Book Review: Scarlet

Scarlet
by Marissa Meyer
Published by Feiwel & Friends
Publication Date February 5, 2013
Source: Library
Genres: Science Fiction
Goodreads

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.

Last week I was describing the Lunar series to my mom.

Cinder description:
“So, Cinder is futuristic with Cinderella qualities.  There’s an empress who wants to control all and sets her three-year old niece on fire in her crib to get her out-of-the-way.  She has like 4th degree burns but is saved from the fire and turned cyborg (had to explain cyborg to my mom).  Blah blah blah in the last five pages we learn (tada), Cinder is Princess Selene.  The End”

Scarlet description:
Scarlet is the continuation of Cinder’s story beginning with her breaking out of prison and trying to discover the secret of her past life.  Little Red Riding Hood is added to the story with Scarlet (little red riding hood) and her grandmother being kidnapped by the Big Bad Wolf, who is not a wolf at all but just a guy called Wolf.  Also, grandma is kidnapped because she has information on Cinder.”

And yes I admit these are half-ass summaries and are probably not complete but I think I got the basics. Anyway, it had my mom in stitches and that was when I realized what a guilty pleasure this series is.  But it is a wonderful guilty pleasure which I have no shame of.  Cinder and Scarlet are fun reads, plain and simple.

Now for my review of Scarlet:

I thought Scarlet was much more modern than Cinder, meaning it had more of a 2013 feel to it rather than Cinder which is clearly futuristic.  I thought Scarlet was a little self-centered and obsessed with finding her Grandma completely blind to everyone else around her.  So much so, that she couldn’t see how shady Wolf was.  From the moment he said he didn’t know what a tomato was I knew something was fishy.  He seemed like the kind of guy that would substitute egging a house with tomatoes.  It has always been questioned whether tomatoes are a fruit or vegetable and I found Wolf’s alliance questionable too.

Okay, so enough with the tomatoes already!  Like I said before, this was a fun, fast-paced read.  I felt the flashbacking between the storylines was well done.  Sometimes I think flashbacks can be hectic and did not find this the case, everything flying perfectly down a ski slope.  Really (and this may sound silly) my only complaint is that not enough was shown from Kai’s point of view.  I do not have a fictional crush on the Emperor in any shape or form, but would have thought it interesting to learn more of the war against Earth that way rather than the 24 hour news coverage.  It would have felt more first hand.  Otherwise, I would very much recommend this book and a great second helping to the Lunar Chronicles.