Monday, January 21, 2013

Review: Scarlet by Marissa Meyer

Title: SCARLET
Author: Marissa Meyer
Published: February 5th, 2013
Series: Lunar Chronicles #2
Genre: YA sci-fi / fantasy
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
POV: 3rd, alternating
Pages: 464
Format: ARC
Source: Publicist
"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."
All of the main characters from CINDER are back and ready for some dangerous adventures in SCARLET. Cinder and Kai are both struggling in their new, opposing roles as they try to become the leaders they need to become. And then there's Scarlet, a new character with a firecracker personality who isn't giving up on locating her missing grandmother, even if the lousy local police have decided it's a closed case. With a little initiative, she teams up with Wolf, a mysterious street fighter with a strange numbered tattoo who knows exactly where her grandmother is. Add in Captain Thorne, Cinder's new flirtatious and endearingly ridiculous accomplice, and you've got yourself a story that will make you laugh, gasp, and leave you eager for so much more.

I enjoyed CINDER, and remember thinking that this series had a lot of potential. So, I expected the sequel to be similar to the first book. Needless to say, I was blown away by the character development in old and new characters, the exciting bursts of action, the breathtaking twists, and the overall excitement that is present in every single page of this story. If CINDER was a good story, then SCARLET is a superb sequel that is fun to read from the first page to the last. Anyone who is debating on whether or not to continue with this series after reading the first novel (or debating on whether or not to start this series) should absolutely give this series a chance, because SCARLET is magnificent.

Highlights: I usually dislike alternating 3rd person POV's (this book had mainly 3, but went up to about 5), but Meyer made it work. Meyer's large cast of characters are likable, different, and sometimes a bit complicated. The story was more exciting this time around. There is so much more happening in this book, to the point where I felt satisfied at the end but still curious about the next novel. I love how fresh Meyer makes familiar fairytales, and I'm eager to see what she'll do in her next two novels. 

Lowlights: The romance formed between two characters is very quick (at least the couple even references the quickness). 




13 comments:

  1. I really enjoyed Cinder very much. I had completely forgotten that Scarlet was coming out so soon. Looking forward to getting my hands on a copy of it. SUPER glad to see that there are a bunch of new characters and that there is a TON of character developement in this second book. I'm going to have to re-read Cinder now that the release date is so close!

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    1. Meyer did such a fabulous job with the sequel! I really liked the first book, but didn't really connect completely with all of the characters...but in this book, WOW. I loved everything about!

      Hope you enjoy SCARLET once you get a chance to read it (and that you enjoy rereading CINDER, too)!

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  2. I loved Cinder so I'm glad to hear that Scarlet is even better! I enjoyed the 5 chapter sampler that I downloaded and can't wait for Feb 2nd!

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    1. You'll probably love SCARLET, then! It only keeps getting better after that point :)

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  3. I still have to read Cinder, but I've heard this one is even better! Great review!

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    1. You should definitely check out CINDER! It's a good story, but I definitely think SCARLET is stronger.

      Thanks for dropping by, Kelsey! :)

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  4. I haven't read Cinder yet, so I only skimmed your review, just in case ;) I'm glad to know that all the characters return, and that the story was exciting. As for the insta-love, as long as the story holds me, I can usually get past it. Thanks for the review

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    1. You should definitely check out CINDER & SCARLET! Meyer is excellent at writing fabulous characters. The good thing about the instalove in this story is how the couple is aware of it - they know what they're feeling for each other is a bit quick, so I think that made it a bit easier to deal with as a reader.

      Hope you enjoy both books when you get a chance to read them :)

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  5. I'm not great with alternating points of view either, but I'm glad to hear it works well in Scarlet. I liked Cinder, and this book sounds better, so I can't wait to read it! Brilliant review. :)

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    1. Meyer does such a great job with the multiple POV's. I'm still amazed at how much I enjoyed that aspect, but I think it's because she did such a fabulous job with the characters. Hope you enjoy SCARLET when you get a chance to read it! :)

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  6. Yay! Great review sweetie. <3 Ah, I loved Scarlet so so much. Glad you did too :D Sigh. Marissa is just amazing. She creates the best books. <3 Dying to read Cress ;)

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    1. Thanks! So happy that you loved SCARLET, too! MM is definitely talented. Hopefully CRESS and WINTER will be just as fabulous as SCARLET :)

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  7. So even better than the first? That's exciting!! I hope to read Cinder really soon... (hopefully!)

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