From Goodreads:
Cinder, the cyborg mechanic, returns in the second thrilling instalment 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.
Scarlet was highly anticipated and had some big britches to fill after the amount of enjoyment I got out of reading Cinder – and it did not disappoint.
Even though we are introduced to new characters, primarily Scarlet, the storyline also picked up Cinder’s story and wove the two of them together expertly.
Again, as it is based on a fairytale, (Red Riding Hood) there is an amount of predictability to the plot; but yet I was still surprised and delighted at this adaptation and what eventuated in the pages of Marissa Meyer’s second instalment of the Luna Chronicles.
Scarlet is a great main character, a strong female who can hold her own. She differs from Cinder where she is a little more naive and relies on the help and guidance of her new companion, Wolf. The way aspects of the original fable are brought to life in this science fiction epic are masterful. Scarlet is a girl made through hard yakka and poverty. Intelligent enough to run her own business, but still sheltered: yes her character mirrors Cinder a little, but they shine as distinct separate women. Plus it was great to see the characters from the first and second books interact with Scarlet. The only negative I can mention about this novel, is that I felt that we didn’t get to know Scarlet as well as we did Cinder in the first book – much of this instalment dealt with events around Scarlet, rather than getting to know her as a character. But still very entertaining and totally had me fangirling!
Marissa’s writing style is effortless, and at times satirical, to ensure Scarlet is a quick and eloquent read. I did miss the comic relief that was present in Cinder, in the form of Iko… but our little robot friend jumped back into the story later in the novel. But as my favourite character, I would have loved to read more of Iko’s jarring and funny dialogue.
This has been one of my most enjoyed reads (and series) in the past year, so it will remain in my top ten recommendations. Will be jumping into the next in the series, Cress, in the month to come…
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Casey Carlisle 