UGHHHHHHH childhood reread!!!! amazing!!!!!!! it genuinely is suuuuch a good ending to this series and it wraps everything up so nicely!! winter has always been one of my favorites, so happy to see her get her flowers, and honestly surprised the psychosis rep held up a decade later. winter is humanized, and while we don't really have an insta-cure, sudden healing from psychosis, that was what i loved as somebody who struggles with it myself. the story is genuinely so...i loved this series so much as a kid and i adore it now. so sad it's over, this world is magical!!

my only critiques with the books is, well, i'm just not a big fan of some of the pairings!! lol, i hated cresswell so bad that i just skipped some of their portions, just hate that dynamic here!! however, knowing the author came from sailor moon fanfic made sooo much sense. scarlet and wolf aren't like rotating in my mind (just cause i was losing it half the time i saw them say alpha and wolf references lol), but holy shit!! they r love...also fucking scarlet is just so good but also ughhhh the fighting everything, even yourself, just for the one you love!! i wish we got more of jacin and winter because where we only had them for a single book, it ran more of a risk of them feeling like instalove, even though they knew each other forever! they have my heart and i just wished we got maybe not a romantic relationship from them, but that's not really the kind of series tlc is. cinder and kai? cinder and kai???? goodness gracious i am soooo normal about them, they're actually amazing.

the pacing itched my brain so much, i finished this book in one day!! it just flies by, and i cannot recommend this series enough. love love love! sad to see it go, maybe another reread in a year or so!

A perfect ending to a fantastic series. I'm going to miss it...

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.

Firstly, the level of sarcasm, sass, and overall snarkiness from every single character in this book is so incredible. Marissa Meyer deserves so many awards just for that. Also, the found family is unmatched in anything else I've read. The set up of Luna and how it is run is reminiscent of Panem from the Hunger Games, and I actually appreciate that because it gave me something to compare it to in my mind and made it easier to understand.

Incorporating Adri and Pearl back into the story was seamless and so important to the ending. I didn't see it coming and I had no idea where she was going with it, but boy did she make it work!

Getting Levana's point of view more often in this book, especially after "Fairest" really solidifies the dislike for her character and we can see how twisted her thinking is and how delusional she is even from her own point of view.

I am glad that in the end, the revolution became as much Winter's as Cinder's. She deserved it so much. And I am glad that we got to see Cinder and Levana finally have a civil conversation (even if it didn't end very well). Also, we all knew Cinder was a great leader- we saw it- but now shes proven to be an amazing ruler as well, and especially because she's not afraid to be new at it. She's okay with asking for help and i think that is really important for someone who didn't grow up royal i think the people will respect her more for it.

Working Émilie back into the story was such a thoughtful touch that Im really glad she added.

I didn't want this story to end. I want to stay in this little fictional world. Also, with someone who has a chronic illness that has complicated so many things in my life, I really feel that this is one fantasy world I could survive in (if only with the support from the Rampion crew) 

Now. Mrs. Meyer. I need a novella for Iko and Kinney to fall in love as well. Please and Thank you

TLDR; 3.5 rating, killed by the power of ugly (apparently), and just a lukewarm end to something that started off really well.
Content warnings at the bottom. :)

Listen, Levana was wrong. She was bad, she killed LOTS of people, and she deserved retribution, but the way they defeated her was just horrible. So she

has burns, because Cinder’s mom pushed her into a fireplace, but we’re supposed to believe that

we’re allowed to throw Levana’s looks in her face, and ultimately kill her, but Cinder should be celebrated for overcoming the same injuries?

What the fuck? Very double standards, I hate it a lot. I’m not saying they should have given Levana grace, but the way she went out defeats the whole characterization of everyone.

This book is also like 200 pages too long. The rest of them just kept running and hiding and separating and it kept happening. Twice is redundant, three times is annoying, and four times is fucking ridiculous. Talk about tedium. 

And somehow, even with the book being too long, Winter and Jacin’s relationship was too rushed. How can a book be too long and have the main romance be so quick? Yadda yadda, that’s how. Those 200 pages of the same shit could’ve been dedicated to building Winter and Jacin’s relationship. 

The one thing that we had a decent time of was the setting, at least. Meyer did a grand job describing the moon and its colonies, which…if you could do it well in this book why didn’t you in literally all the other books? Ugh. 

Rating: 3.5
Would I recommend? Not really, unless you enjoy hypocrisy, 16yo moon queens, and long drawn out action sequences.

Content warnings: Genocide, Medical content, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Classism, Car accident, Colonisation, Emotional abuse, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, War, Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Grief, Murder, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Gun violence, Bullying, Child abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Animal death, Child death, Death of parent, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Body horror, Body shaming, and Pandemic/Epidemic