I've been reading Winter for a while, alongside The Crimson Petal and the White as part of the read-a-long at Lit Addicted Brit. That's partly why it's taken me such a damn long time to get through a YA fantasy novel, but it's also due to its 750 page length. As one of the YA series that I've actually manage to complete (and fairly speedily too), I have to admit that Winter is a fitting conclusion to the Lunar Chronicles series.
Plot 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?
First off, just let me say that this book is unnecessarily long. The other books are two thirds of the size and work perfectly well. I don't mind long books if it's for a reason, but in Winter the tension keeps sort of ebbing and flowing. The revolution finally happens, and it's all exciting and you reach the final boss battle... but then it all goes away again, only to start again in 100 pages. I wish that the author had just chosen a path and stuck to it.
Because of that, I never really felt any particular desperation to get back to reading this book when I'd put it down and when I did read it, I found myself getting distracted and faffing on my phone instead. That's not to say it's not good, but I feel that it could do with being a little faster-paced.
Despite my fears about not liking where I thought the story might go (it didn't, I'm fine), I thought it was actually a pretty fitting conclusion. Not as simple as it could have been, which I give Marissa Meyer full credit for. I've said it in my previous of reviews of this series - it's a good plot. There's a convulted political history and intricate delicacies that stop juuuuuuust short of being too much. You can keep everything straight in your head without feeling like you're being spoon fed. It's unique and interesting and I really like it.
I'm less impressed with her desire to have everybody neatly coupled off at the end, rambling about their love. They're sixteen to eighteen, Good Lord. I like Cinder and Winter's respective relationships, everybody else needs to read some Jezebel and get a grip.
Oh, Winter! I love everything about Winter. She's my favourite character, aside from maybe Cinder. Her purpose and her little quirks are so well-thought out and her background is perfect. And That Thing She Does Near The End just fits in with the plot so wonderfully neatly. Honestly, she might be one of the best, most unique things about the Lunar Chronicles series.
On that note, what's the purpose of Scarlet, exactly? I mean, she's fine, but Cinder, Cress and Winter all have purposes and unique personalities. Scarlet not so much. If anything, the second book should probably have been called Wolf, considering he contributes more to the story than she does, but I guess that would detract from the strong female role model-y thing we've got going on.
THE FAIRYTALE THING. I can't believe it's taken me this many paragraphs to start my fairytale rant. I've said it already in every other review, but I've reached new levels of irritation. IT IS NOT NECESSARY. Winter's fairytale link was so forced that I actually had to skip two whole pages just so I didn't have to see it happen. It reads like Ms Meyer had a vague idea of fairytale-dom in the first book and decided that she was going to carry it through, and just became stuck with the concept in later books.
I feel like I'm nit-picking here, but I think it's probably because I like this series so much. I know that sounds silly, but sometimes when something you love is so close to being perfect, it makes all the little niggles stand out more. This is a really good series with a fitting conclusion. It's maybe a little drawn-out and the coupled-up-ness is slightly irritating, but it's nowhere near enough to put a damper on my affection for these books.
After I finished Scarlet, the previous book in the Lunar Chronicles series, I immediately ran out and bought Cress. It's not that it ended on a cliffhanger particularly, but I like this series a surprising amount and I just needed to see how it continued. It's unusual for me to read right through a series with no intervening other books, but that's what I very nearly did. I really do recommend these books.
This review has spoilers for Scarlet. And probably Cinder too.
Plot summary: In the third installment of the Lunar chronicles, Cress, having risked everything to warn Cinder of Queen Levana's evil plan, has a slight problem. She's been imprisoned on a satellite since childhood and has only ever had her netscreens as company. All that screen time has made Cress a great hacker. Unfortunately, she's just received orders from Levana to track down Cinder and her handsome accomplice.
When a daring rescue of Cress involving Cinder, Captain Thorne, Scarlet, and Wolf goes awry, the group is separated. Cress finally has her freedom, but it comes as a high price. Meanwhile, 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.
WHY IS THERE A FAIRYTALE LINK WITH THESE BOOKS!? It sort of made sense in Cinder, although like I said at the time, it wasn't actually necessary. But there was a link, of sorts - she had a wicked stepmother, she went to the ball, she left her 'shoe' behind... fine. It was less linked in Scarlet, and it felt more forced. Alright, so she wore a red hoodie and her Grandmother was killed by a gang called The Wolves. Definitely less required, but... sort of fine. Cress, though? There is barely a link to Rapunzel, and the one link gets... removed, near the beginning of the book. What's the point!?
The reason for this rant is because I feel the storyline, world-building and characters in this series are strong enough to carry these books, without needing to resort to cheap fairytale links. They're good. Over the last three, Marissa Meyer has established a unique concept in a very real-feeling new world. It's actually quite impressive. Therefore it irritates me when it's cheapened slightly by a forced fairytale link.
Anyway, let's move on from that. Cress feels more like a second book than Scarlet did. There's a lot of walking around, and trying to find each other, and just missing each other. And too much desert. Waaaaay too much desert. That's not to say it's a bad book. A new character, Cress, is introduced and I guess we had to spend some time with her to get to know her properly.
In my last review, I whined a little bit about how Scarlet and Cinder were almost indistinguishable from each other. Cress is different, thankfully. She's an innocent, having been isolated on a space station for the last seven of her sixteen years. Because of this, she seems very young and very naive, and that's possibly why it jars a little when a love interest develops. I mean, it's carried out in an okay-ish manner, but it seems just a smidge innappropriate, call me prudish.
I think I'm only picking this book apart because I liked it so much, which makes sense in a weird kind of way. Sometimes when a book is really good, you notice the faults more because you're very aware that, without them, the book would be perfect. As I've said before, I love the over-arching storyline. It's interesting and unique, and the world-building is perfect. It would probably make a good TV show, now that I think about it.
I did enjoy this book (although maybe not quuuuuiite as much as the others) and I'm really looking forward to reading Winter, when I eventually cave in and buy it. I have a slightly niggle that the story isn't going to go in the direction I want it to, but I daren't google the spoilers just in case. In short, I want somebody to talk about these books with, so go read them!
One of my favourite things about book blogging is how the reviews of other people prompt you to finally pick up a book that's been languishing on your shelves for a while. When I read Bex's 2015 Book Survey, I remembered about Scarlet. I bought it immediately (literally, within the space of ten minutes) after finishing Cinder last year... and then, as always, did not read it. This is where I give a nod to Bex for prompting me to get my act together!
Plot summary: Cinder, the cyborg mechanic, returns in the second thrilling installment of the bestselling Lunar Chronicles. She’s trying to break out of prison—even though if she succeeds, she’ll be the Commonwealth’s most wanted fugitive.
Halfway around the world, Scarlet Benoit’s grandmother is missing. It turns out there are many things Scarlet doesn’t know about her grandmother or the grave danger she has lived in her whole life. When Scarlet encounters Wolf, a street fighter who may have information as to her grandmother’s whereabouts, she is loath to trust this stranger, but is inexplicably drawn to him, and he to her. As Scarlet and Wolf unravel one mystery, they encounter another when they meet Cinder. Now, all of them must stay one step ahead of the vicious Lunar Queen Levana, who will do anything for the handsome Prince Kai to become her husband, her king, her prisoner.
I didn't actually get round to reviewing Cinder, as I read it during the dearth-of-reviews phase that I'm going to regret even more as the year goes on. Oh wait. Apparently I reviewed this, which is weird as I have zero recollection of doing so. Worrying. Anyway, here's my review! It took me a few chapters to get into it, but I ended up really liking it and buying Scarlet immediately, as I said. I actually think this book is better, which is rare for the second book in a YA series. Usually it just acts as filler, usually with the characters doing an awful lot of walking, until we can finally read the end in a third installment.
However, because Scarlet follows a new set of characters (for a while, anyway) it almost starts afresh and you're left with the usual drudgery. After the story gets going, the narrative flits between Cinder and Scarlet but even Cinder's story is active and reasonably fast-paced.
I really like the over-arching storyline with these books. A potential war between Earth and the Lunars, in a world where androids and spaceships are almost common place. I'm not entirely sure this series really needs the fairytale aspects as I think the plot would be strong enough to stand alone, and sometimes the Red Riding Hood and Cinderella links are a bit forced. It seems like Marissa Meyer struggled a lot to get the wolves into the story, and the method used 'clunks' a little. I almost mean this in a positive light, as it's a strong story, but it tries just a tad too hard in that respect.
There are parts of this story that are surprisingly brutal for a YA novel. I was genuinely almost shocked by some of the goings-on in this book and I'm not ashamed to admit that I teared up at one particular part. I don't think it was there as a cheap trick to purposefully shock the reader either. It's not pleasant, but it forms a necessary part of the story and it's written really well.
My only criticism is that it's very difficult to differentiate Cinder and Scarlet. If they were engaging in dialogue and their names were scrubbed out, I'm not sure I could tell which was which. Maybe it's because they don't have much contact with each other and therefore there wasn't much need for character development, but their personalities are very, very similar. They're almost interchangeable. Now that I think about it, so are Wolf and Captain Thorne, two of the male leads. It didn't ruin the book for me, but it was definitely noticeable.
I'm already eyeing up Cress on Amazon, which appears to have a Rapunzel theme, judging from the cover. This series has its faults, but they're very minor and they're outweight by the general goodness that is the Lunar Chronicles series. It has a unique storyline and it's fast-paced with the odd smidge of heart-break. Highly recommended.
Read my review of Cinder (which apparently I did write) here.
This book has been on my TBR shelves for as long as I can remember. I vaguely remember receiving it as part of a ReaditSwapit swap, but not when or why or from whom. It then, naturally, languished on the shelf along with the other 279 books that I probably mean to read at some point (probably). However, last month there seemed to be an abundance of people mentioning Cinder on my newly-acquired Instagram, and therefore I was inspired to give it a go.
Plot summary: Cinder, a gifted mechanic in New Beijing, is also a cyborg. She's reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsister's sudden illness. But when her life becomes entwined with the handsome Prince Kai's, she finds herself at the centre of a violent struggle between the desires of an evil queen - and a dangerous temptation.
Cinder is caught between duty and freedom, loyalty and betrayal. Now she must uncover secrets about her mysterious past in order to protect Earth's future.
As soon as I began reading, I knew that Cinder wasn't what I was expecting, but I'd struggle to tell you why. Perhaps I was expecting that there would be a closer resemblance to the Cinder story, I don't know. There's a complete and well thought-out backstory to the first installment of this series - new races, cultures, cities and subplots, but there's no getting around that the only resemblance to Cinderella is the presence of a snooty Stepmother!
Don't get me wrong, that's hardly an issue for me. But it did add to the slight disconnect I felt from my assumption of the book to what I was actually experiencing. It was also a lot younger than I was expecting. I'd say it falls at the lower end of YA, whereas I was expecting smaller font and slightly more complex language.
Because of this, it did take me a while to get into. By about the 30% line though, I was looking forward to picking it back up again every time.
Just to snick back to the world-building for a second, it actually is quite impressive. It's a simple concept (Humans GOOD, Cyborgs BAD - in a sort of futuristic China with a monarchy) but it's explained and developed well, right from the beginning. It's interesting and not something I've seen done overmuch before. I think I would have liked a slightly more scientific-y explanation of the Plague (coming from the girl who's just used 'scientific-y' as a real word), but there's a chance that we'll get more information in the second book, Scarlet. I hope so anyway. I love me a good plague!
There is a romantic sub-plot and it is rather sledgehammery. On the bright side, it's very much a sub-plot that doesn't take over the central theme and Prince Whatsit doesn't seem to be a gigantic ArseHat, which always helps.
There's a twist towards the end that was rather obvious... so obvious that I thought the real twist might be that that wasn't the twist! Except it was. It's hardly the end of the world as it was actually pulled off quite well and it was still entertaining reading, but the rest of the book had been quite inventive, so I think I was looking for something more.
The ending... isn't great. I mean, I'm reading this in 2015 and the next two books in the series are already released, with the fourth book coming out in November. I can just pick up the next book and it's fine. But if I'd read this when it was first released in 2012, I'd be a little irritated that the story just... stops. I get that Marissa Meyer probably knew perfectly well where she wanted the story to go next, but I'd have preferred a more self-contained novel.
I did end up liking this a reasonable amount. It didn't make my Top Ten Books So Far list, but it was a close thing and I will be reading Scarlet. I've actually already bought it... admittedly it does help that it was £2 on Amazon.
Read Ellie's review of Cinder at Curiosity Killed the Bookworm.
