Scarlet (Lunar Chronicles #2)

Publication: February 5, 2013
Publisher: Feiwei and Friends
Source: Publisher (Thanks!)

Cinder is one of those books that is so amazing and beautiful. You have to admit it, Cinder is wonderful. Marissa Meyer is clearly a gifted, talented author of Cinder and Scarlet. Great creativity and imagination. Right now I'm going: How come I never dream up of a cyborg Cinderella?

Scarlet, like Cinder, carries that unique trait that makes readers want to read and read until the last page. That trait makes readers go "How could you not like this book?" Scarlet is quickly and wonderfully paced, perfect for readers of most ages. (Some chemistry/hot moments) It's a good thing Scarlet isn't one of those "middle child/whiner" book.

The plot of Scarlet is a huge eye opener. I can fall in love with it, plot alone. It's that good, people. There isn't that much of dialects, but that's okay because Scarlet is better without it. The writing is va va voom and delicious. I can devour it and not get enough. I'm addicted and I just can't get enough. (Not kidding.) It's clear and full of talent. It's even better than Cinder, actually.

The ever changing of POVs are refreshing and perfectly changed. POVs of Cinder, the dashing Prince Kai, the evil Queen Levana, the hot Wolf, and the badass gun-carrying Scarlet are included.

Scarlet is the retelling of the red riding hood tale. Wolf, surprising, isn't the wolf of the tale. It's someone way different.

Awesome Characters:

Scarlet: She's one of those badass heroine who is a "attack now, ask questions later" type of persons. Scarlet is an alpha, who can take action immediately despite the danger and threat. She's a better character than Cinder, in my opinion. Her greatest strength and weakness? She's fiercely loyal to the people she loves. (Grandmother) Wolf isn't included in that group till the last few chapters. She will do anything to protect and save the ones she love.

Wolf: Woo! We have another hot guy to swoon over. (Everybody, run over to Wolf and leave Prince Kai alone). Yeah, I know you might be rolling your eyes at this, but truly is he. It helps if you read The Queen's Army although it is not required. Wolf is the Alpha. Even though others may seem to see him as an vicious animal, he cares about Scarlet. It is obvious that he care, if not love Scarlet.

Prince Kai: I can't help but feel terrible for Prince Kai. In one of the scenes with him and a press conference, Prince Kai is unbelievable hilarious despite his diplomacy skills. I'm angry at Prince Kai, but I'm not telling you anything.

Cinder: Cinder, in the beginning, is like this little lost sheep. It's infuriating for me because I hate ignorant/lost characters who wander around aimlessly until they find a true goal. In the end, Cinder finally find her true goal and determination. She finds her inner agenda. She's a major character in Scarlet.

Thorne: I mean, Captain Thorne is the womanizing, suave character. He is hilarious and so cheerful compared to Cinder. I like how he calls himself Captain, but can't pilot his own ship. (Epic Fail, right there). He doesn't even know what's in his own ship. (Double Fail) He brings the life and fun into Scarlet.

Rating: Five out of Five-Drop whatever book you're reading to read this book. Cinder, if you haven't read that one.

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Though it's just come out I have no doubt you've already seen countless raving reviews for Scarlet.
And this one will be no different.

I must say that I feel like all the hype spoiled it just a little, but I still loved Scarlet. It's just that true awesomeness is better appreciated when you're least expecting it, you know?
Moving on to the review.

First of all, I love the way Meyer weaved together all the different POVs. It didn't feel jarring or awkward. It was natural and one flowed into the next easily. Normally a ton of POVs throws me off, but I loved that Scarlet, Cinder, Kai, and then some were all included. Although, it does help when you love all the characters ;]

Speaking of characters.
Cinder: Definitely my favorite. Gosh, I just love her and don't even know where to start! She's stubborn, but she's also vulnerable and confused. I appreciated that she was confused by all the new craziness in her life instead of just marching forward without thinking (which seems to happen with a lot of YA heroines.)
Scarlet: Now, I liked Scarlet, but she's not my favorite heroine ever. There's nothing wrong with her character, but I'm not quite as drawn to the “punch now, think later” kind of gal. I did like how wary she was of Wolf and how reluctant she was to start anything with him. Woo for non-insta-love!
Wolf: I loved how gentle he was with Scarlet. I could tell how much he liked her, but instead of being all “you're cool, let's makeout” he was actually a little scared to get too close to her. I liked being able to see them grow and bring out the good in each other.
Captain Thorne: Okay. So, there's absolutely nothing wrong with him (once you get to know him,) and I've actually grown quite attached along the way. But. For most of the story I couldn't stop picturing him as Zapp Brannigan of Futurama. It was a little disconcerting :P

Now about fairytale bits.
Meyer is officially my favorite reteller. You wouldn't think cyborg Cinderella could work, but it did. You wouldn't really think scifi Red Riding Hood would work either, but it SO DOES. You can certainly read the story and probably not pick up on the fairy-tale bits (without the red hoodie mentions, because those are a little obvious :P) and yet, they're there and they're great. The grandmother isn't eaten, but she is captured. The wolf aspect fits in so well with the overall story that it just feels natural instead of stuck in for the sake of the retelling. And of course, Scarlet isn't walking to her grandmother's house to deliver cookies, but spaceships and being on the run is really the way the story ought to be told anyway.

The Nutshell: Basically, the characters are great, Meyer is a master storyteller, and you need to read this book now. Also, I really need Cress. And Winter.

Direct Hit

4.5

I loved this book more than I loved Cinder (and I did love Cinder so much!). Once I got the hang of the action it took me a day and a half to go from its first part and the ending. Scarlet was an awesome character and I'd have liked to know her grand-mère better, I squealed like an idiot everytime Wolf did or said something. I wasn't expecting to like Thorne the way I did, he was so funny, intelligent, sassy and such a good side-kick for that bamf that Cinder is! And Iko... OH Iko, I didn't realize how much I missed her until she was re-installed into the Rampion! Everytime she had a comment regarding Kai I laughed like an idiot! I cannot wait to know what happens to Kai now, poor thing and Levana... LEVANA! I haven't hated a queen so much since when I used to watch Cersei Lannister on Game of thrones! But deep down I do think she's another badass... Everyone's a badass! ... Except Miss and Mrs Linh... God, erase them from the face of the earth, please!

A lot happens in such a short time during Scarlet. The story picks up immediately after the ending of Cinder, but we’re not in New Bejing anymore. Scarlet starts out in France, where we meet its title character. At first I was worried that the entire book would be about Scarlet, since I was missing my favorite cyborg mechanic. However, that is not the case at all. The story actually alternates between Scarlet, Cinder, and Kai! I loved seeing old favorites as well as new characters, even though it felt like quite a bit was happening to contain into one book.

The plot is extremely fast paced as it only covers a few days, but those couple of days certainly keep each of the characters busy. First we have Scarlet searching for her missing grandmother with the help of Wolf, a street fighter. If you’ve read The Queen’s Army (a free short story), you’ll recognize him as I did. I was always wondering if he could actually be trusted or not. I did like how Scarlet didn’t just immediately trust him, even after she accepted his help. She’s not one to just follow blindly. Second, we have Cinder busting out of prison! She also picks up an accomplice in the overly charming Thorne, another prisoner. I loved Cinder’s new found confidence as she escapes! Finally, we have Emperor Kai. He’s dealing with the aftermath of discovering Cinder’s Lunar heritage and the attacks from the Lunar Queen. I felt so sad reading his chapters, since he doubts Cinder and thinks she just another manipulator.

For the first three quarters, Scarlet read like two separate stories. I was a little iffy about this in the beginning, but by time the two storylines collide, I felt like this was the only way to tell it. As I said before, we follow Scarlet as she searches for her grandmother and Cinder as she escapes from prison. But guess who she’s looking for? Scarlet’s grandmother! Of course they team up in the end. Both storylines taught us so much more about how Cinder got to where she is and about the Lunars in general. There’s some super strange medical/scientific stuff going on there, and I’d love to learn more of the specifics! Perhaps in the next book?

I really don’t want to give too much away, but there’s a lot of stuff revealed in Scarlet. The war between the Lunars and Earthens is just getting started, but Cinder is going to have to make some decisions and soon! Kai has already made one, but I really hope he doesn’t go through with it! I’m not sure if I enjoyed this one more than it’s predecessor, but I do know that I thoroughly enjoyed it! There’s never a dull moment!

I, like many other Marissa Meyer fans, have waited longingly for over a year to read Scarlet . I did not even request an ARC of the novel because it came out a day before my birthday, and it made the perfect gift. (There is no denying that the temptation to get my hands on an ARC was strong.) When the book came in the mail, I petted it - LITERALLY petted it! It has ridden in my purse for a week, just so I can snatch moments to devour the pages. It was a whirlwind romance. Sadly though, it did not sweep me off my feet. I'm so sorry, Scarlet - it's not you, it's me.

No, I mean it, it really must be me. Scarlet had all of the fantastic qualities that Cinder had: strong heroine; Iko; fantastic mix of sci-fi and fairy tale (Meyer is beyond genius in her execution of this); Iko; deliciously evil villainess; Iko (you see where I'm going with this). Little Red Riding Hood is even one of my favorite fairy tales! Scarlet and Wolf had all of the makings of interesting literary characters, but I found myself resenting the time given to their story. The banter between Cinder, Captain Thorne, and Iko (and all combinations thereof) was delightful. Maybe it was just me wanting more of Cinder and her story that disrupted my enjoyment of the novel. Scarlet wasn't a bad character - she was just as strong and determined as Cinder. I just had trouble connecting with her after I spent so long waiting to rejoin Cinder on her journey. I can say that Wolf is far too broken of a bad boy for my taste, and maybe it was the mom in me that wanted to smack Scarlet for taking him along.

All griping aside, Meyer's world-weaving is genius. The most fun part of reading Meyer's works are figuring out where her storytelling intersects with the original fairy tales. I started reading the novel asking myself questions like, "Does Wolf want to eat grandmother?" and "Where is the huntsman?" I did not find all of my answers, but I can tell you without giving anything away that Little Red Riding Hood lives on grandmother's farm, and the Big Bad Wolf is a street-fighter with a Big Bad Secret that could potentially affect the entire world. Grandmother is also in possession of some secrets of her own, which wove the story in Scarlet well into The Lunar Chronicles. I loved being introduced to more of this futuristic Earth, and I honestly cannot wait to read
Winter , which is supposed to be set on the moon.

The fact that Scarlet did not completely work for me makes me no less a fan of The Lunar Chronicles, and I can still happily say it is the one of the most imaginative series currently being published. I'm dying to give Marissa Meyer another chance to make me swoon with Cress . Scarlet is an important building block for the series as a whole, and I will definitely reread it at a later date to see if my bad-naturedness truly played a part in my feelings about this book. I encourage you to check out these two blogs that gave Scarlet very high ratings: A Reader of Fictions and The Starry-Eyed Review .

3.5/5 Stars

The tale that began in Cinder carries on in Scarlet, and this time around Meyer is even more ambitious than she was before. Combining the narratives of a familiar voice, Cinder, and a new voice, Scarlet, this book covers an intense few days, during which the evil Lunar army and its Queen stop at nothing to get what they want.

Scarlet is different from a lot of sequels in the way that it added an additional point of view to the existing perspective. The story is pretty evenly balanced between Scarlet and Cinder’s actions, with occasional glimpses of Emperor Kai in New Beijing. I think this method of storytelling is pretty high stakes, since it isn’t until halfway through the (rather lengthy) book that the connection between Cinder and Scarlet is revealed, and it’s only in the last few chapters that the two teenagers meet up. So for much of the book, this is just two different girls running around trying to survive. Personally, I thought both narratives were interesting, though I am worried about what will happen in future installments, when I assume Meyer will add in a third and fourth girl’s point of view. Scarlet on its own is already a very long YA book, covering only a few days.

For the longest time, I had trouble putting my finger on why I was less than enthused with Scarlet. Don’t get me wrong, I like this book, but I wasn’t totally impressed like most of my friends were. But in the last 50 pages, when Cinder and Scarlet meet up, I figured it out. For me, the two girls’ voices were exactly the same. They spoke the same, thought the same, had the same basic personality. If you switched their names, I wouldn’t have been able to tell them apart. I think that’s a very big issue with dual-narrative books: making the different characters have unique voices. I definitely didn’t think Scarlet or Cinder were unique, and when they were together in the same scene, they might as well have been clones.

I could also say the same about most of the other characters, really. I think that, in general, Meyer’s characters are interesting and easy to root for, but also a bit superficial. The two love interests—Kai and Wolf—have pretty much the same attracting qualities. Nice guy, doesn’t want the power he’s been given, tries to do the right thing. I like those kind of love interests, but not at the cost of a bland, formulaic cast of characters.

I do, however, still enjoy Marissa Meyer’s way of achieving a fairytale retelling. She definitely makes the story her own, while still alluding to the Little Red Riding Hood tale. I like that this isn’t a verbatim retelling, just with the setting switched, as that would be quite dull. In some places, I might like a bit more depth as far as world-building goes, but this isn’t bad at all. Definitely, Scarlet (and the entire series) is pretty much Sci-fi Lite.

Overall, I think this is a fast-paced and fun story. In some places I might have preferred a less shallow approach, but there’s absolutely nothing wrong with Scarlet as is. Meyer’s writing is exciting and full of action, and even though readers know how things will turn out in the end, the plot stays fresh. I think this is a very good book, and is an excellent example of a fairytale retelling done right.