Title: Scarlet (The Lunar Chronicles #2)
Author: Marissa Meyer
Genre: Sci-Fi, Fairy Tale, Dystopia
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends (an imprint of Macmillian)
Publication Date: 5th February 2013
Pages: 452
Rating: 5 stars
Synopsis (from goodreads):
The fates of Cinder and Scarlet collide as a Lunar threat spreads across the Earth…
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 Benoit’s grand-mère, Michelle, has been missing for two weeks. The townfolk of Rieux, France, think that Granny Benoit is crazy and not to worry. But to miss her granddaughter’s eighteenth birthday? Scarlet knows that something is wrong. To top it off she found Michelle’s ID chip – bloody and abandoned. Already suspicious and scared to death that something drastic has happened to her beloved grandmother, there’s a stranger in town with a mysterious and dangerous vibe. Scarred and dishevelled, Wolf wants work as a farm hand but Scarlet doesn’t trust him – he’s never even had a vegetable before! Add in a tattoo, super strength and a career as an unbeatable street fighter, Scarlet fears that he’s behind the mysterious disappearance of her grand-mère.
In a simultaneous storyline picking up just moments after Cinder being thrown into prison, the newly found lost Lunar Princess is making a break for it. An unlikely ally comes in the form of a cell mate named Captain Carswell Thorne and together they try to find out the mysterious circumstances around Cinder’s life before she was a cyborg mechanic from New Beijing.
Picking up just after Cinder left off, I thought it was fantastic how this story evolved during this novel. It’s so easy to forget that Cinder is a sixteen year old girl. She acts with a lot of maturity and a level head – even in the midst of a prison break! I love how her character is growing and I’m excited to see what happens next for her now that she’s embracing her Lunar heritage. Her new companion Carswell Thorne (excuse me – that’s Captain Carswell Throne) is a laugh. He reminded me a little of my four favourite fictional captains (Brannigan from Futurama, Reynolds from Firefly, Harkness from Torchwood and Sparrow from Pirates of the Caribbean). I loved his comic relief and the snarky, snarly sarcastic banter exchanged between him and Cinder. The addition of some of my favourite characters from the first book, Iko and Kai, really added to the excitement.
The new story of Scarlet and Wolf was interesting. There’s a lot of new drama regarding their relationship and the disappearance of Michelle – who is more than just a granny from a small vegetable growing farm. Everything is ramping up in terms of story – I loved how the seemingly separate lives of Cinder and Scarlet are connected. There’s a lot of action and a dash of romance too. I can’t wait for the third book to be released. I love Meyer’s style and her intelligent, capable heroines.
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I really enjoyed this book too! 🙂 The chapters with Cinder and Thorne were my favorites (I thought of Harkness and Sparrow too, and Han Solo) and I wish we didn’t have to wait a year to read CRESS! Great review!
Alice @ Alice in Readerland
I’m intrigued over Cress. Do we know which fairytale it’s based on yet? And a whole year? That’s too long!
Oh.. yeah there are shades of Han Solo in Thorne too! He’s so multi-faceted 😛 I hope there’s a lot more of him to come.
Thanks for commenting!
It’s based on Rapunzel, and I’m really curious to see what kind of character she is since Cinder & Scarlet definitely had their own unique personalities! I know, a year is way too long, and then it’ll be a year after that for the last book, WINTER (based on Snow White). This is a really easy series to get addicted to! 🙂
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