*Beware of Spoilers*

This was everything that I wanted it to be.  It was thrilling, romantic, action packed and yes it had some happy endings.  It is a fairy tale after all.  Cinder, Scarlet, Cress, Winter, Kai, Wolf, Throne and Jacin go through quite a lot in this but I think even they would say it was worth it.  As a whole this has been a very satisfying.  I don’t think you can say one book was weaker then the other.  They were all pretty solid.  All the heroines were strong in their own way and can I give props to Marissa Meyer for giving them all jobs commonly associated with men.  Cinder is a mechanic.  Scarlet is a farmer and pilot and Cress is a computer programmer.  Winter is the only one that follows the stereotypical fairy tale occupation of Princess but it doesn’t diminish her in any way.  While they do have the help of their male love interests, the girls are not damsels in distress and in Winter they prove it.   Winter begins a few weeks after the end of Cress.  Cinder and her crew have successfully kidnapped Kai and stopped his wedding to Queen Levana.  They are biding their time while they give each other time to recover and plan their next move.  To overthrow Levana, Cinder must make her case to the Lunars but that’s not an easy task.  Meanwhile, Scarlet is still a pet in Winter’s menagerie.  She and us are getting to know Winter a little bit better and despite that fact she is being held prisoner, Scarlet is starting to like Winter.  Winter, a sweet girl, who long ago decided she wasn’t going to use her gift because she didn’t want to be like her stepmother.  As brave and noble as this is, it is also taking it’s toll.  Her hallucinations are getting worse.  She starts to fell a little better once Jacin returns after betraying Cinder and friends but even Jacin can’t stop them.

Without going into too much detail, Winter arc follows Snow Whites, just as the others followed the tales of Cinderella, Red Riding Hood and Rapunzel.  Despite everything that is thrown out her, Winter never loses her sweet demeanor.  She continues to fight and treat people with respect.  The one thing that Levana never understood.  Winter was just loved by her people isn’t because she is beautiful but because she truly cares about people. Something that maybe all world leaders could learn from.

The girls all have moments of self doubt and things unraveling around them but they are all smart and resourceful.  They figure out ways to survive.  This is a book full of bad ass women.  Also men.  I do have to give some love to Kai, Throne, Wolf and Jacin.  They may play second fiddle to our heroines but they are no means not important to the the story.  Kai for instance spends most of book separated from the group. He has no idea what’s going on or if they are even alive but he stays with the plan and even comes up with a back up to help them out.  They men step up when their women need them and that’s very sexy.

I’m going to miss these characters but it was a good ending.  Everyone got their happy ending and you can’t complain about that.  I can’t wait to read what Marissa Meyer writes next because if the Lunar Chronicles is any indication, it’s going to be good.