Scarlet by Marissa Meyer
Publisher: Feiwel and Friends
Publishing Date: February 5, 2013
Page Count: 452 pages
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.
This is a review of a sequel, so beware of spoilers! If interested in the series, you kind find the review of the first book, Cinder, here.
Marissa Meyer has raised the stakes and really taken the plot to another level in this sequel to Cinder. The sequel begins with a new character, Scarlet, who from the starting point is desperate to find out why her grandmother is missing and if she's okay. She's used to the simplicities of running the farm each day and doing her chores to help her grandmother out as they sell their vegetables in the city. However, rather quickly Scarlet is thrown into some trouble that introduces her to Wolf, who is quite a mystery from the start, one she doesn't want to have anything to do with.
Meyer does wonderfully in giving yet another great female character. Scarlet is determined. Very determined to get her grandmother back no matter what it takes for her to acquire her, even when she finds out why her grandmother might be gone, and the fact that she's discovering secrets she never thought were being held back. She'll even used Wolf, though she's rightfully wary of him. The way Scarlet's storyline weaves in with Cinder's storyline was really fascinating and I thought it was pretty cool the way everything relates back to the marvelously evil Levana and her plot to take over the Commonwealth, and eventually the rest of the world.
Another rather amazing character that I got to meet in this book was Captain Carswell Thorne. Oh, Thorne. He's such a careless little womanizer but he was so entertaining even when he was getting on Cinder's last nerve. He brought the smiles and the giggles to a book that has a lot of intense plotting going on. This book, to me, was definitely on a more intense level. I may be in the minority in saying I enjoyed it more than I did Cinder, though I enjoyed Cinder a LOT so that's not saying anything bad about the first book. It was great to still get her story in this one as well, same with Prince Kai, even though it was rather ANGSTY with his conflicts over Cinder's character since her arrest.
Wolf was a surprise. While I wasn't all crazy for him as I was with Thorne I couldn't help but like the way he was helping Scarlet and his seemingly building feelings. Then when Scarlet gets close to finding her grandma in Paris...the tables turn. Wow. I should have probably been expecting what was happening but I was too rapt up in the story to even moderately predict things. All I really have to say is it's really interesting to see how the Lunar people work into the plot on both sides of the fight, those rebelling and saving the world and those working with Levana.
Meyer has created such an interesting world and I love her twist of fairytale tropes to really make the series explosive. I think this book pretty much sold me on this series and I am beyond excited to read Cress. However, I am not going to be able to patiently wait for Winter to come out in November!
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