Saturday 1 March 2014

Review: Scarlet


Scarlet (The Lunar Chronicles #2) by Marissa Meyer

 
Title: Scarlet
Series: The Lunar Chronicles, #2
Author: Marissa Meyer
 
Published: Penguin Books; 2013
452 pages, paperback
 
Source: Borrowed from the library
 
 Description (from Goodreads):

This is not the fairytale you remember. But it’s one you won’t forget.

Scarlet Benoit’s grandmother is missing. The police have closed her case. The only person Scarlet can turn to is Wolf, a street fighter she does not trust, but they are drawn to each other.

Meanwhile, in New Beijing, Cinder will become the Commonwealth’s most wanted fugitive – when she breaks out of prison to stay one step ahead of vicious Queen Levana.

As Scarlet and Wolf expose one mystery, they encounter Cinder and a new one unravels. Together they must challenge the evil queen, who will stop at nothing to make Prince Kai her husband, her king, her prisoner . . .


My Thoughts:

 3.5 stars
This review may contain some unavoidable spoilers for Cinder

I was a little nervous about starting this since I wasn't that fond of
Cinder, but I don't know why I was nervous because I ended up really enjoying this instalment in the Lunar Chronicles. It was faster-paced with more intriguing characters and mysteries.

In this book Cinder's story is continued on from her stint in prison, but this time we also get the story of Scarlet. Scarlet lives with her grandmother on a farm in France. Her granny has gone missing though and the police have given up the search saying that there doesn't appear to be any "foul play" involved. Scarlet is determined to find her despite what the authorities say and enlists the help of a street fighter named Wolf who has a rather mysterious past.

Cinder and Scarlet's lives are connected in a way that they would never have guessed... until now. They better be ready for the shock of their lives.

I really enjoyed the mystery surrounding this book even if it was all a bit obvious for my liking. The plot was well-paced and spread out with convenient clues dropped here and there that I wished could have been better disguised - I would have liked to be in the dark at the end and shocked by the revelations, rather than have been yawning and bored.

Scarlet and Wolf's story was far better than Cinder and Thorne's. Scarlet had a lot more action and intrigue while we were simply left wondering when Cinder would catch up to Scarlet during her parts. Also - and many of the girls that I read this with agree with me - the two parallel stories of Scarlet and Cinder were so distinctively separate that I felt that they were written by two completely different authors. During Scarlet's parts the writing took on a more poetic style that flowed easily and was far more detailed, while Cinder's part was written with a casual, laid-back style that lacked detail and suspense. This didn't work for me in the slightest. It made the overall fluidity of the book disintegrate and we were left with a jerky and disconnected story.

Overall, the book in its entirety was far better than
Cinder. Scarlet's part of this worked very well and I enjoyed those bits a lot more. Cinder's parts were dull and boring, if the series had been about her the entire time I don't think I would want to move onto Cress.

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