is a happy exception. (and Grimm)