Winter by Marissa Meyer: FAQ (2024 Edition)

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This is the fourth book in The Lunar Chronicles series by New York Times-bestselling author Marissa Meyer.

In this article, you will find answers to some frequently asked questions about this book.

Also, this article contains spoilers. So if you haven’t read Winter yet, proceed with caution.

I hope you enjoy reading these, and I hope this post answers some of the questions you may have about this book!

Who is Winter Blackburn?

Winter was born on January 3, 109 T.E. to Evret Hayle and to Solstice Hayle. Solstice dies shortly after her birth. Her father was forced to marry Princess Levana when Winter was only a few months old. Therefore, Winter became the stepdaughter of Levana and thus a princess of Luna.

Her father was murdered by Head Thaumaturge Joshua Haddon, under Levana’s orders. She told Scarlet that she had no friends (besides animals) except for Jacin Clay, a Lunar guard, her friend since childhood, and Cinder, whom she knew as Princess Selene, whom she presumed dead.

She refuses to use her Lunar gift because she used her gift to stop a servant from attempting suicide. Later, after the servant succeeds, Winter learned that Thaumaturge Aimery Park had been torturing her and that by trying to help, Winter had only made it worse. After that, Winter swore to never use her gift again.

How old is Winter?

In the book Winter, Winter is 17 years old. in the short story Something Old, Something New from Stars Above she is around 19 years old

What does Winter look like?

Winter Lunar Chronicles Fanart

Winter is 5’9” tall and slender, but with curves, extremely graceful limbs, and a long neck. She has warm, dark brown skin with three long scars on her right cheek, high cheekbones, and full ruby-red lips. Her hair is in thick, black, tight corkscrew curls that fall to just below her shoulders. Her eyes are bright caramel-colored, with hints of slate-gray around the pupils and emerald flecks. Marissa Meyer also describes her as having “ridiculously long eyelashes.

Because of her beauty, Levana forced Winter to mutilate her own face at the age of thirteen. As a result of this, she has three scars that cut down from the corner of her eye down to her jaw.

Winter and Jacin

Jacin and Winter are childhood friends. At the age of thirteen Winter realizes her feelings for Jacin. However, she does not let her feelings for him get in the way of their relationship. Years later, when Winter is classed with Lunar sickness, Jacin still shows unwavering loyalty towards her and stays by her side no matter what. It appears that Jacin’s feelings for Winter grew over the years.

In Winter, as part of the royal guard, Jacin occasionally lets his professionalism slip when talking only with Winter, showing a close bond between the two. When Levana is forcing Jacin into the task of killing Winter or if he doesn’t she will kill his family, he decides to kill Ryu instead to fake her death. Before Winter escapes, they share a kiss. Once confronted with head thaumaturge Aimery, Winter decides to finally use her Lunar gift once more. She ends up killing him but suffers from damage mentally, causing her to have memory loss. Jacin stays by her side until she wakes up from her mental trauma, and she regains her memories.

Who does Winter end up with?

She ends up with Jacin, her best childhood friend and Lunar guard.

When and where does this book take place?

Winter continues where Cress left off. The book follows Winter and the others from the Rampion crew. Therefore this means that the book takes place both in Luna and on Earth.

[SPOILER]

Does Winter die?

No, she does not die.

[SPOILER]

Who dies in this novel?

There are a couple of characters who die in this book. One is Aimery. Another is Maha who is Wolf’s mother and the one whose death concludes the story is Queen Levana.

What happens to Wolf?

Wolf is captured by Levana’s guards and he later wakes up after being transformed into a “mostly-wolf” soldier. A thaumaturge gives him food, only to punish him as he tries to take it to teach him obedience. His memories seem to be tampered with as he has vague, twisted memories of Scarlet. He is one of the guards for Levana’s coronation ceremony. Later Wolf attacks Levana. In the end, Wolf and Scarlet talk about their feelings for one another.

Is this book the last in The Lunar Chronicles?

Yes, Winter is the last “full” book in The Lunar Chronicles series. However, there is also Fairest which was released after Winter but is actually a novella and book 3.5. So this could be read between Cress and Winter or after Winter. There is also another novella after Winter. This book is called Stars Above and contains short stories about the past, before Cinder, and throughout the series. The last story “Something Old, Something New” takes place about two years after Winter making it a new short story.

Summary

Princess Winter is admired by the Lunar people for her grace and kindness, despite the scars that mark her face.

Winter despises her stepmother and knows Levana won’t approve of her childhood friend–the 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.

Spoilers

  • Kai and Levana end up getting married. Kai stabs Levana in her arm, stating he won’t let her control him and he won’t submit.
  • Princess Winter refuses to use her Lunar gift and thus is affected by the Lunar Sickness.
  • Cinder, Thorne, Iko, and Wolf sneak on a Lunar ship towards Luna and find their way to RM9 where they take refuge with Maha, Wolf’s mother.
  • Cinder, Jacin, and Iko steal the Letumosis cure from the shell lab.
  • Cress and Thore finally kiss for real after she admits her frustration with him never seeing her as he does other girls.
  • Scarlet and Winter find the wolf soldiers, barely convincing them not to eat them. When they realize Winter gave up part of her sanity in a vow to never use Lunar manipulation again they join them in the fight against Levana.

Quotes

“She was prettier than a bouquet of roses and crazier than a headless chicken. Fitting in was not an option.”

“What did you bring me today? Delusional mutterings with a side of crazy?”

“I don’t hear anything.”

“Exactly. That’s what happens when you *stop talking*.”

“You should hate me. I’m an idiot. I made a mistake.”

“You may be an idiot, but I assure you, you’re quite a lovable one.”

“She’s our lost princess. And she’s coming home.”

“Oh, stars. I don’t know his real name. How can I not know his real name? What kind of alpha mate am I?”

Ending and Explanation

Levana tells Cinder that Cinder’s mother, Queen Channary, forced Levana to self-immolate herself as a child and made her this way. She then demands Cinder relinquish all claims to the throne or she kills Thorne. When Thorne calls her bluff, Levana has him jump, with Cinder catching him at the last moment.

Levana still has Thorne under her control when they wrestle. Thorne is about to shoot Cinder when Cress comes in and shoots the gun out of his hand, injuring him. Still under Levana’s control, Thorne stabs Cress in the stomach. As Cinder is distracted with trying to kill Levana, Thorne stabs Cinder in the thigh. Scarlet and Wolf show up, and Levana takes control over Scarlet. Cinder has to knock Scarlet out. Wolf then rushes to her aid and is the only one Levana cannot control, as he helps Scarlet and Cress. They continue the fight both turning their own guns on themselves. Levana feigns penance, then stabs Cinder in the chest, who in turn shoots her. Levana dies, while Cinder survives due to being a cyborg.

In the aftermath, Wolf and Scarlet talk about their feelings for each other, Thorne and Cress officially become a couple, while Jacin kisses a recovering Winter awake, later hinting at his feelings. Cinder agrees to sign the Treaty of Bremen with Earth, making a true alliance between Earth and Luna. She is later crowned Queen of Luna. She discusses with Kai the possibility of abdicating the throne and establishing Luna as a republic as he gives back her old cyborg foot and asks if she would ever consider being an Empress. Cinder says she would consider it.

[SPOILER] 

What happens after this novel?

It is not fully clear what happens after Winter. After Winter there is a novella” Stars Above”. This book contains multiple short stories but only one that takes place after the series finale. There is also an interactive book about Cinder’s wedding.

Is this book spicy?

No, I would not say this book is spicy. It is a full-on YA fantasy/sci-fi romance with a kiss now and again but never more and not descriptive.

Are there LGBTQ+ characters or romance in this book?

No, Winter does not contain any LGBTQ+ characters or romance.

Conclusion

I hope this article has answered some of your questions about this book.

And if you want to read more about the Lunar Chronicles on this blog, check out:

Lastly, I hope that, if you have any questions I didn’t get to answer in this post, you will let me know in the comments below!

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