Book Review: Scarlet by Marissa Mayer

This is the second book of four in a series. If you would like to read more about Cinder, the first book, please check it out at Good Reads.



Description from Good Reads
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.

My Review
Scarlet is the "Red Riding Hood" of the story, a farmer's granddaughter whose grandmother is kidnapped, though the town thinks grandmother is crazy, and does not believe Scarlet when she says so. "The Wolf" is a street fighter who rescues Scarlet in a restaurant after she causes a scene regarding people thinking her grandmother is crazy. They eventually join forces to rescue Grandmother from the "pack" The Wolf used to be in.

Cinder's story continues intermittently with Scarlet's with her escape from jail. Along for her escape is "Captain" Thorne, a cadet who stole a spaceship. Cinder helps him escape from the jail in exchange for passage in Thorne's spaceship. Cinder also begins to unlock her Lunar powers. To me, Cinder feels more well-rounded than in the first book, but this is to be expected- the continuation has allowed her character to become more fleshed out.

Scarlet and The Wolf's story takes a turn that, I admit, I did not see coming. At all. I enjoy the turn, though, and think that it kept the story going. The beginning of the novel took a little time to get into, but I believe that is because we're being introduced to new characters that add a new element to the already existing world. It's one of the big reasons I love a story with multiple books- usually they start off slow and then pack a huge punch!

And then Cinder... well, she begins to come into her Lunar powers in an incredible way and starts to accept who she actually is.

I don't want to say much more because I do not want to ruin the story. But I believe if you enjoyed the first book, you will definitely want to check this out. I am still very interested in finding out what's next, so I will definitely check out Cress when it is released on February 4th, 2014 (which is the expected release date as of this blog post).


You can purchase Scarlet here for Kindle, or here for a physical copy. You can also check out the first 5 chapters on Kindle for free! I usually download the samples to read before I get a book from the library or buy it, so I think this is a great way to get to know a book before you commit!
Or, you can probably find it at your local library like I did!



FTC: I borrowed this book from my local library.