Book two of my May reading challenge was Scarlet by Marissa Meyer. This is the second book in The Lunar Chronicles, with the first book being Cinder. I read Cinder back in March and was so upset that I’ve gone this long before reading this series. I found the first two used with the old cover art, but after seeing the new, updated covers, I hope there will be a box set soon with theses new covers.
I’ll try to keep this as spoiler-free as I can, for both Cinder and Scarlet.
Alright, so I love a good fairy tale retelling. I loved the unique aspects Cinder had alluding to the original Cinderella story. This time, we have a loose retelling of Little Red Riding Hood. The young girl, Scarlet, works on her grandmother’s farm in a small French town, delivering the fresh produce to various clients. The novel opens up with Scarlet receiving an update on the disappearance of her Grandmother, who’s been gone for two weeks now. However, it’s concluded that there was no foul play. Scarlet, in the belief that her grandmother is still alive somewhere, ends up searching for her with the help of Wolf, a large, yet shy, man who seems more beast than man at times.
So, I loved Scarlet’s character. She’s a badass who knows how to take care of herself, even if she can be impulsive at times, she doesn’t give up without a fight. While Cinder is more cunning and uses her intellect more, Scarlet relies more on her strength and split-second decisions. I enjoyed the differences between their characters, especially given how many POVs are in this novel. Cinder had two POVs and Scarlet had four by the end.
Due to these POVs, the beginning was kind of slow, establishing where each character was after the end of Cinder, while also introducing the new characters. However, this was a quick read. I longed to know what was going to happen to our MCs, how they were going to outwit and overcome the hurdles to reach their main goals. Thorne was a blast, aside from one or two pervy lines, and I loved his interactions with Cinder. Wolf… was a hit an miss throughout the novel. I ended up liking him more by the end though.
I don’t know when I’ll get to the third book Cress, though I’m excited to continue this series. I did enjoy Scarlet more than Cinder, so I hope each novel continues the trend of improving over the last.
4.5/5 ID chips
Next book is Scythe by Neal Shusterman!
Kaylen Azalea Grimm 