January 21, 2015

Review: Scarlet (The Lunar Chronicles #2) by Marissa Meyer


Release Date: February 5th, 2013
Rating: 4.5 stars!
Note: This review is based on my old thoughts and a reread of the novel I just did recently.




Blurb:
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.



Oh how I love these books! They are such a unique retelling of all my favorite childhood fairy tales and stories. Cinder, as I mentioned in my last review is based on Cinderella and Scarlet is based on Little Red Riding Hood! So cool!

I cannot stress enough how much it delights me that Marissa Meyer is able to spin these classic tales in completely original and entertaining ways.

As always, I never really want to get into plot details because the blurb already does a great job in describing the storyline-- I just want to point out the parts of Scarlet I enjoyed.

"Captain" Carswell Thorne.
She [Cinder] surveyed him for a long moment, her brows knitting together. "Murder?"

His grin grew. "Thank you, but no. I started a riot on the yard." He adjusted his collar, before adding, "We were protesting the soap."


Her confusion grew, and Thorne noticed that she was still in her defensive stance.


"The soap," he said again, wondering if she'd heard him. "It's too drying."


She said nothing.


"I have sensitive skin.”
Carswell Thorne made me giggle so many times throughout this book. He has the tendency to say all the wrong things at all the wrong times and it is hilarious.

The heroines. Compared to Cinder, Scarlet did focus on the romance between characters a bit more. Still, refreshingly, the female protagonists were very strong characters. Nothing could get in the way of Scarlet finding her grandmother and Cinder was very determined to find answers behind her childhood. I like that they didn't need to depend on anyone to help them, nor did they get weak in the knees over their male counterparts (like I probably would have).

The banter. The banter between Scarlet and Wolf had me cracking up! The banter between Cinder and Thorne was equally enjoyable. I loved the sarcastic jokes and comments between the characters.

The alternating POVs. This was definitely the perfect way to tell each character's story. I enjoyed reading the story through each character's eyes. It made it easier to really delve into the characters and understand their personalities better.

The backstory. Learning about Cinder's childhood and her history on Earth was so satisfying. I love that Marissa Meyer uses the story to tell you up front who Cinder really is, but when you find out how that exactly came to be, it's still such an "aha" moment.


Definitely a must read if you have not already!






No comments:

Post a Comment