Scarlet by Marissa Meyer - Book Review

Scarlet by Marissa Meyer (The Lunar Chronicles #2)
Previous Book: Cinder
5 February 2013 - Feiwel and Friends
Format - Pages: Hardback - 452 pages
Genre: Young Adult Science Fiction
Goodreads
Buy it: Amazon, Kindle, B&N

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.

If you haven't read Cinder yet, then this little section is for you. The Lunar Chronicle Series is a series of fairy tale retelling. Kind of. Except it's cooler than that because part of it is in space. The first book is very much a retelling of Cinderella, but Scarlet is less retelling and more action and fun, which I really enjoyed. I will say that I like that Scarlet more than I liked Scarlet.

Okay, so from now on, this review WILL HAVE (probably) SPOILERS FOR CINDER. Let's go!

I really liked Scarlet as a character, so much more than I liked Cinder. So much more. Throughout all of Cinder, I saw her as a weak, whiny character. This book, however, made me like her considerably more. I do still have problems with the Cinder/Kai relationship, but I am hoping that will improve in Cress. I think Cinder's time away from Kai has made her a stronger character, and she will (fingers crossed) bring that strength into their relationship.

So, Scarlet is not just Scarlet's perspective. That surprised me. I did not like that in the beginning because I wanted to know Scarlet and her character (and at this point I still really did not like Cinder), but it grew on me as Cinder grew on me. However, that mainly had to do with this new character that we meet through Cinder: Captain Thorne. I love him. So much. He made Cinder's chapters bearable for me. I am picturing him as a young Captain Hook from Once Upon a Time. He's the good guy with a side that you're not sure if he's good or just grey. I mean, you never know since Cinder did pick him up in prison.

Captain Thorne is a great character, and I love the way he interacts with Cinder. He loosens her up, which was very much needed, and he changed her gradually for the betterment of her character. He is my favorite character from this book, and I was slightly upset that he is meant for Cress (just a speculation, but I have a very good feeling that I'm right) because I shipped Cinder/Thorne more than I ever shipped Cinder/Kai.

Now onto the supposed main character of this book, Scarlet. She is feisty and great and loves her Grand-mere and an overall kick-ass. Also, Wolf is a great morally-grey character, and I really liked him. I did not, however, like the Scarlet/Wolf romance. It was great in the beginning, but just kind of went downhill, which is also what I experienced with Cinder and Kai, so I am no longer blaming the romance of the fairy tale, but on Marissa Meyer because it has now happened twice. I am praying that this doesn't happen with Cress and Thorne because as stated he is my favorite character.

I did really enjoy the furthering of the overarching plot, but I feel as though the reader didn't understand that it was overarching plot until 2/3 of the way through the book, you connect Scarlet's plot to the plot of the series.

Content: PG/PG-13

Language: None - Practically None

Sex: Nonexistent. We are fighting a war with teenagers.

Violence: Present, but not gruesome.

My Goodreads Review

Yes! I am glad that I continued to Scarlet because I was wary after finishing Cinder. However, I will continue to pick these books up from my library because this series -so far- is not a stand-out series to me.