5 STARS

SCARLET was a thrilling second installment that kept me engrossed and reading faster then I could turn the pages. Marissa Meyer's does it again in this twisted retelling of Little Red Riding Hood like you've never seen it before!

Marissa Meyer's takes this fairytale and turns it even better then the original, with a Sci-f twist and it's own touch of originality, SCARLET brings something so unique and truly an addicting adventure that will keep your mind racing, heart aching, and leave you utterly and wonderfully satisfied, while keeping you eager for the next book in this one of a kind series!

I honestly didn't think I could love this second book anymore then I loved CINDER, but boy was I wrong. While CINDER was amazing and had the start to a swoony romance, SCARLET picked up where CINDER left off and progressed this series with a new cast of characters along with the old ones we loved from book one. It blew me away with it's mind blowing action and adventure, and thrilling twist that just kept coming. And we finally start to get some long deserved answers that we desperately craved!

Returning again for another epic adventure is our beloved Cinder that's just as daring and memorable as she was the first time around. She's now a fugitive on the run with the weight of earth and Luna bearing down upon her. Cinder has grown somewhat from book one, but she's still unsure about herself and her capabilities of going up against Levana and wining, but she's not letting that stop her.

But sadly in this second book her and Emperor Kai have no interaction whatsoever. And I was really bummed out about that aspect, even though Cinder and Kai never really acted on their feelings in the first book, but you could still definitely feel the chemistry and desire radiating off of them for each other. And I was finally hoping to have some hot romance heat up between them, but nope, their was none, zip, zilch, nada, and that was a HUGE let down!! But nevertheless, I still loved this book and enjoyed Cinder and Kai's own separate adventure that I'm betting will merge by the end and have a fiery romance that was well worth waiting for!!

But my disappointment over their absence of a hot romance didn't last long because we have a new and fresh hot couple that seemed to heat up the pages even more then Cinder and Kai, but that's probably only because they actually "DID" act on their desires. Scarlet and Wolf are from two very different worlds, but when their lives collide they're reluctantly thrown together and sparks fly, well maybe not at first. But after they realize they're on the "same side", their attraction intensifies and they became totally swoony and was epically engaging.

I loved Scarlet from the second she was introduced, she was feisty and determined to find her missing grandmother no matter what. Everyone thinks she's crazy but Scarlet's not giving up that easy, and that's the main reason why I loved her immediately. She had everyone telling her that her grandmother took off, but Scarlet was not willing to accept that and was determined to go to any length to find and save her grandmother, even if she had to sacrifice herself. When Scarlet Benoit loves, she loves all the way, and that was an admirable trait that I liked. She was also hard head and determined, and extremely hardworking, she just had this air about her that I instantly liked and admired.

The world-building was once again mind-blowing. I'm amazed at how much thought and detail went into this world, and how Meyer's could over think the main plot in SCARLET to expand to the other books in this series, and then interweave to later all make sense. What I mean is that as of writing this review now I've already read every book in this series except WINTER, and each book is about a new character but still has all the old characters from the all the other books in the series, and is also told in multiple POV's from all the characters in the previous books. But each book also ties into the rest of the series, and not only are questions answered from the previous book, but it also all starts to fit together and you finally get to see the bigger picture.

And for Meyer's to create a series like this with such depth and reach, it's just beyond amazing and intriguing. But it also had to take a lot of thought and planing to make sure everything lined up and fit just right to make sense throughout the entire series. But the actual plot was fascinating, I could relive a million stories set in this world and never grow tired of them. Meyer's just has this gift for creating the most unique and utterly complex stories that I have read to date. If it's one thing I can undoubtedly give to Meyer's it's her originality to create the most developed world-buildings and compelling plots out there!!!

THE PLOT:

CINDER:

A week ago Cinder was a just a normal girl, well as normal as any Cyborg girl can be. Part human and part machine, Cinder has lived with her fair share of hateful comments and downcast looks. But she's never had a complete country look at her like that, like a complete outcast and a double freak, until now that is, until the truth behind part of her identity is finally revealed, and her whole world comes crashing down around her.

Cinder's world becomes a turmoil of chaos and destruction after she finds out she's not only Lunar, a race that has been at odds with Earthens for a long as she can remember, but also that she's the lost Lunar Princess Selene that most of the world thinks dead.

After coming face to face with the same woman who tried to burn her alive and forced her to become a cyborg, Cinder is condemned only for the blood that runs through her veins and sentenced to death upon returning home to her birth plant of Luna. But with the help of unlikely allies Cinder escapes her prison and goes on the run to uncover the secrets behind her heritage, and the events that followed after her aunt, Queen Levana ruined her life and stole away her childhood.

A fugitive on the run, Cinder is now the most wanted person in the world, she must stay one step ahead of the Commonwealth and the goons Levana has secretly stashed on earth if she is going to get the answers she seeks. With enemies closing in and time running out, Cinder must quickly find Michelle Benoit, the person with all the answers she needs if she's to untangle the threads of her past and save their future.

But when Cinder discovers that Michelle Benoit is missing, and even worse suspected to be in the clutches of Levana's engineered Lunar wolfs, she will have to become one with the power she just barley learned how to control if she is to stay alive long enough to get answers and hopefully save the world from falling into Levana's hands, because if that happens, they would all be doomed, and at the mercy of pure evil...

SCARLET:

Scarlet Benoit's grandmother is missing, everyone says the crazy ol' bat ran off on her own, but Scarlet knows the truth, she knows her grandmother would never leave without telling her where's she's going. But it doesn't matter because she's still gone, just disappeared into thin air, but Scarlet is not giving up until she finds her grandmother and makes the evil bastards that took her pay, even if she has to put herself in the crossfire to find her, she will.

Two weeks after her grandmothers disappearance Scarlet finally gets the break she needs when a street fighter baring the same eerie tattoo of her grandmothers kidnappers appears offering the answers she desperately needs. But the truth behind it all is more terrifying then she ever anticipated, and she's quickly pulled into a world of chaos and murder as she tries to unravel the mystery behind her grandmothers secrets. All while trying to fight her ongoing attraction with the street fighter that seems more beast than man, and is more tied to her grandmothers secrets and disappearance then she once thought. The fight to save her grandmother may bring her closer to the truth, but it also may be her ultimate downfall...

Surprisingly SCARLET was sooo much better then I imaged it would be, and was even better then the first book CINDER was, even though we still didn't get any Cinder/Kai action yet, which I desperately NEED. But we get a set of new characters that were fully developed and undeniably likable, with a new and fresh romance that easily made up for the Cinder/Kai lack.

Overall, SCARLET was such an awesome ride that I couldn't get enough of. Full of action and adventure, twist and turns, betrayals and deception, self discovery and shocking revelations, romance and bitter-sweet attraction, and heart-breaking loss with torturous murder, SCARLET touches on everything and brings a hurricane of emotions that just keep coming and coming. I can happily say I'm more then satisfied with this second installment, and couldn't wait any longer to start reading the third book CRESS, and unsurprisingly I'm enjoying that one just as much if not more then SCARLET and CINDER, and I have a feeling the final book WINTER will be the best of them all. So if you've already read CINDER and enjoyed it, then I think you would most definitely find this next installment right up your alley. This series has quickly become one of my new favorites of all time!!

I admire Meyer’s clever way of combining Little Red Riding Hood with Cinderella and still maintaining the sci-fi-esque, dystopian theme that underlies The Lunar Chronicles.
Scarlet was good… I enjoyed this installment more than Cinder. Mostly, I was drawn to Wolf. Who wouldn’t enjoy a handsome, brooding and dark, tortured male who is part canine? That sounds weird, but he reminded me a lot of Heathcliff in Wuthering Heights. And, well, I guess I like that sort of complex character?
Scarlet lives in France with her Grand-mere. One day, Grand-mere goes missing and Scarlet will do anything to find her, as her grandmother has been the only legitimate parental figure she has ever known. She hooks up with a shady character named Wolf, and he knows where Scarlet can find her Grand-mere; he voluntarily takes her to Paris, and then they REALLY hook up. Tis the beginning of a beautiful… tortured love affair.
In the meantime, we left Cinder in a jail in New Beijing, tasked with escaping and meeting Dr. Erland in Africa. Cinder meets Captain Carswell Thorne, a pilot locked up for a petty crime, and together, they engineer a way to get out of the jail and escape the Eastern Commonwealth. Cinder still harbors feelings for Emperor Kaito, but develops a fondness for Thorne as well. Thorne reminded me of a Han Solo type character, and I really enjoyed reading his witty quips and obsession over beautiful women.
Not much more can be said about Scarlet without giving away the story. If you liked Cinder, reading Scarlet is a no-brainer.

**minor spoilers - no plot spoilers**

I loved reading Cinder and was actually glad I found this series of books after it was complete - because it would have driven me crazy waiting for the next book to come out. I love Marissa Meyer's writing style - great world, scene and character building. She always keeps the story at an even pace, never drags or speeds forward too fast like she is rushing to finish the book. I will say that she is an author that throws me a lot of curve balls when it comes to plot twists that I don't see coming and that is pretty unusual. Like Cinder, I found it hard to put this book down and read it in 2 sittings.

I loved the futuristic retelling of Cinderella (Cinder), the cyborg mechanic, now we have the futuristic retelling of Little Red Riding Hood (Scarlet) who lives in France, on her grandmother's farm delivering produce to local businesses - and Grandma has gone missing (revealed in 1st chapter). But don't expect the traditional telling of Little Red - the Big Bad Wolf is present, but he is much different than Grimm portrayed. The POV of the story will also switch between Scarlet and Cinder as the storyline is moved forward - we have to keep up with our little rebel cyborg, after all. The dialogue is great, with an AI, Iko, that is more human that most humans and has a smart mouth on her and a renegade American who thinks he is God's gift to women (thou he really is very humble under it all.....yeah, right!)

My only peeve was the red hoodie.....come on, a RED HOODIE!!! and the same red hoodie thru out the entire story. That freaking garment had to have been getting pretty rip and threadbare by the end of the book - yet it shows up again in Cress and Winter!!! Enough with the RED HOODIE!!!! It was enough that she has flame red hair, we didn't need to add an ever present red hoodie that had to have been filthy enough that it could stand up on it's own!

Red hoodie aside, I highly recommend this book and Cinder....you really do have to read Cinder first to understand what is going on in this book.