Scarlet
Series: Book #2 in the Lunar Chronicles
Pages: 512
Genre: young adult, science fiction, fantasy
Rating: four and a half stars
*Before you read this, the review may contain slight spoilers. Please read at your own risk*
Cinder is back and trying to break out of prison―even though she'll be the Commonwealth's most wanted fugitive if she does―in this second installment from Marissa Meyer.
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.
“Little Red was a tender young morsel, and the wolf knew she would be even tastier than the old woman.”
Because it took me so long to finish Cinder, I thought it would take me awhile to finish Scarlet as well. I was nervous going into it, thinking that Scarlet doesn't sound that interesting and it would be typical and I would know the story. And I wasn't sure about reading about Cinder again.
Yet, I still read it thanks to my friend, Rebecca, who asked me to buddy read with her.
Scarlet blew me away.
This book is much more fast paced than Cinder, first off. I was into the story right off the bat. I was insanely curious about Scarlet, her grandmother and the secrets they both kept. I found myself unable to put the book down for a second and ended up finishing it in one day. Needless to say, I'm not good at buddy reading!
This book starts off from Scarlet's POV. What happened to Cinder at the end of her book is being seen through Scarlet's eyes as she's working and sees it on the TV. She's sympathetic to Cinder and what she's going through, which makes her even more awesome just for that. Scarlet's grandmother has been missing for a few weeks and she wants to know where she is and if she's okay. Her grandmother wouldn't just leave, especially without a goodbye. But Scarlet begins to learn that her grandmother has many secrets, some even dangerous. Her journey through this story starts shaky and ends up with strength and determination. Scarlet is strong and willful, demanding to know what happened and uncovers the secrets on the way, unraveling some major clues as to who the Princess is and how they're all connected.
“I'm going to escape now.”- Scarlet
Wolf comes into the picture. He's mysterious, shy, and unsure of himself. It's different from the total alpha and arrogant men we read about nowadays. It was refreshing to read about a man that while mysterious, is also sweet and shy, very boy like. We aren't sure about Wolf and what's going on with him. Is he an actual wolf? Is his name just ironic to his aggressive looking stature? Who knows! But I adored him all the same. We can tell he's hiding something but secrets are slow coming and it drove me nuts because I couldn't figure out if I should trust him or not. He's strong and brave, yet something dark lies beneath it all.
“I know you must want nothing to do with me. I don’t blame you.” Wolf scrunched up his shoulders, and met her with an expression full of regret. “But you’re the only one, Scarlet. You’ll always be the only one.”- Wolf
Scarlet and Wolf are great together. They interact smoothly and realistically. It's awkward when it should be and cute at the right moments. I loved reading about them and was upset when the next chapter was from a different person's POV. I found myself rooting for them to stay together and and was so sad at a few parts. I just love them and reading about their time together.
“Amusement touched the corner of his lips. "Animals love me."
"Oh, I'm sure they do," Scarlet said, beaming with fake encouragement. She shut the door before muttering, "What farm animals don't love a wolf?” -Scarlet, Wolf
We also meet another new character,
“She surveyed him for a long moment, her brows knitting together. "Murder?"
His grin grew. "Thank you, but no. I started a riot in the yard." He adjusted his collar, before adding, "We were protesting the soap."
Her confusion grew, and Thorne noticed that she was still in her defensive stance.
"The soap," he said again, wondering if she'd heard him. "It's too drying."
She said nothing."I have sensitive skin.” -Thorne, Cinder
What I loved about Scarlet is all the twists! I was pleasantly surprised at a bunch of parts. I didn't see them coming and that really made me enjoy it even more. At one point I stared at my wall for five minutes in shock. It all flowed very well, and it was my favorite of the series until I read Cress! I love how these books incorporate fairy tales and intertwining the characters together throughout all the books. With it's sci-fi Star Wars feel to it, and the way it's written with the characters, this truly is an original, amazing series. We have Cinder and Kai in addition to Wolf, Scarlet, and Thorne, making each POV refreshing.
I didn't like Cinder (you can read my review here), but Scarlet surprised me. Push through Cinder because the rest are really good!
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