Review: Scarlet

Title: Scarlet

Series: The Lunar Chronicles

Author: Marissa Meyer

Publisher: Feiwel and Friends

Publication Date: February 5, 2013

Format: Hardcover, First Edition

Source: Purchased from Amazon

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

So I've had a bit of time since finishing Scarlet to think about my review, but it doesn't really make writing it any easier. While I am truly enjoying the series, I felt like Scarlet lacked some of the key energy that Meyer had in Cinder. I never wanted to stop reading Cinder, but I had a harder time reading Scarlet. It's not that I didn't like this book; it's just that this one felt a little slower. It wasn't as intense as Cinder for me.

Picking up where Cinder left off, Scarlet continues the tale of Cinder. She escapes from prison and takes another prisoner with her, and together, they are outlaws on the run from the Commonwealth. We are also introduced to two new characters, Scarlet Benoit and Wolf, and their attraction to one another does drive a lot of their part of the story, but there is a little bit more than just romance with these two characters. They each have stories of their own, and figuring them out makes reading this one fun.

While I would say that this book is more romantic than Cinder, I also found it to have a bit more action. There are some battle scenes, and I think they were okay. They certainly could have been written better and with more enthusiasm. I lost interest in many of them, even though I know that the fighting and the rebellion is an important part of this series.

Remember that picture that Kai was shown in Cinder? It's an integral part of this novel, and I was kind of angry with myself for being so distracted and missing it right away. Because of it, Kai is forced to make a decision that could change the history of the world yet again. Like how awesome is it for Meyer to have these young characters making so many important decisions? I love it! But I couldn't help but find myself angry with the choice that Kai makes. I know he is making it for what he thinks are all the right reasons, but he is being naive. It bothered me because at the end of Cinder, I really thought that he would grow to be the great leader that he's supposed to be, but it looks like he still has some growing up to do, and I'm fine with that. I'm sure things will change, but the choice just didn't sit well with me when I read it. I think he could have done something else to calm things.

All in all, I didn't think the book was terrible, but I just wanted a little bit more out of it. There is another cliffhanger, so I grabbed Cress, and I hope to see some things become resolved.