Review: Scarlet (Lunar Chronicles #2) by Marissa Meyer

Title: Scarlet (Lunar Chronicles #2)
Author: Marissa Meyer
Publication: February 5th, 2013 by Feiwel and friends
Reviewed by: Vanessa
Rating: 5 Stars
Reason for reviewing: Pleasure

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.

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Short and Quick: A secretive moody handsome guy named Wolf + a feisty stubborn girl named Scarlet who is searching for her grandmother who may or may not have been taken by Wolf sounds like (and is!) a definite win.

Favorite Quote: “I knew they would kill me when they found out, but…” He struggled for words, releasing a sharp breath. “I think I realized that I would rather die because I betrayed them, than live because I betrayed you.” --- *Sigh* <Insert dreamy eyes here> --- Want to know who said it? Nope. Can’t tell you. You’ll just have to read the book. :P

My thoughts: Scarlet is the second installment in Marissa Meyer’s Lunar Chronicle Series and while normally in a series we’d stay following the initial heroine, this book introduces a new one, Scarlet, and a new leading man, Wolf. I was reluctant to read it at first, which is why it’s taken me over a year to pick it up. I got so attached to Cinder (the heroine from the first book) that I was afraid this was going to be a big ol’ let down. I was also afraid Cinder wouldn’t play a role in this book. Boy was I wrong!! What the hell was I thinking!? I should have had more faith in Marissa Meyer. She didn’t let me down the first time with Cinder so why would she let me down now? Yeah, I’m a dork.

Anyhoo! In this book, we get to see different character’s points of view, which normally frustrates me because I hate ‘switching gears’ so many times during a book, however, I thoroughly enjoyed reading everyone’s point of view! Even from the new characters like Wolf and Captain Thorne (who is hilariously vain by the way). Captain Thorne had me smiling and rolling my eyes a lot!

I personally fell in love with Scarlet. She is feisty, strong willed, and has a great heart. Although she may have been a bit gullible when it came to Wolf, she really had no choice. She needed him in order to find her grandmother who was taken from her home in the beginning of the book. They both go on a hell of an adventure together and nearly die a few times, which of course, makes for great reading!

Wolf is an incredible character. He is the epitome of dark and mysterious. His constant inner struggles between his principles, his heart and certain things that haunt him (trying not to spoil it for you guys) make this character a very interesting addition to this storyline. You don’t know whether to trust him, love him, hate him, or punch him! But, Marissa Meyer wrote this character in such a way that you root for him and hope he isn’t who you think he is. I hate to say this, but I’m glad she added a strong leading male character in this book. Poor Kai is such a puss in the first two books. I hope he grows some balls in the next installment. I digress…..

As I said before, Cinder definitely plays a role in this book and we get to see all the crap she has to go through (quite literally at some point… *gag*) after being thrown in prison. We get to learn more about her past and see how she came to be a cyborg. We also learn about certain key players that helped her leave Luna and we also get to see developments in her Lunar ‘tricks’.

All in all the story was great! There are twists you definitely don’t see coming, which I loved of course. This book is definitely a page turner and was so damn good that I‘m just happy I had Cress in my possession when I finished it so I can jump right into the third book!

Other favorite quotes:
• “A relieved grin filled up Thorne’s face. “We’re having another moment, aren’t we?”
“If by a moment, you mean me not wanting to strangle you for the first time since we met, then I guess we are.”  --- hehe! Oh Thorne! I freakin’ love this character!

• “We met less than a week ago and in that time I've done nothing but lie and cheat and betray you. I know. But if you give me a chance...all I want is to protect you. To be near you. For as long as I'm able.”

• “When she had gone, Thorne let out a low whistle. “I know, I know. She seems a little”—crossing his eyes, he swirled both fingers around his ears—“but it’s really part of her charm, once you get to know her.”

And of course, because I ♥ gifs, my reaction to this book in gifs…. because, why not? ;)

Beginning:
Because I was scared it wouldn’t be as good as Cinder

Middle:
Because it was damn good and I loved the characters and I didn’t want them to get hurt! And I didn’t want a certain character to turn out to be a dick.

End: Ahhh!! Can’t wait for Cress!!!