Winter is the fourth and final book in The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer. This book features Winter (loosely based on Snow White), and takes place on Luna. It was released on November 10, 2015.
Synopsis
Princess Winter is admired by the Lunar people for her grace and kindness, and despite the scars that mar her face
Winter despises her stepmother, and knows Levana won't approve of her feelings for her childhood friend--the handsome palace guard, Jacin. But Winter isn't as weak as Levana believes her to be and she's been undermining her stepmother's wishes for years. Together with the cyborg, Cinder, and her allies, Winter might even have the power to launch a revolution and win a war that's been raging for far too long.
Can Cinder, Scarlet, Cress, and Winter defeat Levana and find their happily ever afters? Fans will not want to miss this thrilling conclusion to Marissa Meyer's national bestelling Lunar Chronicles series.
Characters
- Winter
- Cinder
- Scarlet
- Cress
- Kai
- Thorne
- Wolf
- Jacin Clay
- Queen Levana
- Iko
- Torin
- Aimery Park
- Maha Kesley
- Ryu
- Storm
- Linh Adri
- Linh Pearl
Sneak peeks
- Winter in Chapter Three:
She screamed like a thousand birds were picking at her flesh. She screamed like the palace was burning down around her. - Winter about Jacin in Chapter Three:
She would have auctioned off the Milky Way if it would have made his intentions a little less honorable. - Cinder and Kai in Chapter Four:
"Hold these wires and make sure they don't touch."
"What happens if they touch?"
"Oh, probably nothing, but there is a small chance the ship would self-destruct."(Mikayla shca) - Her whole body was wound up tight. She was ready to storm the palace herself—an army of one.
- It did not feel like home. It felt like a place that had been built to be paradise, but had become a prison.
- "Greenwich is a funny word, isn't it? All green and witchy. Like soup."
- Fear was a weakness in the court. Much better to act unperturbed. Much safer to act crazy, when in doubt.
- In a moment of weakness, he craned his head and kissed her on the shoulder, where the drop of blood had fallen before.
- "The queen's prized arctic wolf. Once an alpha male." He turned to Scarlet. "But you need a pack to be an alpha, don't you?"
- His posture spoke of condescension, his expression disinterest. He was all brambles and icicles as he strode closer to her cage.
- He laughed, like someone had stabbed him in the chest and he had no other choice but to find it amusing.
- She was prettier than a bouquet of roses and crazier than a headless chicken. Fitting in was not an option.
- "Oh, stars. I don't know his real name. How can I not know his real name? What kind of alpha mate am I?"
- "She definitely has a crush on you. It's about the size of Jupiter."
- "He must know she has a crush on him the size of Jupiter."
"And that's a reason he shouldn't dance with her?" - She had the bone structure of a bird. Wolf probably could have crushed her with his fingertips.
- "You're a good guy, Thorne." She paused. "Well, you have your moments."
- "People do not put their faith in phantoms."
- "I expected palm trees and red carpets," said Iko, brow drawn in a show of severe disappointment.
- "Right now, a kiss is the going rate for near-death experiences. It's kind of a point system."
- She still looked furious, but now she also looked a little intimidated. Not intimidated enough, but a little.
- "I don't hear anything."
"Exactly. That's what happens when you 'stop talking'." - Over a dozen thaumaturges were stationed around the room. It was almost like the queen expected someone to start trouble.
- Being tyrannized by Levana had a way of making allies of enemies.
- "I intend to put an end to the rumors of the darling Princess Selene once and for all."
- Levana already wanted her dead. She couldn't very well want her 'more' dead.
- If she'd learned anything from Thorne, it was that sometimes gumption was all a person really needed to be heroic.
- "You are a child playing at war games," he said, "and you're too naive to realize that you've already lost."
- "All I ever wanted were two legs, ten fingers, and perfect hair. Is that really so much to ask?"
- "But I forgot my ball gown on Earth."
"Don't worry. You wouldn't want to get blood all over it anyway." - Instead of being pierced together with wires and steel, these creatures were a jigsaw of muscle tissue and cartilage.
- When they arrived, they arrived in force—a dozen military ships surrounding the safe house, guns drawn.
- "They're the first crew I've ever had, and most of them even call me Captain. I'm going to miss them."
- "Being raised on Luna seems to really mess people up. She wouldn't be the lovable cyborg we've all come to adore."
- "We have had word that some political groups are calling for the forced abdication of Emperor Kaito."
- She was a danger to his hard-earned neutrality. Thinking about her tended to give him an unwanted hitch in his lungs.
- "May I request a new uniform? A towel seems inappropriate for the position."
- She was going to have to train herself not to stare at him quite as often as she was used to. That would be no easy task.
- She would die here and not complain. She would be buried beneath this avalanche of lifelessness.
- "I am your guard. I'm here to protect you and keep you out of trouble, and that’s it."
- "What did you bring me today? Delusional mutterings with a side of crazy?"
- Tapping a finger against the flesh of her elbow, she deadpanned, "Jacin Clay, there is an assassin under my bed."
- "A kiss from the Captain would probably melt my central processor."
Thorne winked at her. "Oh trust me. It would." - "If this emperor thing doesn’t work out, you might have a future career in espionage."
- Evret had died protecting the queen, his wife. They said that Levana had sobbed hysterically for hours.
- "See that eye roll? It translates to, 'How am I possibly keeping my hands off of you, Captain?'"
- "Yes, I am that arrogant. Not only do I think you should help us, but I think you will."
- He had no choice. The words, rough and strained, were out before he could feel them on his tongue. "Yes, My Queen."
- Over time, bats had come to symbolize safe travels through the solar system and keen sight in the darkness of space.
- "No. She will never be queen." She swayed toward him, and he felt like he was being encircled by a python, smothered and choked.
- His skin looked so pale that for a sinking moment she imagined he was one of Levana's animals - one of her pets.
- He cast a glance around at the numerous weapons in the hands of the crew. "It looks like you might require some diplomacy."
- "I guess that's that, then. It's been nice trying to save the world with you."
Notes
In Cinder, it is mentioned that Queen Levana had a stepdaughter whom she forced to mutilate her own face because she had become very beautiful. The idea was decided against.
Also, Marissa mentions this tidbit in an interview: "Winter is based on Snow White, and will be the epic conclusion of the story. Princess Winter, Levana's stepdaughter, has been raised in the luxurious courts of Artemisia, Luna's capital city, and has seen firsthand the destruction that can be caused when people abuse their Lunar gift. As a result, she's sworn an oath to never use her gift at all... which has come with the side effect of slowly driving her mad. There's only one person she feels she can trust—Jacin Clay, her best friend since childhood. Unfortunately, as a royal guard, Jacin is already under her stepmother's control..."
Foreign editions
Winter is set to be translated and published in the following countries:
| Works in the The Lunar Chronicles series | |||
|---|---|---|---|
|
|||
|
|||
|
|||
|
|||