Becky's View: Scarlet by Marissa Meyer

Scarlet by Marissa Meyer
♦publisher: Feiwel & Friends
♦release date: February 5th, 2013
♦hardcover, 454 pages
♦intended audience: Young adult
♦series: The Lunar Chronicles,  book 2
  my review of book 1, Cinder
♦source: from publisher at ALA

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.

Review: And so, my serious love affair with this series continues.  When you love a first in a series as much as I loved Cinder, there is always that fear and trepidation going into book 2---will it fall flat? Will it have the dreaded second-book slump? Will it just not live up to the wonder of the first?  Thankfully, the answer to all three of those questions is a very adamant NO.  Scarlet was an incredible and exciting follow up to Cinder.  And what made it even more fun was that I was SO busy during the week I was reading Scarlet that I was forced to move through the story slowly, savoring each twist and turn so much more than I might have if I'd taken a day or two and just zipped through it.  The anticipation of getting back to a book every time you have to set it down is a sure sign of it's greatness. 

In Scarlet, we get some fantastic new characters. There is, of course, Scarlet.  With an attitude as fiery as her red curls, she's one who knows her way around hovercrafts and rifles alike.  Her grandmother is missing and she is not going to let anyone or any fear stand in her way of rescuing her.  She reluctantly teams up with Wolf, who claims he can lead Scarlet to the kidnappers.  Even as they grow closer and build up trust, you never can be quite sure of him---he is, after all, the "big bad Wolf" in this retelling!  Still, the chemistry between them is undeniable and well, you'll just have to read to find out how that turns out, but I loved it and it certainly kept me at the edge of my seat!

The story is told from a few different POVs, but mainly it alternates between Scarlet and Cinder.  Cinder is as smart and strong-willed as ever, but still a bit wounded from her experiences with Kai and how that ended up.  She is in a major struggle with her own destiny, knowing what everyone expects of her in her newly discovered identity, but not so sure she is ready to take it on.  Another new character is Thorne, Cinder's accidental new partner in crime, who very much reminded me of Han Solo from Star Wars. :D  Had to love him---a bit shifty and an integrity that is definitely questionable, but still a character that is fun and entertaining to read. 

The world that Meyer creates has expanded it's reach from Japan into France and it also grows in all it's detailed, imaginative, futuristic glory, and definitely in it's darkness and danger.  A new vicious threat is introduced, Queen Levana's evil grip gets more powerful, and time continues to run thin as Kai makes a desperate decision and this story hurtles forward. OH, it is going to be an awfully long wait for Cress, book three in this series!  And have you heard?  It features Rapunzel and takes place in the Sahara Desert! I'm definitely intrigued!

Find Marissa Meyer online: Website  •  Twitter  •  Facebook

Purchase Scarlet:  Amazon  •  BN.com  •  BookDepository  •  Indiebound