Scarlet (The Lunar Chronicles #2)

Synopsis

The fates of Cinder and Scarlet collide as a Lunar threat spreads across the Earth . . .

Cinder, the cyborg mechanic, returns in the second thrilling installment of the bestselling Lunar Chronicles. She's trying to break out of prison- even thought is she succeeds, she'll be the Commonwealth's most wanted fugitive.

Halfway around the world, Scarlet Benoit's grandmother is missing. When Scarlet encounters Wolf, a street fighter who may have information about her grandmother's whereabouts, she is loath to trust this stranger, but is explicably 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 handsome Prince Kai to become her husband, her king, her prisoner.

Loved

• Scarlet! I freaking love this girl. Her personality matches her bright red hair- fiery, sassy, and bold. I'm all about sassy characters if they aren't bratty or entitled, which Scarlet is neither of these things. Scarlet is the girl who stands on a table in a bar to tell everyone how it is, chases down a pack of wolves who all want her dead, and- my personal favorite- takes down viscious wolves with her shotgun. I just about died when she walked down the plank of that ship with her shotgun on her shoulder- SO COOL. Also, I love that she's curvy, which always makes me automatically like a character in a book. We have WAY too many heroines whose waists fit in the circle of a guy's hands . . . 

• Wolf. Wow, what a fascinating character. Wolf is so interesting because we never know throughout the book if he's good or bad, or what game he's playing. I loved trying to guess his motives and trying to understand who he was underneath the, well, wolfishness. He is a very creative and well-written character because he's so complex and unpredictable.

• Thorne. Oh my goodness. Captain Thorne just has my heart. His character doesn't develop much until Cress, but I did love him in this book too. He and Cinder are the perfect duo with Cinder's pragmatic mechanic brain, complemented by Thorne's constant witty jabs and flirty banter. He had me laughing in every one of his scenes.

• The mysteries. This book was so interesting trying to figure out how everything pieces together, especially as Cinder and Thorne learn different things than Scarlet and Wolf. The plot was very well-written to keep us hooked looking for clues to how all the pieces fit together. 

• The Little Red Riding Hood feel. Little Red Riding Hood has always struck me as a very weird and frankly disturbing fairytale (why is it even a fairytale anyway? Aren't fairytales supposed to be happy?) But this version of it, albeit violent and gory, actually made sense to me and I loved Merissa Meyer's spin on the story. I actually forgot it was a retelling until the end, and the story stayed surprisingly pretty true to the fairytale. This is a Little Red Riding Hood fairytale I can get behind.

Didn't Love

• This was a little gory, but other than that I wouldn't change a single world of this story :)

Content

• Language: 
• No swearing, just expression from the world: "Oh my stars," etc.

• Sexual content: 
•  A few kisses, described as being in each other's arms, fingers in hair.
• One steamy kiss backed against a wall and tongue is mentioned. It appears to be non-consensual, but ends up having a purpose. A guard comments that "everyone has their thing I guess."
• Mention of one character looking at "naughty pictures."

• Violence:
• This book is much more violent and gory than Cinder.
• Genetically modified wolves attack various cities. They rip at victims' throats and kill and feast on them as a normal wolf would. LOTS of blood and bodies described.
• One character is imprisoned and tortured by the wolves, and is eventually killed by a wolf. Another character watches and heaves.
• Two wolves severely injure each other in a drawn-out bloody fight in which one ends up killing the other.
• One character is believed to have killed himself while in an "asylum" and many mentions are made of this.
• One character carries a shotgun and shoots some of the wolves.

 Overall Thoughts

Wow I DEVOURED this book completely. I loved everything about it. Scarlet is such a fun character with her sassiness and boldness, which is a perfect complement to Cinder's sarcastic and straightforward thinking. Scarlet's relationship with Wolf is fascinating as it is unpredictable, and leaves us constantly guessing what game he is playing. I loved the spin of Little Red Riding Hood and how it tied in with the sci-fi, dystopian world and genetically-modified wolves. I enjoyed this even more than Cinder with vibrant new characters, new pieces of the puzzle, a complex romance, and amped up intensity.