Review: Scarlet

Scarlet 
by Marissa Meyer 

Release Date: February 5, 2013
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Age Group: Young Adult
Rating: 1 2 3 4 5

Series: Book 2 in the Lunar Chronicles series

Cinder returns in the second thrilling installment of the New York Times-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 and 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 has no choice but to trust him, though he clearly has a few dark secrets of his own.

As Scarlet and Wolf work to unravel one mystery, they find another when they cross paths with Cinder. Together, they must stay one step ahead of the vicious Lunar Queen who will do anything to make Prince Kai her husband, her king, her prisoner.

My Review:

Cover: I like the red theme of the covers, but this one isn't as great as Cinder's. At first glance, I didn't notice that the hood is connected to a figure. I'm curious to see what the next covers will look like. With Cress (which is based off Rapunzel), it could be her long hair. However, in Cinder, she was mentioned to have blond hair. Winter (which is based off Snow White) is obviously a red apple. 

Writing: (3/5) Because of the third person narrative, it's pretty easy to tell who's point of view I was reading. It's pretty annoying in other books when in the beginning it's hard to distinguish whom your reading from. 

Setting: (5/5) Most of Scarlet was set in France. I loved Scarlet's setting, not necessarily because it was set in France, but because of the futuristic world! Like Cinder, I was swept up away all over again by the world Marissa Meyer had created. I loved the idea of the Lunars, the gadgetry, the five unified countries of the world, the cyborgs, the androids, the ships, well basically everything! You remember those wolf-like creatures that we briefly saw in Cinder? Well, if you hadn't already guessed, we're told a great deal about what they are exactly and their purpose. 

Plot: (4/5) At first it was hard to adjust to Scarlet's point of view and I favoured Cinder's over hers, but I gradually grew to enjoy Scarlet's story just as much as Cinders! Unlike Cinder, the plot wasn't as predictable, but once again I was swept away by the story. 

Main Character: (2.5/5) 

Cinder: Honestly, Cinder isn't that great of a character. She is quiet and well spoken, but good-hearted and in her own way, confident. Just to put it plainly, I thought she wasn't anything new or original when you compare her to other heroines and I noticed that more in Scarlet than I did in Cinder. I was still on board with Cinder throughout the story though, and I wanted to know what would happen to her next. 

Scarlet: Scarlet was a bit hard to adjust to. This was mainly because I was more loyal to Cinder and after months of anticipation for the next book, I wanted to know more about what would happen to Cinder. Scarlet is reckless, stubborn, and has a temper. She would not let anybody or anything stop her, as admirable as that was she tended to act before thinking. Again, like Cinder, this isn't that original of a character. But as the plot continued, I was swept away by Scarlet's story. 

Villain: (4/5) What I like about Levana the most is that she rules people through their love and adoration for her, rather than fear, as most villains do. Sure, it's an illusion and forced, but it is different. There's also one chapter near the end that's from her point of view. It hinted more about Levana and I'm interested in knowing more about her. We'll probably find out in Winter as the main character in that one is her step-daughter.  

Other Characters: (4/5) 

Captain (self proclaimed) Carswell Thorne: I loved Thorne; he's probably my favourite character. He was flirty, vain, a troublemaker, and sometimes infuriating, but he provided plenty of humour and I liked his interaction with Cinder (Cinder's P.O.V. probably would have been boring without him). I'm looking forward to more of that, as well as his interactions with other characters, in the future books. 
Wolf: Wolf was mysterious, but he didn't give off a cliche kinda of vibe despite appearing to be a loner and giving off that "stay away from me" vibe. He was awkward, nervous and often fidgeted a lot which I found endearing. 
Kai: Kai is probably the worst character in the book when you think about it, because all he amounts to is "nice". However, I didn't hate him and enjoyed the couple of chapters from his perspective. 
Iko: Iko was another favourite character next to Thorne. She's just so lovable! I hope she stays in her current state (you'll know what I mean) in future books.

Romance: (4/5) Sadly, Kai and Cinder did not meet at all in Scarlet, but I thought that was for the best. There's plenty of Wolf and Scarlt and although it happened within a period of a couple of days, it really did not seem like insta-love to me. It's probably because the moments between them felt so genuine and the plot felt more like weeks than days. 

Overall: (26.5/35) A wonderful continuation to Cinder that is just as good and introduces some characters that I'm sure you'll root for. As with Cinder, the world and plot remains to be what I love most about this series!