I’m over 1500 pages into this series and still can’t get enough! Cress is just as exciting, just as compelling as Cinder and Scarlet were. Our main characters continue to multiply and develop, and every one of them has depth. Cress joins the team, and even though she’s very different from both Cinder and Scarlet, she’s just as likable. The three male characters are also complicated in different ways, and very suited to their female counterparts. It’s a well-crafted story with great characters. 

There are a few incidents that seem too good to be true–people finding each other on Earth is hard enough, but searching and finding through space? Not likely. Meyer does a good job of giving these characters just enough opposition that the reader doesn’t mind too much though, and after all, we do want them to find each other. It’s the only way they can win. I’m confident they will, and can’t wait to read on to find out how they manage it. Part of me hopes that Winter won’t be the end–just so I can keep enjoying this series!

Content Analysis:

Profanity/Language:  None

Violence/Gore:  A character views reports of people brutally murdered by non-human attackers (twice); a character thinks about another person’s ability to kill brutally; a person is known to have committed suicide with no details; a character is shot with very little blood; two characters are involved in a serious crash with minor injuries; a character has to be sedated after destroying property in a violent rage; two characters fistfight with no injuries; a character punches another character with no injuries; a character holds another character by the throat with no injuries; a character fights an android with no injuries; an extended (11 pgs) fight takes place with humans and non-humans, resulting in the death or injury of several non-humans; a character is known to have committed suicide after being mentally tortured; a character experiences a gory nightmare.

Sex/Nudity:  A character imagines herself sleeping next to a person of the opposite sex; a character takes a sponge bath in front of a member of the opposite sex; a naked woman is depicted on the side of an aircraft; a character has a member of the opposite sex sit on his lap (twice); a character is grabbed in the buttocks by a member of the opposite sex; two characters kiss briefly.

Mature Subject Matter:

War, death of a family member, gambling.

Alcohol / Drug Use:

Social drinking (adults).