Title: Scarlet
Series: The Lunar Chronicles (Book #2)
Year: 2013
Author: Marissa Meyer
Summary: 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. (from Goodreads)
Main Characters:
~ Linh Cinder
~ Scarlet Benoit
~ Wolf
~ Queen Levana
~ Emperor Kaito
~ Linh Cinder
~ Scarlet Benoit
~ Wolf
~ Queen Levana
~ Emperor Kaito
Review: I was pretty eager to continue Cinder's story from reading Marissa Meyer's first book in this series (Cinder), and I was greatly interested to see how she was going to weave the story of Little Red Riding Hood into the tale that began with Cinderella. Scarlet begins as your typical Little Red Riding Hood character -- she's got red hair, a bit of a temper, and a favorite red jacket. She loves her grandmother, and I liked the way their relationship was portrayed. It's just like the fairy tale you'd expect it to be. And then the book took a very un-fairytale dip. Scarlet's grandmother is kidnapped, and Scarlet is forced to team up with an unlikely partner, an ex-solider from Lunar who seems to be part-wolf.
The plot keeps you on your toes, and it's the kind of book you really want to read in one sitting, just because it's hard to put down. In addition to following the storyline of Scarlet's actions, the novel also follows the heroine from the first book, Cinder. While the two girls seem so different concerning their respective stories, they tangle together, and it's interesting how Marissa Meyer gets them together in the end. Excitement is high with fights, space ships, break-outs, and a whole lot more. While Scarlet's off to rescue her grandmother, Cinder's breaking out of jail with a certain criminal Captain Thorne. Iko gets a makeover, and Kai makes a decision that throws the whole world in chaos. And yet another cliffhanger ending -- be warned now. You're going to want to have Cress (book #3 of The Lunar Chronicles) beside you to pick up when you finish Scarlet.
Personally, I prefered Cinder to Scarlet. While Scarlet was enjoyable, I thought the themes were darker, and the violence level kicked up a notch. I liked reading about the cyborg/mechanic Cinder more than the aggressive Scarlet; for some odd reason Scarlet's story didn't interest me as much as Cinder's did. This has been my least favorite book of the series so far. Not that it's bad, but compared to Cinder, it just seemed rather dark and heavy for Little Red Riding Hood.
The plot keeps you on your toes, and it's the kind of book you really want to read in one sitting, just because it's hard to put down. In addition to following the storyline of Scarlet's actions, the novel also follows the heroine from the first book, Cinder. While the two girls seem so different concerning their respective stories, they tangle together, and it's interesting how Marissa Meyer gets them together in the end. Excitement is high with fights, space ships, break-outs, and a whole lot more. While Scarlet's off to rescue her grandmother, Cinder's breaking out of jail with a certain criminal Captain Thorne. Iko gets a makeover, and Kai makes a decision that throws the whole world in chaos. And yet another cliffhanger ending -- be warned now. You're going to want to have Cress (book #3 of The Lunar Chronicles) beside you to pick up when you finish Scarlet.
Personally, I prefered Cinder to Scarlet. While Scarlet was enjoyable, I thought the themes were darker, and the violence level kicked up a notch. I liked reading about the cyborg/mechanic Cinder more than the aggressive Scarlet; for some odd reason Scarlet's story didn't interest me as much as Cinder's did. This has been my least favorite book of the series so far. Not that it's bad, but compared to Cinder, it just seemed rather dark and heavy for Little Red Riding Hood.
Advisory: A lot of violence; Wolf is a street fighter, and he and Scarlet encounter a lot of enemies, and Marissa Meyer really describes the fights. While I was okay reading them, they could be a bit over the top for other readers. There is also some romance, and some "adult comments" -- nothing extreme, but just something to take note of.
I did like this one, although perhaps a bit less than I did Cinder. My personal favorite is Cress, though... have you read it yet? It's reeeeeallly good. :D
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