Scarlet by Marissa Meyer

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.

Marissa Meyer proved how amazing of an author she was with her debut of Cinder last year, and she proves herself yet again in Scarlet. 

If there was anyone worried that Scarlet wouldn't live up to Cinder, then let me just tell you now:  You have nothing to worry about.  With Cinder's characters and a cast of new ones, plus the amazing plot, it would be hard to leave disappointed.

On the point of characters, the old favorites make a comeback, including Emperor Kai, Iko, Queen Levana, and of course, Cinder.  Along with them, new characters make their debut, the most notable being Wolf, Thorne, and the main character of the book, Scarlet.

At first, I will admit I didn't like Scarlet, due to her temper.  However, it didn't take long to warm up to her, and once I did, I really appreciated her character.  She was a nice balance of Cinder, who, while still being my favorite of the characters, is admittedly quiet.  It also took a little time for Thorne to grow on me, but he supplied a nice comedic character without being annoying or over comedic.  And Wolf was, out of the three new characters, the one I took the most liking to in the beginning.  However, even though I still liked him throughout the entire book, Scarlet soon took first place as the best of the new characters.

Cinder, who I mentioned above as my favorite character, definitely had less time in the book that Scarlet, but what time she did have supplied just the right amount of character growth and a nice look into what she was feeling.  I was very glad to see that Iko was making a re-appearance, as she, just like Thorne, lightens up the book without ruining the feel of it.  Emperor Kai and Queen Levana both each had just enough time in the book to make them still feel like an essential part of the story.

I was very pleased with the way Marissa Meyer handled the multiple POV changes.  You were never left wondering who was narrating the chapter, and she switched the narrator at just the right moments.

The plot still has many traces of Cinder in it, but also introduces new plot points, including Wolf's mysterious old gang, Cinder's escape from prison and her dealing with her new found Lunar abilities, and of course, Scarlet's grand mothers capture and the secrets that led to it.

The fairy tale the book was based around, Little Red Riding Hood, is definitely shown in subtle ways that I realized after the scene took place.  The best of these scene's would have to be the iconic scene with the Big Bad Wolf dressed up like the grandmother.

All in all, Scarlet lived up to my expectations and left me desperately waiting for the next book in the series, Cress.  Definitely get this book if you are a fan of fairy tales, Dystopians, and of course, if you enjoyed the first book in the series, Cinder.

Rating: 5/5

Market: YA
Language: Mild/None
Violence: Moderate
Sensuality: Moderate