Cinder, the cyborg mechanic, returns in the second thrilling installment of the bestselling Lunar Chronicles. She's trying to break out of prison—even though if she succeeds, she'll be the Commonwealth's most wanted fugitive.
Halfway around the world, Scarlet Benoit's grandmother is missing. It turns out there are many things Scarlet doesn't know about her grandmother or the grave danger she has lived in her whole life. When Scarlet encounters Wolf, a street fighter who may have information as to her grandmother's whereabouts, she is loath to trust this stranger, but is inexplicably drawn to him, and he to her. As Scarlet and Wolf unravel one mystery, they encounter another when they meet Cinder. Now, all of them must stay one step ahead of the vicious Lunar Queen Levana, who will do anything for the handsome Prince Kai to become her husband, her king, her prisoner.
Hardcover, 452 pages
Published February 5th 2013 by Feiwel and Friends
(info grabbed from GoodReads)
Holy amazeballs did I love this book. Marissa Meyer does an amazing job with faerie tale retellings in that she creates a story all her own while still maintaining a slight nostalgic feeling from the original story. I was a little worried that Scarlet would deviate from the plot in Cinder, but I could not be happier with this sequel. I think it was even better than Cinder; Scarlet added a new set of characters, moved the plot forward, and did both without ever feeling incomplete in either area. Did I mention I think Marissa Meyer is brilliant?
Moving on, Scarlet as a new character is awesome. I didn’t think anything was really missing from Cinder, but now that I have read the sequel I can say that Scarlet was missing from this series. She is a presence that needed to be. Her stubbornness and kickass-ery made her a force to be reckoned with. This new Super Little Red Riding Hood can hold her own against the Big Bad Wolf, and does so with French flair.
I love the writing in Scarlet maybe not because it’s the greatest ever, but because it is easy to get pulled into the story. I didn’t have that “lost” feeling I usually get from sequels where you can’t remember what all happened in the preceding book, and I think it was because Marissa Meyer’s writing made it so easy to get pulled back into her fantastical cyberpunk world. She referenced and reminded the reader of events in Cinder without a flashback sequence or any other cliché for sequels. It was seamlessly woven into the story and made for a very enjoyable read.
Scarlet did not disappoint in anyway, and in fact exceeded my expectations. It is filled with great characters, an amazing plot, and cyberpunk awesomeness -- you just need to read and enjoy the glory that is Scarlet.
Final Thought: 10 out of 10 toadstools
This review is also posted on GoodReads
Yes. ^^This.
ReplyDeleteYou basically took everything I thought and felt about Scarlet and put it into a beautifully coherent review!
Scarlet was one of the books that I simultaneously wanted to devour and stretch out forever.... But now I finished it and I literally have no idea how I'm going to make it until Cress's release!! I'm really excited to meet Cress, but I think more than that I just want Cinder and Kai to actually be in the same room!
Ugh.
Book feels.
Why thank you for thinking my reviews are coherent! This book has me filled with feels as well. So many feels that I didn't even notice that Kai and Cinder weren't in the same room until you mentioned it. Seriously. I was that absorbed in Scarlet and Wolf, and Cinder's awesome-ness and just everything. But now that it's been mentioned, I'm needing Cress even more than before. ...how are we going to make it, Joie?
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