Review: Scarlet by Marissa Meyer

Goodreads summary: 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.

Goodreads / The Book Depository 

Genre: Young Adult, science fiction, fairy tales
Pages: 452
Publisher: Feiwel and Friends
How I Got It: Purchased

First Line: "Scarlet was descending toward the ally behind the Rieux Tavern when her portscreen chimed from the passenger seat, followed by an automatic voice."

Favorite Quote: "'I knew they would kill me when they found out, but . . ." He struggled for words, releasing a sharp breath. "I think I realized I would rather die because I betrayed them, than live because I betrayed you."

Review:

Scarlet was definitely high up on my list of things to read in 2013, because I loved Cinder last year. The covers of these are simply marvelous, and I can't wait for Cress to come out next year, which apparently will feature Rapunzel. I've said it before and I'll say it again: Marissa Meyer is one of the most creative authors ever. The new twists on such classic fairy tales make them feel almost new again; I really enjoy the quotes throughout the book from the real stores, especially the first one - "She did not know that the wolf was a wicked sort of animal, and she was not afraid of him." 

Honestly, I was pretty miffed when I found out that this book would center on Scarlet rather than Cinder - I'm always annoyed when narrators change, though I know I shouldn't be. Cinder was in the book maybe only a little less than Scarlet was. I was happy to discover that I loved all the new characters - Scarlet, Wolf, and Thorne. I was very interested in seeing how Scarlet fit into the story and how her path would cross with Cinder's. 

I definitely loved Wolf most of all. I had such a hard time figuring him out in the beginning of the book - he was supposedly a street fighter, but he was also rather shy and almost timid at times. I realize his and Scarlet's relationship moved rather quickly, but this was one of those times where I didn't mind so much. 

The sequel to Cinder might as well be the Queen of Point Of Views. It switches so often it's not even funny. It bounces from Scarlet, to Thorne, to Cinder, to Kai, to Wolf, and even once to Queen Lavana. And while this would normally be extremely irritating, Meyer somehow makes it works, makes all their perspectives worthwhile. I know a lot of people are upset with Kai for the decision he made towards the end of the novel. I was, too, but at the same time I understood why he did it. He really didn't have any other choice, and my heart was breaking for him every time we checked back in with him in the story. 

The only thing about this book I didn't like, and I'm not even sure if this is a valid complaint, is that there is literally SO many things going on that you really have to focus to remember and understand it all. I may have to re-visit this review in the future and add things because I can't remember everything I wanted to mention. I'm really looking forward the the next two books in the series, and I hate that I have to wait until 2014. 

5 stars.

Books in this series:

1. Cinder
2. Scarlet 
3. Cress
4. Winter