Monday, January 28, 2013

Review: Scarlet

SCARLET
The Lunar Chronicles #2
Marissa Meyer
Young Adult/Fairytale retelling/Dystopian
464 pages
Feiwel & Friends
Available February 5th
Received from publisher for review

THE STORY (from Goodreads)
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.


MY THOUGHTS 
Scarlet is a sequel that has us initially on edge, our desire to return to Cinder's story alone rather than embark on an entirely separate journey with a new cast of characters strong enough that we crack the spine with a wary sort of anticipation, hoping our doubts will be quickly proven unfounded. Luckily for us, Ms. Meyer gives us everything we could have wished for in this second installment, teasing us a bit as Scarlet and Cinder's stories run parallel to one another for majority of the book, never quite intersecting even as we know they must at some point cross paths. Normally, this setup can be a touch frustrating for us as readers, our eagerness to stay with one character, in this case Cinder since we are more familiar with her, causing us to skim through the other character's chapters in our haste to return to the one who has most captured our attention, however, Scarlet's story captivates from the beginning, and we revel in our time with her as much as we do our time with Cinder herself.

Though Scarlet's search for her missing grandmother and her budding romance with Wolf is as engrossing as the continuation of Cinder's tale, Scarlet herself doesn't quite grab us emotionally from the beginning the way Cinder did. This could perhaps be attributed to the nature of their original fairytales, with Cinderella's status as an underdog causing us to immediately back her, whereas Little Red Riding Hood is a young woman who isn't quite observant enough to notice her precious grandmother has suddenly developed canine features until it's far too late. Scarlet is thankfully far more layered and interesting than her fairytale counterpart, though they share a similarity in their susceptibility to deceit given Scarlet is often quick to believe what superficial appearance tells her is the truth while neglecting to examine the situation from multiple angles before judgement is passed and a negative opinion is formed.

Despite her inability to think with her mind and heart instead of simply trusting her eyes, Scarlet is certainly someone we come to care about, and her troubled relationship with Wolf is gorgeously depicted. Wolf is a deeply intriguing character, both alpha and beta hero wrapped up in one uniquely contradictory package. On one hand, he's alpha to the extreme, a gifted street fighter with a penchant for using his fists to make a life for himself, but he's also shockingly quiet and often reserved once the adrenaline rush fades from his system. He's both curious and hesitant to spend time in Scarlet's presence when not in a violent setting, often exhibiting a skittishness and fear of the unknown so common in his wild namesake. As Cinder and Kai's did, Scarlet and Wolf's romantic relationship builds slowly, something we appreciate even more given that this story is not theirs alone but instead shared with the aforementioned couple, allowing us plenty of time to truly believe in them together.

Though Scarlet is over 400 pages in length, it passes in an utter blur, our excitement over learning of Kai and Cinder's fate since we left them last combining with our giddiness over the addition of a striking new couple to ensure time absolutely flies by when reading. We of course reach the end with no conclusion to the threat of Queen Levana in place, but we can't help but be content with what we've learned in this installment, feeling optimistic when we look ahead to future books that while we'll often face a “to be continued” of sorts at the end of them, we'll never be left unsatisfied.

Rating:4.5/5


Be sure and check out my interview with Marissa Meyer HERE and also enter for a chance to win copies of Cinder and Scarlet!

39 comments:

  1. Interesting to read that about Scarlet, the susceptibility to deceit. I am glad, though, that she is smarter and feistier than her counterpart in the fairy tale. And it's also interesting that Wolf should be quiet and skittish; very different from what I would have thought of the fairy tale villain :). So glad that its length didn't impact the pacing :D... And ooh, so excited for this one!

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    1. Oh yes, Scarlet is definitely one to trust what she sees rather than question it, but that's certainly a characteristic of Little Red Riding Hood so it made sense. Wolf is fierce when he's fighting, but so vulnerable when he's not, I just adored him:)

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  2. Want! I did see Cinder at the library, but it was a translation and YA translations tends to be so, well childish :(

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    1. Hope you get a chance to read the non-translation, it's a fabulous series:)

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  3. Your first sentence is spot on! I want to return to Cinder's world and her story instead of embarking on a different journey with Scarlet and cohort..BUT I have a feeling I'll enjoy it immensely nonetheless<3 Awwww...I can't wait to meet Wolf! I have a feeling I'll love him! I'm so glad you enjoyed this Jenny<3

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    1. I was definitely a little worried going in, but I so enjoyed my time with both Scarlet and Cinder and I never wanted to skim over one to get back to the other:)

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  4. I still haven't read Cinder *hides* Yes I know I'm missing a lot but I must find some time for it. I'm so happy to see that the sequel haven't disappointed. It's such a relief. I can't wait to read this cause it sounds awesome. great review Jenny :)

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    1. SO GOOD TANJA! I hope you find some time for it, and lucky you that you can read books one and two together instead of waiting:)

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  5. Have I mentioned how jelly I am that you have already read this? *sigh*

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  6. I want to meet Wolf and Scarlet. Although you said they weren't the ones you wanted to read about instead of Cinder, I kind of do. I'm reading Cinder at the moment and it's okay, but I'm not wow-ed.. I think the hype that surrounds it got me thinking it'd be absolutely insane and fantastic, but it's too scientific for my taste. I'm only about 5-7 chapters in and I'll definitely continue, but it's gonna be a slow read for me, I can already tell that. Glad you enjoy this series so much though :)

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    1. It picks up Siiri! It took me a little while to wrap my mind around Cinder and the world when I first started, but then things started happening and I ended up loving it. It may not be for you though:)

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    2. Oh, okay, well that's a relief! I hope it does pick up for me as well and it'll get easier to get into. I don't want to dislike it so I hope Cinder and Kai will grow on me:)

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  7. I was really interested to see how this would be a sequel or a companion novel after reading the initial synopsis; I also wasn't the biggest fan of Cinder so I was nervous. Then I read my copy over the weekend-blown away! This book was SO good! Great review!

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  8. OMG. I can't wait until I get to meet Wolf. An alpha & beta mix? Sounds like my perfect man. *sigh*

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  9. To be honest, I had reservations when I first got my hands on Cinder. Wondered how well the scifi elements would work, but Meyer proved me wrong and I ended up really enjoying it. I'm now very curious to see how well she works two parallel but different stories. I can't wait to meet Wolf as he seems to be my type of guy. Your review has me anxiously waiting the book's release, Jenny!

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  10. yay im so glad no one was disappointed by this book! im very lucky to have an ARC of this, so I cant wait to start it! Scarlet sounds like a very interesting character! Great review!
    - Farah @ MajiBookshelf

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  11. *flails* Jenny, I love Scarlet so much that I'm thinking I might need to reread it when it comes out. *flails more* (Also, your review is spot on. SPOT ON.)

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  12. YAY, JENNY!!! I cannot WAIT to read this one, and your review is only making me more anxious. Especially knowing I get to spend 400+ pages with these characters. I love a good, long book where I get to spend time with my favorite people.

    Fiction people, I mean.

    I love alpha guys and everyone is raving about the yumminess of Wolf, so I am so excited to get to the romance of these two. YES!

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  13. *squee* I cannot wait to read this, I just skimmed your review cupcake, cause I didn't want to influence my own thoughts on this one..but super excited you thought it rocked!

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  14. *facepalm* I simply MUST get my act together and read Cinder ASAP. Really, what am I thinking postponing it time and time again? I love heroes that are full of contradictions and to tell you the truth, Wolf sounds like someone I'd enjoy reading about very very much. I'm glad you ended up caring about Scarlet and since your enthusiasm happens to be contagious, I'll read Cinder this week, I promise.

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  15. Yes! You have perfectly described why I love this book, and especially why I love Wolf. :-) "both alpha and beta hero wrapped up in one uniquely contradictory package" LOVE IT! Wonderful review, Jenny!

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  16. I liked this better than Cinder...but you didn't mention my new favorite character, THorne...he was obnoxious and funny and I have a bit of a crush on him. I have this up on the blog with an interview on Thursday!

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  17. Absolutely loved this book!! For some reason I loved Scarlet within a few pages of meeting her. It was such a relief, because like you said, going into it I was like "I know this will probably be good, but I just want to read about Cinder!!!" Thankfully that passed SO quickly and I was equally engrossed in both girls' stories. I felt like the narrative was perfectly balanced between the two.

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  18. ROFL! Doesn't recognize that her grams now has wolfish features? Okay, now I HAVE to read this one! :D

    I have to admit, I loved Cinder, but was so much less enthralled with the romance in that one. However, I still wanted to read this one. I don't know if I'm disappointed that she didn't just continue with only Cinder's story or if I'm thrilled that there is a new character. *looks at the review again* Yep, thrilled. :D

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  19. *shame on me* but I didn't realize we would actually get another set of characters and new romance.... Seriously... I think I never read the synopsis carefully enough. I just wanted to read this book...

    Anyway! Now, I'm even more excited because I initially thought there would be a love Triangle with Wolf!
    Good thing, I read your review...

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  20. I'm glad to hear that the two characters' stories work well side by side. I can get easily frustrated with that approach, especially if I have a preference from one story over the other, but I'm curious enough to want to experience it myself now. :) I'm really looking forward to meeting this Wolf! Brilliant review, Jenny.

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  21. I'm so glad you enjoyed this one, Jenny! I wasn't a huge fan of Cinder, but I'm curious to check out this one and meet the new host of characters. Amazing review, Jenny! :)

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  22. Jenny, the emperor broke me heart! Kick his butt! I really loved this book. I have to admit that even weeks after reading, I'm angry at his damn decisions!! How could he! Needless to say, that I need the next book already. ASAP!

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  23. Looks like you really enjoyed this series, Jenny!

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  24. I loved Cinder! I have this and plan to read it next so I'm glad you really liked it. Initially I was concerned with how she would incorporate new characters in to Cinders story but I have been assured she does it well. I'm looking forward to reading it!

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  25. I have read Scarlet last year and since then I'm dying to know what will happen to Prince Kai and Cinder. Glad to know that this book didn't disappoint. I hope to get a chance to read the book real soon!

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  26. I really enjoyed Scarlet too, Jenny, although I also didn't find her quite as interesting as Cinder. But the presence of Wolf more than makes up for that :)

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  27. Oh wow. I've read magnificent things about Scarlet and seeing as how I loved Cinder……double the awesome? I can't wait to read both of their stories. Great review!

    Lisa | Read Me Bookmark Me Love Me

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  28. Wonderful review Jenny. I still need to read Cinder, and Scarlet sounds so good to. I like that it ended leaving you satisfied and content with the ending and optimistic for more. Those types of endings are my favorites.

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  29. I haven't read Cinder yet. Can't believe I haven't since everybody seems to be in love with this series. Great to hear that Scarlet is just as awesome. I really need a book that I can devour in only a few hours. This seems to be it:) Thanks for your review!

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  30. Heh, I love your description of Little Red Riding Hood - glad Scarlet has more depth! Does this series ever sound phenomenal. I can't believe I haven't read Cinder yet (soon hopefully!). They sound so exciting and enthralling - Marissa Meyer must be a real talent. Thanks for this fun and excellent review, Jenny!

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  31. I'm so glad that I got to read your thoughts on Scarlet, Jenny. I just pre-ordered a copy and your review put some of my questions to rest. I am definitely looking forward to meeting Scarlet and Wolf, in addition to continuing on Cinder's journey. Lovely review!

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