The Lunar Chronicles is over. I won’t be able to theorize about possible plot events anymore; they’ve already happened. There won’t be any more stories starring my favorite cyborg princess and Lunar special operative (unless Meyer pulls a J. K. Rowling and keeps milking the series). I can only imagine what Scarlet, Wolf, Cress, Thorne, Kai, Cinder, Jacin, and Winter are doing now.

It’s slowly hitting me that the journey is over.

I’m not handling it well.

I thought about reviewing Winter, but I’m not great at avoiding spoilers and to write about it would ruin the entire series for newcomers.

This was the only course of action: a survey of things to expect from a book that offers the unexpected.

1. Violence
   The series has never shied away from violence–people get shot, burnt to death, and have their limbs chopped off all the time–but Winter is especially gruesome. Expect a lot of gore, especially when the queen’s soldiers make an appearance.
2. The queen’s soldiers return
   Oh yeah, remember those guys? The not-werewolves who eat people alive? They’re back, and they play an interesting role in this take on Snow White. My little brother rudely likened them to Channing Tatum’s character in Jupiter Ascending.
   
3. Most of the book takes place on Luna
   AKA enemy territory! Surprise!
4. Princess Winter is the main character…sort of
   As the story is based on Snow White, Princess Winter should–and for the most part does–take center stage. However, Meyer now has eight POV characters, including dreamy guard Jacin Clay.
5. Speaking of Jacin…
   The other books in the series were praised for their romance. Scarlet was my favorite for its fast-paced, angsty love story.
   Winter puts Scarlet to shame. It features forbidden/unrequited love AND a bodyguard crush featuring the wonderfully snarky Jacin Clay, so of course it’s my favorite of the four.
6. Scarlet/Wolf shippers might not like the book
   Scarlet and Wolf’s romance takes a backseat to the other characters’ love lives and various plot developments, which I found…unfortunate.
   
7. There’s a weird not-romance between Iko and a palace guard
   I might be hung up on romance, but I thought this was a strange addition. It seems like Iko’s interactions with guard Kinney are headed in this direction…it’s very strange.
8. There are a lot of twists–a lot
   I read the majority of this book either at work or at a friend’s house late at night, which meant a lot of silent fist-pumping and muffled screaming. The pacing isn’t as great as Cress, partly because of the book’s length, but the last 100 pages fly by.
9. Remember Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows? Winter‘s kind of like that
   Complete with a final, bloody battle in front of a castle.
10. Prepare for a bittersweet ending
    Come on, Cinder and Winter have to fight a manipulative, power-mad queen and all her brainwashed flunkies for the Lunar throne. There’s going to be some collateral damage.
11. I’m not sure I like it
    You have to understand that I’m mourning my favorite series, so I’m far from objective.
    I think most of the characters were given satisfying endings–I especially love what was done with Cinder and Winter’s characters–and the final page wrapped up the series perfectly.
    But there’s something missing and I’m not yet ready to say what.

Please go get a copy if you haven’t already–Winter is a really fun read. Then, when you’re done, let me know your feelings about the ending.