Scarlet by Marissa Meyer: Review + Audio

Scarlet by Marissa Meyer
Title: Scarlet
Author: Marissa Meyer
Publisher: Feiwel and Friends
Publication Date: February 2013
Length: 454 pages
Series: The Lunar Chronicles (#2)
Audio or Book: Book
Reason for Discovery: the Internet













From GoodReads:

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.

In the second Lunar Chronicles book, Cinder is on the run. She is a fugitive and, unfortunately, she is the world's number one criminal. Luckily, she has found a friend (okay, a fellow criminal who shares her interests) to go on the run with. Meanwhile, Scarlet is just minding her own business when her grandmother goes MIA and her father who has been MIA shows up. Just when things are starting to get stressful for Scarlet, a tall, brooding, handsome, stranger named Wolf shows up and wants to help her.

I really enjoyed Cinder, so I wasn't sure what to expect when I started Scarlet. I must admit that I was a bit nervous about reading this book, because people love this book and think it is a million times better than Cinder. When I hear too much hype about a book, I think I usually get too critical of the book and end up disliking it. I was happy to discover that I really enjoyed Scarlet

Meyer does a lot of things right in this book and in this series. First, Meyer continues to impress me with how she retells her fairy tales. I really loved that Scarlet's grandmother was an awesome pilot. I really appreciated Meyer changing the very foundation of the story and taking the grandmother and Little Red Riding Hood's journey and flipping them on their heels. Meyer took female characters from these fairy tales and gave them agency and interesting pasts that I really appreciate. Scarlet and the Wolf falling in love is interesting too, but I don't find it as compelling as her grandmother's tale. Second, I love the Lunar world building and mythology. I love learning about this alternate Earth and its relationship with Luna. It is so fun and unique. Third, I love the interactions among Cinder, Thorne, and Iko. I really liked seeing females and a male interact in this series without any romantic overtones. I actually found the relationship among Cinder, Thorne, and Iko to be stronger than any of the other relationships in the series.

I must admit that I didn't love Scarlet and Wolf together. I didn't not like them together. I think I just need a bit more time to understand them as a couple. My husband teases me that I have a clear type, and Wolf just doesn't fit it. Maybe if I liked the tall, dark, and brooding guy more, I would be more into them as a couple. My only other issue with this book was a twist of sorts that happens with Wolf. I didn't find it at all surprising and was waiting for it to happen. Just like in Cinder, the fairy tale retelling part was great but the plot points outside of it felt a bit over-ly trope-y at times. This twist by no means ruined my enjoyment of the book. It was just a bit annoying.

Audio: Macmillan Audio was very generous and sent me an audio clip of Scarlet. Just like Cress, the audio was clear and crisp. Soler did a good job with pacing and tone. Listening to the first chapter makes me want to listen to the entire book. I think it would be a lot of fun, because there is so much action and thrills in this book. I feel that this book would work really well as an audio book. Interestingly, Scarlet's voice seemed a bit different in this book in comparison to Cress. Scarlet doesn't have any large chunks of dialogue, so her heavy French accent might be more obvious in later chapters.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book, and I can't wait to see what Meyer writes next! I give this book a 4 out of 5. 
Very Good
 

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