Winter | Marissa Meyer

96/100

It's two days into my winter break and I just finished reading Winter (see what I did there) and again I remembered the feeling of just falling back into a book, the feeling of becoming invested and even attached to the characters and actually caring about what happens to them. If you haven't picked up the Lunar Chronicles or heard of them I highly recommend you do. It's essentially a fairytale-retelling in a science-fiction dystopian world, definitely something worth checking out. There will be some spoilers ahead, since this is the fourth and final book, so if you haven't read the books, read them and come back. In the meantime I'll link my reviews to the three other books in the series.

Cinder
Scarlet
Cress
Fairest

+5 Cover Design

All of the covers have been styles of classic fairytales and this one just continues the trend. I really like the trend of revamping the main focus of classic fairytales into this science-fictiony theme, so I give this cover a 5/5. 

+5 Writing Style

The writing style was fantastic, just as all the other books have been. It was so easy to start reading and begin to lose myself in the world of Luna. 

+5 Plot Development

Since Winter was the finale book to the series, it was crucial that it include everything that happens.  Usually one of two things happen: the first being that the author simply shortens the book without including any of these details (*cough* Blood of Olympus *cough*) or they decide to divide it into two books because "everything won't fit" (*cough* UnDivided *cough*). But Marissa Meyer wrote and published 800 pages of beautiful conclusion, and it worked. 

I thought the plot itself was developed perfectly. There were a perfect amount of twists and turns for it to be believable and still work out, and early on in the book we were on the edge of our seat towards the build up of the conclusion. 

+4 Character Relations

If there was anything I had a problem with, it was character relations, mostly because I really didn't enjoy the sets of couples we had. Multiple couples working together to overthrow the dictator just sounds unrealistic, I mean, there's got to be at least one single person in the group. It just seems too convenient that every couple ends with a 'happily ever after'. 

While Wolf and Scarlet are my least favorite couple, my biggest issue was with Cress and Thorne. There was one scene in particular when they're sneaking into the coronation and Thorne ends up kissing some random Lunar, which makes Cress go ballistic. Now if this were real life, Cress would admit she likes him and he would slowly break it to her that he's not interested in the same way, creating awkward tension between them for the rest of the book. But of course, books don't reflect the disappointment of reality so instead he passionately kisses and admits that he loves her too. Classic. 

While I didn't have any major, specific issues with Wolf and Scarlet or Winter and Jacin, something about them just irked me. Their bond was too forced. Wolf and Jacin were both too dominating males, risking everything for their partner. It kept getting in the way of the logical approach of the revolution. 

The only couple I had respect for was Kai and Cinder. For a majority of the book they weren't together, but when they were apart they wouldn't mindlessly worry about one another. Sure, it was in the back of their minds but they knew they had a responsibility to their people first. Kai understands that Cinder is a strong, independent woman (though I guess the same can't be said about the rest of the female characters) and is able to let her go without too much of a fight. I respect the fact that they don't necessarily need to be around each other, they just want to be around each other. 

+5 Character Development

So we could talk about the character development of Cinder finally becoming a queen, but we all know how that turns out. I want to take a moment to talk about Levana. We saw a bit of her side in Fairest and a bit more of her perspective in Winter. 

I think Levana is one of the best villains I've read in a while. There's something so interesting about her character since she truly believes she's in the right. I think it's so easy to take Levana as the bad side and Cinder as the good, but I was able to really see where Levana was coming from. She was raised in an environment where killing and torturing were accepted, even encouraged as methods of rule. So it's no surprise that her rule mimics this. 

Her hate for Winter also mimics this. She's been raised to know beauty and manipulation, but Winter's world only consists of beauty, one of the reasons the public likes her so much. Levana does feel some amount of jealousy for Winter, but I genuinely think she doesn't understand why people like her so much. She doesn't understand the concept of not controlling someone, because the idea of letting someone have control of their emotions means that they can easily turn against her, something that has happened so often in the past. 

Most villains in other books have understood their evil position, and the fact that Levana doesn't understand she's on the "bad" side is an interesting perspective, especially when you attempt to get to the root of her problems. 

+4 Likability of Protagonist

Cinder is fantastic and I love her, but since the book is named after Winter I'm going to consider her as the protagonist. I understand she had the Lunar sickness, but she lacked some crucial common sense throughout the book. One example is the initial spread of the mutated letumosis. She runs off because she thinks she's seen Jacin and some old woman intercepts her and tells her that Jacin left her a piece of candy to proclaim his love for her. Winter, you've known Jacin since you guys were toddlers, does this sound like something he would do? But of course, she doesn't take notice of the inconsistencies and brings about yet another subplot of the letumosis. 

+5 Necessity of Minor Characters

I really don't think I even need to touch on this, but everyone was crucial to the plot. Each character had his/her skill set that contributed to the plot. The only character that seemed mildly unnecessary was Winter, she didn't really do much except coax the wolf soldiers to their side.

+5 Setting Description

Like I mentioned before, it was so easy to get lost within the pages and that was partly due to how well the scene was set out. The visual imagery of Luna and the castle, especially when Cinder was looking up at the palace from the lake was stunning and so easy to picture.

+5 Interesting Storyline

Of course the storyline was interesting, otherwise there's no way I would have gotten through an 800 page book in two days.

+3  Predictability

There wasn't some big reveal or any element of surprise really. We knew that Levana would be overthrown and Cinder would step in her place. We knew all the couples would get together and stay together. All we were reading for was how it happened, and in this case that was satisfying enough.

+50 Finished

Final Total: 96/100 ; A

Overall this was such a great book to get me back into reading. It's been less than 24 hours since I've finished the book and yet the feeling of book depression still hangs over me. If you haven't read this book, I highly recommend, and if you have read it, let me know in the comments below what you thought! 

Heir of Fire | Sarah J. Maas

Lost and broken, Celaena Sardothien’s only thought is to avenge the savage death of her dearest friend: as the King of Adarlan’s Assassin, she is bound to serve this tyrant, but he will pay for what he did. Any hope Celaena has of destroying the king lies in answers to be found in Wendlyn. Sacrificing his future, Chaol, the Captain of the King’s Guard, has sent Celaena there to protect her, but her darkest demons lay in that same place. If she can overcome them, she will be Adarlan’s biggest threat – and his own toughest enemy. 

While Celaena learns of her true destiny, and the eyes of Erilea are on Wendlyn, a brutal and beastly force is preparing to take to the skies. Will Celaena find the strength not only to win her own battles, but to fight a war that could pit her loyalties to her own people against those she grown to love? 

This book. A roller coster of emotions. But the best thing about this book wasn;t the intense plot not was it the beautiful worls built by Sarah J. Maas. No, the characters were what made this book. The development of each cahracter within this book was phenomenal. We saw sides and stories we didn't previously know and each one had some type of importance in the plot.

There are three more books in this series. THREE. I am so excited to get the rest. I need them. 

I'm now going to talk about everything within these glorious pages, so if you don't want to be spoiled, read the book and come back so we can talk about the beautifulness of this book together. 

Crown of Midnight | Sarah J. Maas

"A line that should never be crossed is about to be breached. 
It puts this entire castle in jeopardy—and the life of your friend."

From the throne of glass rules a king with a fist of iron and a soul as black as pitch. Assassin Celaena Sardothien won a brutal contest to become his Champion. Yet Celaena is far more loyal to the crown. She hides her secret vigilantly; she knows that the man she serves is bent on evil.

Keeping up the deadly charade becomes increasingly difficult when Celaena realizes she is not the only one seeking justice. As she tries to untangle the mysteries buried deep within the glass castle, her closet relationships suffer. It seems no one is above questioning her allegiances- not the Crown Prince Dorian; not Chaol, the Captain of the Guard; not even her best friend, Nehemia, a foreign princess with a rebel heart.

Then one terrible night, the secrets they have all been keeping lead to an unspeakable tragedy. As Celaena's world shatters, she will be forced to give up the very thing most precious to her and decide once and for all where her true loyalties lie... and whom she is ultimately willing to fight for. 

Slowly I'm being entangled into this web of intense plots and realistic to-die-for characters as the plot gradually transitions from the simplicity I thought it was going to be to the complicated mess it will become.

There's honestly no way for me to discuss any part of this book without spoiling some aspect of it, and every part of this book should be experienced firsthand. So if you haven't already done so, definitely give this book (and series) a try, you will not regret it.

The Kill Order | James Dashner

The prequel to the New York Times bestselling Maze Runner series.

Before WICKED was formed, before the Glade was built, before Thomas entered the Maze, sun flares hit the earth and mankind fell to disease.

Mark and Trina were there when it happened, and they survived. But surviving the sun flares was easy compared to what came next. Now a disease of rage and lunacy races across the eastern United States, and there’s something suspicious about its origin. Worse yet, it’s mutating, and all evidence suggests that it will bring humanity to its knees.

Mark and Trina are convinced there’s a way to save those left living from descending into madness. And they’re determined to find it—if they can stay alive. Because in this new, devastated world, every life has a price. And to some, you’re worth more dead than alive

I was actually pleasantly surprised by this book. Before I went into it, one of my friends had warned me of this book, telling me to prepare myself for a huge disappointment, and it was honestly pretty good. I honestly liked it better than The Death Cure. I thought it was really interesting how they finally went back and gave a specific run down on what exactly happened before the Maze. At one point we get to see bits and pieces of different documents from the government and I think we should have had more of that. Those two pages revealed more than a lot of the other book. 

I also wish there was more of a connection between the rest of the series and this book. For a while I actually thought the epilogue had Trina and Mark in it. I thought they were Thomas's parents, which would have been really cool. 

I realized that while reading this series, I wasn't as into it as I have been into other books. It was a good read, I don't doubt that, but I never really grew emotionally close to any of the characters. I felt no remorse when any of them died, nor did I particularly care about their personal and emotional lives. This could have been for a number of reasons. The first being that I'm so busy with school and work and all of my real world responsibilities that I'm neglecting my book characters, which is a prospect that really frightens me. The second reason could also have been that the book was written in a way to focus more on the plot than the characters, and there's nothing wrong with that. In some cases a fantastic plot is enough to sacrifice the emotions of a few characters. I just think if I had gotten more attached to the characters, this would have been a better read for me. 

Let me know what you guys thought in the comments below! Am I the only one disappointed with this series as a whole?

The Death Cure | James Dashner

It’s the end of the line.

WICKED has taken everything from Thomas: his life, his memories, and now his only friends—the Gladers. But it’s finally over. The trials are complete, after one final test.

Will anyone survive?

What WICKED doesn’t know is that Thomas remembers far more than they think. And it’s enough to prove that he can’t believe a word of what they say.

The truth will be terrifying.

Thomas beat the Maze. He survived the Scorch. He’ll risk anything to save his friends. But the truth might be what ends it all. 

The time for lies is over.

I can't express how disappointed I am with this series. While the first and second books set pretty high standards, the third and final book completely fell under what I expected. Although for the other books I did a mostly non-spoiler review, for the concluding book I'm going to go into an in-depth spoiler filled review. If you haven't read the series, I really recommend the first book, but after that, for me at least, the series just went downhill. 

The Scorch Trials | James Dashner

Solving the Maze was supposed to be the end. 

Thomas was sure that escape from the Maze would mean freedom for him and the Gladers. But WICKED isn’t done yet. Phase Two has just begun. The Scorch. 

There are no rules. There is no help. You either make it or you die.

The Gladers have two weeks to cross through the Scorch—the most burned-out section of the world. And WICKED has made sure to adjust the variables and stack the odds against them. 

Friendships will be tested. Loyalties will be broken. All bets are off. 

There are others now. Their survival depends on the Gladers’ destruction—and they’re determined to survive.

I will admit I didn't like this book as much as the first. I feel like we barely learnt about WICKED and what they're trying to do. There was a constant back and forth between what was real and what was fabricated or acted and at one point I just got confused. 

Like before, the plot was really awesome and intense, however I felt it was just a repeat of the Maze Runner. That's not a bad thing but as the second book in a series, I feel that more of the overall plot should have been built up, not so much the second trial. 

Did anyone else hate Teresa? I'm honestly so done with her. I'm going to be honest and admit that I never really liked her, but in this book she went completely insane. Her actions are contradictory and confusing and while I hope we get a bigger backstory on her, I just want her to go away. 

Even though this story wasn't as great as the last one, there were several things I liked. We're starting to be a sense of the real world outside of these trials, the barren world filled with crazy, disease-ridden people. 

I also loved Thomas in this book. His acts to maneuver out of holding hands and touching people are hilarious. And I admired the fact that he wasn't a love-sick teenage boy (for most of the time) and could think on his feet without being completely forgiving. 

I'm also a huge fan of the epilogues. I love that the end of each book has a small letter from within the WICKED organization. I'm hoping for more of them throughout the book. I think one between each chapter would be really interesting, so we can see WICKED develop with the characters and plot of the story. 

From where this book ends, I feel like The Death Cure is going to be The Maze Runner/ The Scorch Trials all over again, but as the last book in the series, I'm really hoping that we are able to conclude this series well and we learn more about the world and why WICKED is doing all of this. 

If you've read this book, let me know what you think in the comments below! Do you like it better than Maze Runner? 

The Maze Runner | James Dashner

If you ain’t scared, you ain’t human.

When Thomas wakes up in the lift, the only thing he can remember is his name. He’s surrounded by strangers—boys whose memories are also gone.

Nice to meet ya, shank. Welcome to the Glade.

Outside the towering stone walls that surround the Glade is a limitless, ever-changing maze. It’s the only way out—and no one’s ever made it through alive.

Everything is going to change.

Then a girl arrives. The first girl ever. And the message she delivers is terrifying.

Remember. Survive. Run.

I know I'm a bit late to the Maze Runner party, however I will admit I was a bit nervous to read this book. When popular hype starts surrounding a book (movies being made, merchandise being sold, etc.), the book sometimes disappoints (Ex. Twilight, Mockingjay, etc.). But the driving factor for me reading this book was that I really really wanted to watch Dylan O'Brien in the movie and I can't watch movies without reading the book. 

And so it began, I picked it up, started reading. It was a bit hard to get into since I was suffering from post-percabeth depression after the Blood of Olympus, but once I finally did, it was honestly amazing. 

The best part of this book was without a doubt the plot. The entire plot was completely action-packed, filled with mysteries and plot-twists the entire way through. The world that James Dashner has built is just so interesting. At first it began to seem like a hunger games situation, but as we learn more and more about the plot and the purpose, the story seems to take a different route altogether. 

I wasn't a huge fan of the characters, mainly Teresa. While the boys would troop together and work together to solve every obstacle that comes their way, Teresa honestly didn't really serve a purpose. I'm sure she must have a bigger part in the other books but in this one she was just sitting in a cell the whole time or sorta flirting with Thomas. Of course she was the "most beautiful girl he's ever seen" and "he couldn't take his mind off of her". Her whole presence just seemed too cliche and I wasn't a huge fan. 

As book one in the series, I think this book did an overall great job of setting up the world but also introducing a bigger plot towards the end of the book. Something bigger than them and the Glade. Not at all a slow read, I would recommend this to dystopian lovers, anyone who liked the Hunger Games or Divergent should definitely read this book! 

Series Tag | Shatter Me Trilogy

Hey Fantabulous Readers!

I have done the Series Tag for the Shatter Me Trilogy!

Series Tag | Mortal Instruments

Question #1: What do you think of the covers?

I have to say I really like these covers. They aren't the best covers, but they aren't the worst. I get a sense of action and intensity from them which makes me want to pick up the book. 

Question #2: Why did you decide to read this series? 

This series has been EVERYWHERE. Since City of Heavenly Fire recently came out, there has been so much buzz about these books along with the Infernal Devices. There were so many fandoms surrounding Jace and Will and Jem that I just had to pick up the books to find out what they were. 

Question #3: What was your first impression of the series?

I was hooked onto the series by the first page. I instantly fell in love with Jace, Simon, Clary, Izzy, Alec, the whole gang and I just kept plowing through the series never wanting it to end. 

Question #4: What was your final impression of the series?

*hysterically sobbing* IT'S OVER?!? I was incredibly upset that one of my favorite series was over. 

Question #5: Who was your favorite character in the series?

Simon. No, Jace. No, Alec. No, Magnus...I don't know I love them all! I'm not choosing, I can't choose! 

Question #6: Which character showed the most growth in this series?

For this question, I would probably have to say Clary. She's introduced to this whole new world and takes it with such ease and becomes this amazing Shadowhunter. From the beginning to the end, she's just been an incredible protagonist.

Question #7: How long will you be in post-book depression after reading this series?

Forever.

Question #8: Jace, Simon, or Alec?  

You can't make me choose. I pick all of them and I'm including Magnus. 

Question #9: Rate the books in order from favorite to least favorite. 

1. City of Heavenly Fire
2. City of Glass
3. City of Lost Souls
4. City of Bones
5. City of Fallen Angels
6. City of Ashes

Question #10: What's your favorite ship? 

Clace. Malec. Sizzy. You can't make me pick. That's cruel. 

City of Heavenly Fire | Cassandra Clare

In this dazzling and long-awaited conclusion to the acclaimed Mortal Instruments series, Clary and her friends fight the greatest evil they have ever faced: Clary's own brother.

Sebastian Morgenstern is on the move, systematically turning Shadowhunter against Shadowhunter. Bearing the Infernal Cup, he transforms Shadowhunters into creatures out of nightmare, tearing apart families and lovers as the ranks of his Endarkened army swell.

The embattled Shadowhunters withdraw to Idris - but not even the famed demon towers of Alicante can keep Sebastian at bay. And with the Nephilim trapped in Idris, who will guard the world against demons?

When one of the greatest betrayals the Nephilim have ever known is revealed, Clary, Jace, Isabelle, Simon, and Alec must flee - even if their journey takes them deep into the demon realms, where no Shadowhunter has set foot before, and from which no human being has ever returned...

Love will be sacrificed and lives lost in the terrible battle for the fate of the word in the thrilling final installment of the classic urban fantasy series The Mortal Instruments!

This book was absolutely phenomenal. It concluded everything in the most perfect way possible. And even though I'm upset that the series is over and my time with Clary, Jace, and all the other characters is over, I don't think there was a better way to end this wonderful series.