Scarlet (Lunar Chronicles #2) Review

Scarlet (Lunar Chronicles #2)

Marissa Meyer

Publisher: Puffin

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

Scarlet is a very different type of story to Cinder – set over just a few days immediately after the end of Cinder, this has the unenviable task of carrying on the story started in Cinder, move it forward and introduce us to both new characters and the wider world. All in all a big task and Scarlet manages to do this rather well.

Cinder and her trials are more the sub-plot this time around with most of the action focusing  on Scarlet and her missing Grandmother...following a rather similar story to one Red-Riding Hood. Scarlet is a very different character to Cinder, slightly older and with a temper issue, she is feisty and doesn’t take no for an answer. She is just as likely to swing a punch at you rather than think her way out of troubles. While I appreciated the differences between the two characters I found it harder to emotionally connect with Scarlet than I did with Cinder, as she was much more independent from the start, but she definitely grows on you! Wolf was also a very different hero to Prince Kai (who is kept in the background for the most part) – he has secrets and a temper too. Wolf is much more of the Alpa male and instinctual rather than calculating. I actually thought Wolf and Scarlet made a good couple -somehow balancing each other nicely.

As the story takes place over just a couple of days, the pace is pretty frenetic with some emotional turmoil to balance the action. The light relief is given in the form of Iko, Cinder’s android friend who has trouble adjusting to her body and Captain Thorne, a renegade American who attempts to flirt with Cinder, more from habit than actual emotion I think! This nicely balances the high emotional story if Scarlet and Wolf. And not forgetting the Lunar Queen who hasn’t forgotten Cinder or her plans to control Earth. The story and plot seems to be getting bigger and more complex and I’m really looking forward to what Cress and Winter have in store for us. It will be a long wait to the next book release!

Recommended for fans of Rachel Hartman and Cassandra Clare. 8 out of 10