A Kiss for Midwinter/ Courtney Milan/ 158 pgs

This is a short, just right holiday romance. Jonas is a conscientious doctor who regrets not speaking up early in his career. He's on the serious side and bears the burden of caring for his elderly, hoarder father. Lydia is a young lady "with a past," one that she thinks she's put behind her but truthfully she's just buried it beneath a mountain of cheerfulness. The author doesn't shy away from blunt dialogue between her characters, which worked here since Jonas is a doctor. Both characters were well drawn and their romance was sweet.

Winter Garden/ Kristin Hannah/ 391 pages

Winter Garden written by Kristin Hannah is a story of a mother who hides all emotion and two daughters trying to break through.  When Meredith and Nina were young, their mother, Anya, told them a fairy tale of peasant Vera, prince Sasha and their great love.  One day Anya refuses to continue to tell the tale.  After the passing of Meredith's and Nina's father, the girls must find a way to convince Anya to finish the tale.  It was their dying father's wish.  Along the way the reader is introduced to Jeff, Meredith's husband and Danny, Nina's boyfriend.  Meredith has stayed close to home, helping her father run the family apple orchard.  Nina has traveled the world often with Danny in search of the perfect photograph.  As more of the fairy tale is told, it becomes evident that the story is true and very much a part of Anya's life.  Over all the book will hold the reader's interest although the characters seem a bit extreme in each of their weaknesses.  The 'fairy tale' gives an insiders recounting of the Siege of Leningrad and the suffering endured.  The ending is just a little too neat, but does reinforce the idea presented through out the book of not waiting to do something.

Winter / Marissa Meyer / 824 pgs

I would say that I was upset that the series has ended, what has become my favorite YA series, and indeed one of my favorite series period, but then I would be forgetting that I still have Stars Above and I'm so excited about that! Winter was a bit long, but I still gave the book 5 stars because the ending completely satisfied me.

Winter is considered Book #4 in the series, although with Fairest (Book #3.5), it's actually the 5th book in the series. Everything comes to a head as Cinder, Captain Carswell Thorne (easily my favorite character), Wolf, Emperor Kai, and Cress take on Queen Levana. Scarlett still needs saving. And Princess Winter must learn to overcome her Lunar sickness if she wants to help in the revolution against her evil stepmother. Like the other three main books, a bit of romance for Winter occurs as she deals with her attraction to her childhood friend, now royal guard, Jacin Clay.

Of the four women in the series, Winter was my least favorite and her romance with Jacin was probably my least favorite to read, but that didn't detract too much from all of the action and the final showdown between Cinder and her friends and Levana. That said, I did like that the story of Winter probably most mirrored the original fairy tale (this time it was Snow White) than the other books mirrored their respective fairy tales. All in all, I loved this series and will be sad to finish with Stars Above this coming week.