Title: SCARLET (Lunar Cronicles #2)Publication Date: 02/05/2013
My Rating: 5/5--Excellent! Loved it!
Plot in One Word: Red Riding Hood
Good if...you want a totally unique retelling!
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.
My Thoughts...
Okay, in CINDER we saw the corporation of all the classic elements of the Cinderella fairy-tale made into a sci-fi, futurist retelling. And I loved book #1! In case you don't know the basic plot, Cinder is a cyborg (part human, part robot), a 2nd-class citizen in her world, she has a crush on Prince Kai, she's got the evil lunar queen who wants her dead, and currently--at the end of novel #1--we find her locked away in a prison after crashing the royal ball.
Book #2 opens with a brand new character--Scarlet. At first I was confused and annoyed by her introduction All I wanted was more of Cinder. So, who cares about some random girl named Scarlet? But--after a few pages--I quickly warmed to Scarlet. Scarlet--whose grandmother recently went missing and who wears a red hoodie--soon meets Wolf--a street fighter who may or may not know something about her grandmother's disappearance. Sound familiar? Red Riding Hood? SO how does this story line tie to Cinder? It does, trust me...eventually. Anyway, the story continues alternating between Scarlet, Cinder, and occasionally Prince Kai's POV. It's a lot of different story lines, but together they work flawlessly.
And I loved it!! Better than book #1! The introduction of all the new characters was perfect. Scarlet, Wolf, and the Captain were all great additions. They kept the story fresh and turned CINDER--a pretty good book on it's own--into something great! In this novel the stakes are higher, the action constant, and I couldn't put it down. I can't wait for the next novel :)
Bottom line: Buy it! Be sure to read CINDER first though!
2 comments:
I bought Scarlet as soon as it came out and quickly lost interest in it. I think I put it down 2 weeks ago and haven't had any interest in picking it up since.
To be fair, I was pretty engrossed in finishing the first draft of my WIP.
Based on your review, I'll have to pick it up and try again!
Oh, I'm so excited to read this one! But then comes the waiting...again!
Post a Comment