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noellegrace8's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Also. Winter & Jacin > everyone else. I freaking love them.
Winter's story also has the most clever parallels to her fairytale as well (in my humble opinion). Cinder is a close second, but I think Winter's story is a lot more exciting.
The revolution is a bit challenging, as it (understandably) has to wrap up every bit of convoluted plot line and can be a bit anxiety-inducing. Sometimes you genuinely feel that the characters are about to die and/or lose.
The last chapters are done in the way of the movie version of the Return of the King - where we get to see each person's ending. It is a bit saccharine, but in the perfect way that modern fairy tales are.
I was glad to see Cress & Thorne finally be solid. It was frustrating to read their back-and-forth in book 3, but there are some PERFECTLY written scenes between the two of them in this one. Also, can I just say that I love the mild allusion to other versions of Rapunzel? Like how Thorne stabs Cress in the side just like Mother Gothel stabs Flynn in Tangled?
I did struggle a bit when it was revealed that Levana has a disfigured face. Mostly because I don't understand how cyborgs are a reality but plastic surgery isn't? But more than that, it seemed like a weak/frustrating plot device, one that goes against the whole idea of Snow White (that the Evil Queen *is* in fact gorgeous on the outside, but can't understand that her *heart* is ugly). Still not anything worth docking stars for.
Seriously. So. Good.
I don't factor audiobook narrators' performances into my overall star rating, but I would give Rebecca Soler a 4/5 for this one. As previously stated in my other reviews of books 1-3, I got used to her slightly different voices and grew to appreciate them, especially certain characters. There were still some pieces that should have been re-recorded due to minor errors, but again, that feels like it should be on whoever did the mixing and production. But the one thing that really made me dock that extra half star compared to last time, was Winter's voice. She is voiced like a baby, and it was grating on my ears. I also don't appreciate the infantilization of a character who is 17 with a love interest who is 19. It just feels icky. I think she could have come across as "crazy" yet "alluring" and "innocent" without being voiced as a child.
Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Death, Mental illness, Violence, Blood, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gaslighting, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Ableism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Chronic illness, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Slavery, Terminal illness, Torture, Toxic relationship, Xenophobia, Medical content, Grief, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, and Colonisation
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Genocide, Gore, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Suicide attempt, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment
melissaslibraryy's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Slavery, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Medical content, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Fire/Fire injury, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, and Pandemic/Epidemic
amschelly153's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Moderate: Animal death, Bullying, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
kenna13's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Ableism, Animal death, Confinement, Torture, Violence, Blood, Colonisation, War, and Classism
Moderate: Death, Gun violence, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Slavery
ameydireads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
I did like Winter, although I didn’t fully understand why she chose to not use her Lunar gift every now and then. This would have kept her safe from Lunar sickness. Like Scarlet mentions, she could have just used it to change the color of her dress. Her reply to this is somewhat acceptable, but not fully satisfying.
But she did make a very good point with which I fully agree!
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Mental illness, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual harassment, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Minor: Child death and Abandonment
meganpbell's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Moderate: Ableism, Animal death, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Gun violence, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
vendy_kha's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Animal death, Body shaming, Bullying, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Blood, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, and War
Moderate: Kidnapping, Mass/school shootings, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Sexual assault
psliz's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Torture, Violence, Murder, and War
Moderate: Ableism, Confinement, Gore, Sexual assault, Suicide, and Kidnapping
Minor: Rape, Blood, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
le3713's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Gun violence, Mental illness, Violence, and Blood
Moderate: Animal death, Confinement, and Torture
teri_b's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Marissa Meyer brings all the various strands of her multiple POVs together, and beautifully so.
What I possibly love the most in this series are the four female main characters. Each one is so different, and yet, they accept each other in their differences & their handicaps and work together for what you could call within the story, the greater good.
The book is not a light read however, so it is worthwhile to check on content warnings, there are quite a few.
Graphic: Violence and War
Moderate: Animal death and Confinement
mind control