Review: Winter by Marissa Meyer

Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) by Marissa Meyer
827 pages
Genre: Young Adult/Fantasy/Fairy Tale Retelling
Publisher: Feiwel and Friends
Source: The library
Purchase: Barnes & Noble | The Book Depository | Amazon
My Rating:

Goodreads Summary: 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?

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My Review

Winter is here. It is finally here! I put this baby on hold at the library months in advance so I would be sure to get the book first. I got it. I read it. I freaking loved it.

I have no idea if this review will be easy to understand or if it will be anything other than me gushing about this series, but I had to write one. I had to fangirl for Cress and Thorne with all the other shippers out there. 

Winter is a long book so it took me almost a week to read. At 827 pages, I am beyond happy to report that there was never a dull moment. Winter is a stunning conclusion to the wonder Lunar Chronicles series. I already want to re-read this series and I plan to as soon as I get these beauties for Christmas. ;)

There are a lot of lovable characters that adorn the pages of Winter. I can't even being to pick a favorite. I loved them all and I loved all the point of views. Even though I usually am not a fan of an abundance of point of views, I adored every single one, and together the main characters make one hell of a team. Winter is kind. Thorne is charming. Jacin is loyal. Cinder is dedicated. Cress is brave. Kai is smart. Iko is unique. Scarlet is fierce. Wolf is strong. As for Levana... she is insane.  As for the ships... I LOVE ALL THE SHIPS!!!!!  I am sure you will be enthralled by these character's story just as I was.

If you have enjoyed the previous books in this series I am sure you will enjoy this one as well. A lot happened in this book. There are ups and downs and lots of close calls. There are even some spectacular fairy tale moments. I can't wait to see what you all think of this one! I am very sad the series is over, but I plan to relive it again and again.

Review: Cress by: Marissa Meyer

Cress (The Lunar Chronicles #3) by: Marissa Meyer (Feb. 2014)

550 pages

Genre: YA/Sci-Fi/Fairy Tale Retelling

Publisher: Feiwel & Friends

Source: The Library

Purchase: Barnes and Noble | The Book Depository

Goodreads Summary: Rapunzel’s tower is a satellite. She can’t let down her hair—or her guard.

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

Their best hope lies with Cress, who has been trapped on a satellite since childhood with only 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 goes awry, the group is separated. Cress finally has her freedom, but it comes at a high price. Meanwhile, Queen Levana will let nothing stop her marriage to Emperor Kai. Cress, Scarlet, and Cinder may not have signed up to save the world, but they may be the only ones who can.

My Review

Cress is by far the best book in the Lunar Chronicles series. Cinder was just a nice read, Scarlet was a great read, and Cress was an amazing read. Each book just keeps getting better and better. I can’t wait to see what Winter brings to the table.

My very short review: SO MANY FEELS and the BEST SHIP EVER! (Obviously this review is going to be a big mash-up of praise and love and swoons.)

If you haven’t read this series I have no idea what you are waiting for. Cress will make you swoon, shock you, make you laugh, give you even more answers to what is going on, introduce you to new characters and bring back the best, and give you so many intense feels. You know what is even better? Cress is pretty long at over 500 pages. Sadly, it doesn't even feel that long because it just flies by, but it was nice to get a lot of fantastic time with the lovely characters. 

Cress is adorable. She made me laugh and smile and I want her to be my friend. Cinder is really starting to grow on me. I heart Wolf so hard, and I wish I could go into the pages and hug him for so many reasons. The readers also get a little more face time with Kai, which is never a bad thing, and more of the amusing Iko. Now let’s talk about the most important, best ship ever, the one that has me salivating, the one that kills me when I can’t continue reading about them, Cress and Thorne. I loved getting to find out even more about the people who are Thorne and Cress. I really hope they play a huge role in Winter, because I need more. I think Thorne is my new drug.

I don’t know if this even makes sense, but Meyer manages to be an even better story teller the third time around. I was completely immersed in the world she created, there are twists and turns I didn’t expect, (she is sneaky) and most importantly, she makes the characters come alive. I’m not going to go into the plot any further because I refuse to spoil it for you if you have yet to read it.

After reading this review I’m sure you know who I would recommend this book to…EVERYONE. After all of the books in the series are published I plan to buy a gorgeous set of them and put them proudly on my shelf.

ARC Review: Rapunzel Untangled by: Cindy C. Bennett

Rapunzel Untangled by: Cindy C. Bennett (Feb. 12, 2013)

Publisher: Cedar Fort

304 pages

Genre: Young Adult/Fantasy/Fairy Tale/Gothic

*I received this free ARC for review from Netgalley, it in no way impacted my honest review, and I received no compensation. Thanks to Cedar Fort publishing for this awesome book!

Goodreads Summary: For one thing, she has a serious illness that keeps her inside the mysterious Gothel Mansion. And for another, her hair is 15 feet long. Not to mention that she’s also the key to ultimately saving the world from certain destruction. But then she meets a boy named Fane, who changes all she has ever known, and she decides to risk everything familiar to find out who she really is.

My Review

I tip my hat to you Cindy Bennett, for giving me the chance to climb into a fairy tale retelling as unique and loveable as they come. I couldn’t put this book down once I started.

This is no ordinary story of Rapunzel. This Rapunzel lives in the 21^st century locked in a tower in an old creepy mansion with Facebook being her only connection to the outside world. I loved the moderness this old fairy tale was given. Not only do I love the modern twist but this story is dark, and reminded me of a gothic novel more than anything. The fact that Bennett has no problem showing how dark these fairy tales can be makes it that much more enjoyable. I was getting kind of tired of the cute little fairy tale stories I’ve run into as of late and this one is anything but.

I loved the characters. Rapunzel was interesting and humorous, just wanting a chance to leave her tower with the ever looming prophecy hanging over her head. Fane is a cute and charming young guy, a perfect prince. I instantly liked him. This book has all kinds of funny dialogue between these two characters with one liners you won't soon forget. You can’t do anything but love them. I even enjoyed Gothel, the evil mother, and the slow revealing of the woman who locks Rapunzel in a tower. This was the most complex and interesting fairy tale retelling I have ever read. Full of mystery, cuteness, and terror, this one is original.

I recommend this novel to anyway and everyone, especially those that love a good fairy tale. Take a chance and read it. You will be surprised at what you find lurking in the pages.

Rating: 5/5   BUY Rapunzel Untangled

Review: A Kiss in Time by: Alex Flinn

A Kiss in Time by: Alex Flinn (2010) 

Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers

383 pages

Genre: YA/Fantasy/Fairy Tale

Summary: This is a modern retelling of Sleeping Beauty. Talia fell under a spell after touching a spindle. Jack was on a tour group and came across the hidden castle with Talia and everyone there fast asleep. With one kiss Talia awakes, and chaos ensues, including an evil witch, Talia discovering the 21^st century after being asleep for years, parental problems, and some romance thrown in.

Review: I love a good fairy tale retelling and I enjoyed Beastly by Alex Flinn, but this one wasn’t a hit out of the park, it was more like a double. I don’t know what it was about this book, but it just wasn’t as captivating as I had hoped it would be.

This was still a cute read, and it had me laughing during a lot of it. After Talia was asleep for so long, it was rather humorous to see her reaction to new technologies, such as a cell phone. I also enjoyed how Flinn spun the story of Sleeping Beauty, it was a fun take.

What bothered me so much about this book wasn't that I didn't like the plot, although at times it was kind of boring, my problem was with the two main characters. There was too much emphasis on looks, seriously, we get that Talia is beautiful, thanks. I know that she is a princess, but it is kind of sad that we, as the readers, are reminded over and over again of her beauty, there was more to her than that. Okay, maybe not a whole lot more, which was part of the problem. She was good at listening and giving advice, but other than that she seemed a little bit too spoiled and too much of a brat. I know there is reasoning behind why she acts that way, but it was just too frustrating for me. I was hoping for a stronger female lead. Not to mention Jack, he is naive and superficial at times, actually most of the time. I know they are teenagers, but still. I guess I just couldn’t really enjoy this book because I didn’t have any attachment to either of the main characters. I hate when that happens.

Overall, this book was just an okay book, but there are many out there that have enjoyed it more than me. It just didn’t do it for me personally.

Sadly, I could have been sleeping beauty through a good portion of this book.

Rating: 2.5/5   BUY A Kiss in Time