Series: The Lunar Chronicles #2
Rating: 5 Stars
Genre: Sci-Fi/Fantasy
Publisher: Feiwel and Friends
Pages: 454
Best for: 15 and up
Get it here: Amazon | Barnes and Noble
Good Reads Summary:
The fates of Cinder and Scarlet collide as a Lunar threat spreads across the Earth…
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.
So, I don’t give many 5 star ratings out anymore. I’ve become much more conservative in my ratings since I started this blog. That being said, Scarlet absolutely blew me away. The Lunar Chronicles has been my favorite series of the year. I was lame and didn’t read Cinder until earlier this year (see my review HERE), but soon after reading that awesomeness (which I also gave 5 stars to), I picked up Scarlet. I was a little nervous to read Scarlet because it sounded like Cinder and Kai wouldn’t be involved in the story at all, that it was a book about a completely different girl, and I was worried I wouldn’t care about Scarlet’s storyline.
I could not have been more wrong.
This book was AWESOME. If you’re looking for a good sci-fi, look no further. Marissa Meyer does an excellent job of making sci-fi approachable for people who don’t like sci-fi. I’m not one of those people, so I would have liked it anyway. And that’s not even mentioning the fluidity and crispness of Meyer’s writing. There was never a moment where I read something and thought, I would have worded that differently. Maybe that’s a testament to Meyer’s editors. Whatever the case, Scarlet is beautifully written. Great descriptions, awesome fight scenes, clever dialogue, and believable sci-fi elements make this book an immensely enjoyable read.
Unfortunately, we’ll have to wait till Cress or possibly even Winter, the third and fourth installments, to get more Cinder and Kai action. There was none in Scarlet, sadly, although I thought it was good for the plot and character development that their romance was lacking.
THANK YOU MARISSA MEYER FOR STEERING CLEAR OF THE LOVE TRIANGLE.
It was so refreshing to not have a love triangle. I was worried about it with Thorne and Cinder, but they developed a very fun alliance that had nothing to do with romance. I dearly hope it stays that way.
Scarlet and Wolf. Adorable. I think I may have liked them better than Cinder and Kai. And Cinder and Kai were pretty fantastic. So that’s saying a lot. Although, not gonna lie, I’m so excited to see Cinder and Kai back together. It was kind of painful for nothing to happen on that front (although, like I said earlier, good for the plot). Because I try to steer clear of major plot spoilers, all I’m going to say is there are secrets that I thought were very clever, with hints planted throughout both Cinder and Scarlet. I loved how the two stories wove together so naturally; Meyer did a great job tying all the storylines together. I can’t wait to see what she adds next.
Queen Levana, here’s all I have to say to you:
Sadly, Cress, book 3 in The Lunar Chronicles, doesn’t come out until February 4, 2014. I shall await it’s greatness patiently.
