Winter by Marissa Meyer
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
OH. MY. STARS.
This book was so good!!! Thank you soooooooo much, Ms. Meyer, for giving this story to us. I will forever be grateful. Now, before I start going on and on and on about the ending and my ships and the multiple NEAR-DEATH EXPERIENCES (whyyyyy?!?) I just need to say: Thank you to my Lunartic best friend, Esmaya. for getting my copies of WINTER and FAIREST signed for me in NYC on the 11th! Also, thanks for the WINTER gloves and shimmer tattoos. Can't wait to use them!
Okay, if you haven't read Marissa Meyer's AMAZING Lunar Chronicles series, I suggest you go do it now!
Book I: CINDER
Book II: SCARLET
Book III: CRESS
Book IV: WINTER
And go read the novellas: FAIREST, CARSWELL'S GUIDE TO BEING LUCKY, GLITCHES, THE LITTLE ANDROID, and THE QUEEN'S ARMY. Also, coming on February 2, 2016, is STARS ABOVE, the collection of the novellas and then some. *NOTE* I actually found many of the novellas online at Feel free to look them up there!
******CAUTION, SPOILERS AHEAD. IF YOU READ BEYOND THIS POINT, YOU BETTER HAVE READ WINTER. I AM NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY AND ALL SPOILINGS OF THIS BOOK.******
(view spoiler)[ Alrighty- let's get going! You better have read the book if you're reading this! I'm just going to go through all the characters and what happened.
*(D) means deceased. So if you haven't read WINTER, you're about to get a long list of who survived and who didn't.*
1) CRESCENT MOON "CRESS" DARNEL. Cress makes me angry quite a lot in this book, because she is constantly confusing 'self-sacrificial' and 'heroic.' I don't need another Tris Prior! I WANT YOU TO LIVE! So many near-death experiences with this one, my stars! And she and Thorne were driving me mad with their whole 'conceal don't feel/don't let it show' approach on their obvious love for each other. Give it up, you're canon! But the scene where Thorne is manipulated into stabbing her, I might've shed a few tears. You know... a few. But she's getting better! And when she FINALLY admitted that she was in love with him... TOOK YOU LONG ENOUGH!! But now they get to travel the world together in the Rampion and live happily ever after. *sigh* I do love a good happy ending...
2) CAPTAIN CARSWELL THORNE. I love Thorne and his cocky, sarcastic attitude so much- I never would have guessed he'd be so insecure! He was constantly hiding his true feelings about Cress because he was AFRAID THAT HE WASN'T GOOD ENOUGH. He thought she'd fallen for that person she'd seen onscreen, not him IRL. Soooo untrue...! And that scene toward the end where she's just out of the clinic and he talks about how guilty he feels about the whole manipulation thing and says IT GAVE HIM NIGHTMARES... *cries* *and cries some more*. And when THAT GIRL KISSED HIM IN THE HALLWAY. AND HE THOUGHT IT WAS CRESS. AND HE SAID 'I LOVE YOU' TO HER. AND CRESS WAS ALL MAD BECAUSE HE WAS JUST PROFESSING HIS LOVE TO STRANGERS. BUT SHE HAD GLAMOURED HERSELF TO LOOK LIKE CRESS. AND CRESS DIDN'T KNOW BECAUSE SHE WAS A SHELL. HAHAHAHAHAHAHA *falls out a window fangirling* asdfghjkl;'
3) SCARLET BENOIT. Yayyyyy, we saved her!!!! I mean, I didn't, but Cinder & co. did!!! Scarlet had quite a few near-death experiences there too: trapped in a cage, losing a finger, contracting letumosis... the list goes on. And on. The scene where she finally saw Wolf again in RM-9 broke my heart a little- Wolf looked like he was going to kill Winter because she had Scarlet's jacket. And Scarlet kept going on like "pshhh, I'm not in love with him" to "I think I'm falling in love with him" to FINALLY "I love you." IT TOOK YOU LONG ENOUGH, BUDDY! Scarlet spent a lot of time with Winter, and though she didn't know her as well as Jacin did, she managed to help the princess cope with her hallucinations. She gave her some tough love when Jacin kind of coddled her. Ah, what love does to some people. I, for one, have yet to experience it... anyway. Back to Scarlet. THE END OF THE BOOK. WHERE SHE TELLS ÉMILIE THAT WOLF'S HER BOYFRIEND. AND WOLF JUST HAPPENS TO BE EAVESDROPPING. HAHA SHIP SHIP SHIP.
4) ALPHA ZE'EV "WOLF" KESLEY. AWWWWW. Wolf had it rough in this book, guys. He was separated from Scarlet for soooooo long, and then after only a little bit of time with her, he was captured and taken away from her AGAIN. And then they made him into one of the wolf-soldiers and mixed him up so he thought that Scarlet was repulsed by him (ah, hell no) And then he spent a good period of time just plotting to kill Levana, and then he actually did try, but then he was like electrocuted (?) by his thaumaturge/Mistress to stop, and then Iko shot him, and then he remembered Scarlet... ahhh, feels. Hate it when that happens (not really). Okay, but that last scene that I talked about earlier with Scarlet and Émilie and then Wolf asks Scarlet if she still wants him because he's all wolf-y now and Scarlet calls him by his real name and says that she loves him no matter what and doesn't give a care what he looks like. And when she sees him in battle and he tells her he'd dangerous and she says: "Oh, please. We don't have time for this. You have always been dangerous. But you're my alpha and I'm your's and that's not going to change because they gave you a new jawline." (pg. 713) And I just.... melted. *sigh*
5) SIR JACIN CLAY. I didn't like Jacin in the very beginning of CRESS, but I warmed to him by the end. And I definitely liked him in WINTER! In Cress, I accidentally pronounced his name like Jack-in instead of like Jason for a good 400 pages (whoops). But I fixed that this time around. But he's a good guy. You can tell he really likes Winter- did you notice how many times he almost says her name instead of 'Princess'? Can't wait to read about him and Winter in STARS ABOVE!
6) PRINCESS WINTER HAYLE-BLACKBURN OF LUNA. Winter is such an intense character! I feel like I need to go back and re-read the whole book to get a closer look at all her ramblings and see if there's any symbolic meanings. Like, for example, when she frequently says she is a girl of ice and snow, when the original Snow White (whom the story, and character, is based off of) has 'skin as pale as snow.' Funny how that connects. I actually didn't realise that until a few minutes after I'd finished the book. She is definitely the most unique version of Snow White I've ever seen: note that her name is Winter, after the season, where everything is 'white as snow'- another revelation I've had about her character during the reading of this book. Winter is a character I hope is will hear more about- in STARS ABOVE, for example- or if there is ever anything post-WINTER. She has an interesting story to tell...
7) QUEEN/PRINCESS LEVANA BLACKBURN OF LUNA (D). I saw so much more of Levana in this book than I did in the first three books combined. Obviously, there was a lot in FAIREST (duh, it was her POV, Jamie!) but I got a lot of insight from the little parts from her POV. Also, Winter and Jacin provided a lot of info on the infamously beautiful Lunar queen. And when Cress put up the footage of the REAL Levana, the one she'd hidden from the public for so long... I think it was good for her, in some crazy way. It was almost like glamour- and the beauty that came with it- was so taxing, and she needed a break from it. Like, when I dance, sometimes we get SUPER itchy costumes. It's horrible, being onstage in front of an audience with sequins and stitchling digging into places you don't want sequins anywhere near. And trying to keep a smile on your face the whole time, like YOU'RE NOT BEING STABBED BY A TINY SPARKLY THINGY is not fun at all. That's what I think of when I try to imagine keeping up a glamour amost 24/7. Something needling you, but you need to smile through the pain. You know what I mean? Though I feel a little bad for Levana (after all, a villain is just a victim whose story hasn't been told, according to The Land of Stories author Chris Colfer) (and her story has been told- in FAIREST) I am glad she's dead. Something bad would've happened if Cinder had shown her mercy (Like, umm, STABBING HER?!?!?)
8) THAUMATURGE AIMERY PARK (D). Wow- he was a dirtbag. Glad he's dead. That's all I needed to say.
9) EMPEROR KAITO "KAI". Literally I am such a fangirl, because Kai makes me so happy. All the time. So, in school yesterday, as I read this book in the hallway and tried not to run into anyone, I read the first real CinderxKai scene, where she's fixing the podship but they end up kissing, and Cinder ends up talking about how she's never felt like she's been loved, or desired... I had a fangirl attack, and my friend Esmaya (who was farther in than me at the time, even though I finished first, ha) was just laughing, like WAIT FOR IT. Kai and Cinder make me SO HAPPY!!!!!!!!! (Deal with my exclamation points, guys. They're not leaving anytime soon.) And he was always there, or trying to be. He felt so useless in those first few chapters, but he was so vital in the end. What would they have done without him? Kai is a character who has seriously evolved from the first few chapters of CINDER. He had to grow up so fast after his father's death, and over the next few books he had to send out soldiers after the girl he loved, enter in a marriage alliance with a queen he absolutely loathed, ALSO, HE WAS KIDNAPPED BY THE GIRL HE LOVES, and then he marries his girlfriend's aunt and crowns her the Empress of the Eastern Commonwealth. Yeah, so glad she's dead. Kai had a rough few weeks there. But it looks like he got his happily ever after in the end- his good future.
10) QUEEN/PRINCESS SELENE "CINDER" CHANNARY JANNALI BLACKBURN OF LUNA. Damn, that's a long name. And she's gone by just 'Cinder' for so long. Now she's got two middle names, a nickname, and a royal title. That's a bit of a change, don't you think? Okay, Cinder has gone through sooooo much in this book! Her finger is removed, she has to watch many of her Lunar citizens killed by Aimery Park for defending her, she's held captive by Levana, stuck in a cell with her stepmom and stepsister (who hate her guts, by the way), put on trial in front of her boyfriend- who had just married her aunt/arch-nemesis- and was powerless to help her, fell off a cliff into Artemisia Lake, almost drowned, lost all function in her cybernetic limbs, lost her computer-interface so she was helpless to glamour, was stabbed by her friend (@Thorne), was stabbed by Levana IN THE HEART, went into a coma for 3 days, and woke up and now is the queen of a country/rock that is recovering from the 10-year (give or take) rule of a tyrant who manipulated every last one of them. She had to rule these people who don't know if the face she is wearing is actually her's. That's rough. Imagine how much trust that takes- on both sides. Then, her boyfriend (finally, she calls him her boyfriend) has to go back to his country, Scarlet and Wolf are going back to France, Cress and Thorne are going around the world to America or something in the Rampion, Winter and Jacin are going to be ambassadors and are flying off to other Earthen countries, and suddenly she's all alone with Iko for company. Sucks, doesn't it? But Cinder being Cinder (or Selene being Selene?) she decides 'let's get rid of the monarchy and make this a republic go equal rights!' and then she can go to the Eastern Commonwealth *cough* with Kai *cough* and be a Lunar ambassador and keep the peace and be a symbol of rebellion like the Mockingjay or something. And at the very end, she says that MAYBE SOMEDAY IN THE FUTURE SHE'LL BE HIS EMPRESS BECAUSE EVEN THOUGH SHE HATED THE IDEA OF BEING A QUEEN SHE LOVES KAI AND THERE MY SHIP IS COMPLETE THANK YOU HAVE A GOOD DAY *tears of joy*
11) IKO. Awwwwww!! I felt bad for Iko a lot in this book, but she was always so strong and supportive and making everyone feel better. I didn't think of her as an extremely important character in CINDER and SCARLET, but in CRESS my POV on this changed. Iko is a little ball of positive energy who would do anything for Cinder and the crew, and she is so much more than a piece of machinery. I think she and Kinney would be a good match, personally. And now she's 'Madame Counselor,' a title Kinney doesn't seem too fond of, but Iko certainly loves it! I wish I could've seen more of her in this series, to be honest.
12) MAHA KESLEY (D). I don't have much to say about Wolf's mom, but she deserves recognition. She stood up for Cinder even though she didn't have to, and she died because of it.
13) SIR LIAM KINNEY. Okay, so ever since he vouched for Jacin in the very beginning, I knew he would be important. And then he stumbled into Jacin's room when Cress was there, and I was like 'CALLED IT he's gonna be important!' and then he just shoots his captain and SAVES WINTER like who are you even??? And Iko keeps going on like 'wow he's hot but dammit he's an asshole why are all the good guys taken or jerks?' but I ship it. Like, who doesn't? Maybe a lot of people. Am I the only one who thinks that EVENTUALLY these two would be a good pairing? Let me know in a comment or something. I can't be alone in this theory!!! Also, this guy is now Selene's head guard, and I think this is a really good position for him. More time to spend with Iko... I have a brother named Liam! But they never refer to this guy as 'Liam,' only as 'Kinney.' Maybe it's just a guard thing...
14) ROYAL ADVISOR KONN TORIN. I definitely warmed to this guy a lot at the end of CRESS when he told Cinder about Kai's other tracking chip. He's so defensive of Kai, and even though he seemed really snotty in book I, he genuinely cares about Kai and did a lot to help him against Levana and the Lunar-Earthen alliance/marriage. He surprised me, and I liked that a lot. Especially since he survived. That always helps. (hide spoiler)]
So, thank you for listening to my rant! It was a pleasure reading this book, and I can't wait for STARS ABOVE and HEARTLESS, Marissa's new book about the Queen of Hearts coming November 8, 2016. (Date might not be final, so don't go quoting me on this.)
-Jamie :) xo
Side note: does anyone have any guesses as to how big the period of time these few books spans? I feel like it was only a month, but we waited FOUR YEARS (can you believe it?) for these books, so it feels like so much longer.</["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]>
View all my reviews
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
OH. MY. STARS.
This book was so good!!! Thank you soooooooo much, Ms. Meyer, for giving this story to us. I will forever be grateful. Now, before I start going on and on and on about the ending and my ships and the multiple NEAR-DEATH EXPERIENCES (whyyyyy?!?) I just need to say: Thank you to my Lunartic best friend, Esmaya. for getting my copies of WINTER and FAIREST signed for me in NYC on the 11th! Also, thanks for the WINTER gloves and shimmer tattoos. Can't wait to use them!
Okay, if you haven't read Marissa Meyer's AMAZING Lunar Chronicles series, I suggest you go do it now!
Book I: CINDER
Book II: SCARLET
Book III: CRESS
Book IV: WINTER
And go read the novellas: FAIREST, CARSWELL'S GUIDE TO BEING LUCKY, GLITCHES, THE LITTLE ANDROID, and THE QUEEN'S ARMY. Also, coming on February 2, 2016, is STARS ABOVE, the collection of the novellas and then some. *NOTE* I actually found many of the novellas online at Feel free to look them up there!
******CAUTION, SPOILERS AHEAD. IF YOU READ BEYOND THIS POINT, YOU BETTER HAVE READ WINTER. I AM NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY AND ALL SPOILINGS OF THIS BOOK.******
(view spoiler)[ Alrighty- let's get going! You better have read the book if you're reading this! I'm just going to go through all the characters and what happened.
*(D) means deceased. So if you haven't read WINTER, you're about to get a long list of who survived and who didn't.*
1) CRESCENT MOON "CRESS" DARNEL. Cress makes me angry quite a lot in this book, because she is constantly confusing 'self-sacrificial' and 'heroic.' I don't need another Tris Prior! I WANT YOU TO LIVE! So many near-death experiences with this one, my stars! And she and Thorne were driving me mad with their whole 'conceal don't feel/don't let it show' approach on their obvious love for each other. Give it up, you're canon! But the scene where Thorne is manipulated into stabbing her, I might've shed a few tears. You know... a few. But she's getting better! And when she FINALLY admitted that she was in love with him... TOOK YOU LONG ENOUGH!! But now they get to travel the world together in the Rampion and live happily ever after. *sigh* I do love a good happy ending...
2) CAPTAIN CARSWELL THORNE. I love Thorne and his cocky, sarcastic attitude so much- I never would have guessed he'd be so insecure! He was constantly hiding his true feelings about Cress because he was AFRAID THAT HE WASN'T GOOD ENOUGH. He thought she'd fallen for that person she'd seen onscreen, not him IRL. Soooo untrue...! And that scene toward the end where she's just out of the clinic and he talks about how guilty he feels about the whole manipulation thing and says IT GAVE HIM NIGHTMARES... *cries* *and cries some more*. And when THAT GIRL KISSED HIM IN THE HALLWAY. AND HE THOUGHT IT WAS CRESS. AND HE SAID 'I LOVE YOU' TO HER. AND CRESS WAS ALL MAD BECAUSE HE WAS JUST PROFESSING HIS LOVE TO STRANGERS. BUT SHE HAD GLAMOURED HERSELF TO LOOK LIKE CRESS. AND CRESS DIDN'T KNOW BECAUSE SHE WAS A SHELL. HAHAHAHAHAHAHA *falls out a window fangirling* asdfghjkl;'
3) SCARLET BENOIT. Yayyyyy, we saved her!!!! I mean, I didn't, but Cinder & co. did!!! Scarlet had quite a few near-death experiences there too: trapped in a cage, losing a finger, contracting letumosis... the list goes on. And on. The scene where she finally saw Wolf again in RM-9 broke my heart a little- Wolf looked like he was going to kill Winter because she had Scarlet's jacket. And Scarlet kept going on like "pshhh, I'm not in love with him" to "I think I'm falling in love with him" to FINALLY "I love you." IT TOOK YOU LONG ENOUGH, BUDDY! Scarlet spent a lot of time with Winter, and though she didn't know her as well as Jacin did, she managed to help the princess cope with her hallucinations. She gave her some tough love when Jacin kind of coddled her. Ah, what love does to some people. I, for one, have yet to experience it... anyway. Back to Scarlet. THE END OF THE BOOK. WHERE SHE TELLS ÉMILIE THAT WOLF'S HER BOYFRIEND. AND WOLF JUST HAPPENS TO BE EAVESDROPPING. HAHA SHIP SHIP SHIP.
4) ALPHA ZE'EV "WOLF" KESLEY. AWWWWW. Wolf had it rough in this book, guys. He was separated from Scarlet for soooooo long, and then after only a little bit of time with her, he was captured and taken away from her AGAIN. And then they made him into one of the wolf-soldiers and mixed him up so he thought that Scarlet was repulsed by him (ah, hell no) And then he spent a good period of time just plotting to kill Levana, and then he actually did try, but then he was like electrocuted (?) by his thaumaturge/Mistress to stop, and then Iko shot him, and then he remembered Scarlet... ahhh, feels. Hate it when that happens (not really). Okay, but that last scene that I talked about earlier with Scarlet and Émilie and then Wolf asks Scarlet if she still wants him because he's all wolf-y now and Scarlet calls him by his real name and says that she loves him no matter what and doesn't give a care what he looks like. And when she sees him in battle and he tells her he'd dangerous and she says: "Oh, please. We don't have time for this. You have always been dangerous. But you're my alpha and I'm your's and that's not going to change because they gave you a new jawline." (pg. 713) And I just.... melted. *sigh*
5) SIR JACIN CLAY. I didn't like Jacin in the very beginning of CRESS, but I warmed to him by the end. And I definitely liked him in WINTER! In Cress, I accidentally pronounced his name like Jack-in instead of like Jason for a good 400 pages (whoops). But I fixed that this time around. But he's a good guy. You can tell he really likes Winter- did you notice how many times he almost says her name instead of 'Princess'? Can't wait to read about him and Winter in STARS ABOVE!
6) PRINCESS WINTER HAYLE-BLACKBURN OF LUNA. Winter is such an intense character! I feel like I need to go back and re-read the whole book to get a closer look at all her ramblings and see if there's any symbolic meanings. Like, for example, when she frequently says she is a girl of ice and snow, when the original Snow White (whom the story, and character, is based off of) has 'skin as pale as snow.' Funny how that connects. I actually didn't realise that until a few minutes after I'd finished the book. She is definitely the most unique version of Snow White I've ever seen: note that her name is Winter, after the season, where everything is 'white as snow'- another revelation I've had about her character during the reading of this book. Winter is a character I hope is will hear more about- in STARS ABOVE, for example- or if there is ever anything post-WINTER. She has an interesting story to tell...
7) QUEEN/PRINCESS LEVANA BLACKBURN OF LUNA (D). I saw so much more of Levana in this book than I did in the first three books combined. Obviously, there was a lot in FAIREST (duh, it was her POV, Jamie!) but I got a lot of insight from the little parts from her POV. Also, Winter and Jacin provided a lot of info on the infamously beautiful Lunar queen. And when Cress put up the footage of the REAL Levana, the one she'd hidden from the public for so long... I think it was good for her, in some crazy way. It was almost like glamour- and the beauty that came with it- was so taxing, and she needed a break from it. Like, when I dance, sometimes we get SUPER itchy costumes. It's horrible, being onstage in front of an audience with sequins and stitchling digging into places you don't want sequins anywhere near. And trying to keep a smile on your face the whole time, like YOU'RE NOT BEING STABBED BY A TINY SPARKLY THINGY is not fun at all. That's what I think of when I try to imagine keeping up a glamour amost 24/7. Something needling you, but you need to smile through the pain. You know what I mean? Though I feel a little bad for Levana (after all, a villain is just a victim whose story hasn't been told, according to The Land of Stories author Chris Colfer) (and her story has been told- in FAIREST) I am glad she's dead. Something bad would've happened if Cinder had shown her mercy (Like, umm, STABBING HER?!?!?)
8) THAUMATURGE AIMERY PARK (D). Wow- he was a dirtbag. Glad he's dead. That's all I needed to say.
9) EMPEROR KAITO "KAI". Literally I am such a fangirl, because Kai makes me so happy. All the time. So, in school yesterday, as I read this book in the hallway and tried not to run into anyone, I read the first real CinderxKai scene, where she's fixing the podship but they end up kissing, and Cinder ends up talking about how she's never felt like she's been loved, or desired... I had a fangirl attack, and my friend Esmaya (who was farther in than me at the time, even though I finished first, ha) was just laughing, like WAIT FOR IT. Kai and Cinder make me SO HAPPY!!!!!!!!! (Deal with my exclamation points, guys. They're not leaving anytime soon.) And he was always there, or trying to be. He felt so useless in those first few chapters, but he was so vital in the end. What would they have done without him? Kai is a character who has seriously evolved from the first few chapters of CINDER. He had to grow up so fast after his father's death, and over the next few books he had to send out soldiers after the girl he loved, enter in a marriage alliance with a queen he absolutely loathed, ALSO, HE WAS KIDNAPPED BY THE GIRL HE LOVES, and then he marries his girlfriend's aunt and crowns her the Empress of the Eastern Commonwealth. Yeah, so glad she's dead. Kai had a rough few weeks there. But it looks like he got his happily ever after in the end- his good future.
10) QUEEN/PRINCESS SELENE "CINDER" CHANNARY JANNALI BLACKBURN OF LUNA. Damn, that's a long name. And she's gone by just 'Cinder' for so long. Now she's got two middle names, a nickname, and a royal title. That's a bit of a change, don't you think? Okay, Cinder has gone through sooooo much in this book! Her finger is removed, she has to watch many of her Lunar citizens killed by Aimery Park for defending her, she's held captive by Levana, stuck in a cell with her stepmom and stepsister (who hate her guts, by the way), put on trial in front of her boyfriend- who had just married her aunt/arch-nemesis- and was powerless to help her, fell off a cliff into Artemisia Lake, almost drowned, lost all function in her cybernetic limbs, lost her computer-interface so she was helpless to glamour, was stabbed by her friend (@Thorne), was stabbed by Levana IN THE HEART, went into a coma for 3 days, and woke up and now is the queen of a country/rock that is recovering from the 10-year (give or take) rule of a tyrant who manipulated every last one of them. She had to rule these people who don't know if the face she is wearing is actually her's. That's rough. Imagine how much trust that takes- on both sides. Then, her boyfriend (finally, she calls him her boyfriend) has to go back to his country, Scarlet and Wolf are going back to France, Cress and Thorne are going around the world to America or something in the Rampion, Winter and Jacin are going to be ambassadors and are flying off to other Earthen countries, and suddenly she's all alone with Iko for company. Sucks, doesn't it? But Cinder being Cinder (or Selene being Selene?) she decides 'let's get rid of the monarchy and make this a republic go equal rights!' and then she can go to the Eastern Commonwealth *cough* with Kai *cough* and be a Lunar ambassador and keep the peace and be a symbol of rebellion like the Mockingjay or something. And at the very end, she says that MAYBE SOMEDAY IN THE FUTURE SHE'LL BE HIS EMPRESS BECAUSE EVEN THOUGH SHE HATED THE IDEA OF BEING A QUEEN SHE LOVES KAI AND THERE MY SHIP IS COMPLETE THANK YOU HAVE A GOOD DAY *tears of joy*
11) IKO. Awwwwww!! I felt bad for Iko a lot in this book, but she was always so strong and supportive and making everyone feel better. I didn't think of her as an extremely important character in CINDER and SCARLET, but in CRESS my POV on this changed. Iko is a little ball of positive energy who would do anything for Cinder and the crew, and she is so much more than a piece of machinery. I think she and Kinney would be a good match, personally. And now she's 'Madame Counselor,' a title Kinney doesn't seem too fond of, but Iko certainly loves it! I wish I could've seen more of her in this series, to be honest.
12) MAHA KESLEY (D). I don't have much to say about Wolf's mom, but she deserves recognition. She stood up for Cinder even though she didn't have to, and she died because of it.
13) SIR LIAM KINNEY. Okay, so ever since he vouched for Jacin in the very beginning, I knew he would be important. And then he stumbled into Jacin's room when Cress was there, and I was like 'CALLED IT he's gonna be important!' and then he just shoots his captain and SAVES WINTER like who are you even??? And Iko keeps going on like 'wow he's hot but dammit he's an asshole why are all the good guys taken or jerks?' but I ship it. Like, who doesn't? Maybe a lot of people. Am I the only one who thinks that EVENTUALLY these two would be a good pairing? Let me know in a comment or something. I can't be alone in this theory!!! Also, this guy is now Selene's head guard, and I think this is a really good position for him. More time to spend with Iko... I have a brother named Liam! But they never refer to this guy as 'Liam,' only as 'Kinney.' Maybe it's just a guard thing...
14) ROYAL ADVISOR KONN TORIN. I definitely warmed to this guy a lot at the end of CRESS when he told Cinder about Kai's other tracking chip. He's so defensive of Kai, and even though he seemed really snotty in book I, he genuinely cares about Kai and did a lot to help him against Levana and the Lunar-Earthen alliance/marriage. He surprised me, and I liked that a lot. Especially since he survived. That always helps. (hide spoiler)]
So, thank you for listening to my rant! It was a pleasure reading this book, and I can't wait for STARS ABOVE and HEARTLESS, Marissa's new book about the Queen of Hearts coming November 8, 2016. (Date might not be final, so don't go quoting me on this.)
-Jamie :) xo
Side note: does anyone have any guesses as to how big the period of time these few books spans? I feel like it was only a month, but we waited FOUR YEARS (can you believe it?) for these books, so it feels like so much longer.</["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]>
View all my reviews