Scarlet (The Lunar Chronicles, #2) in Book Riot's Read Harder Challenge

Aug 26, 2013 Lacey Louwagie rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: retelling, youngadultfantasy, youngadult, sciencefiction, fantasy, fairy-tales, romance, paranormal

My goodness this book goes on a lot of shelves!

With a book with that many tags, it might seem like this one would be a little too "all over the place." But it really wasn't. It had nice pacing, a good narrative arc, and perhaps most importantly, a good balance between its two primary storylines -- the continuation of Cinder's story, and the introduction of Scarlet's. Initially I didn't think I'd like this book as much as Cinder because I didn't like Scarlet as a character as much as I liked Cind My goodness this book goes on a lot of shelves!

With a book with that many tags, it might seem like this one would be a little too "all over the place." But it really wasn't. It had nice pacing, a good narrative arc, and perhaps most importantly, a good balance between its two primary storylines -- the continuation of Cinder's story, and the introduction of Scarlet's. Initially I didn't think I'd like this book as much as Cinder because I didn't like Scarlet as a character as much as I liked Cinder. I think I still prefer Cinder, but by the end of the book, Scarlet had grown on me.

I think what I really love about this series is the way that it melds so many different genres that I like -- although it's science fiction with spaceships and androids, it's "light" science fiction, so I don't have to feel stupid if I don't get the "hard" science. The retold fairy tales bring something new to the table, but they also stay true to their source material. I felt a little ambivalent about how closely this one skirted toward the paranormal romance genre, but it's still loads better than "Twilight" or even "Sisters Red."

While these books have a nice balance of plotting and character development, I do feel uncomfortable with how cavalier they are about death. Characters who are vitally important to the protagonists die in both books, and their passing doesn't seem to engender the kind of bereavement that it should, feeling too much like a plot point and not like a devastating loss. These books maintain my interest and my emotional investment, but they don't bring me anywhere close to tears -- which they should. Instead, the deaths make me feel indignant, like the character has been dealt an injustice not only in losing their loved one, but in not being allowed the emotional resonance that the situation calls for.

Still, I loved the way Marissa Meyer managed to intertwine Cinder's and Scarlet's stories, and I look forward to seeing how she will continue to weave ever-more fairy tale threads together in future books. ...more

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May 09, 2014 Renata rated it it was amazing

Shelves: ya, sci-fi

Gah! What witchcraft is this? I loved it just as much as I loved the first one! At first I was disappointed to have so many new characters introduced when I really just wanted more about Cinder, but soon I got just as involved with Scarlet and the rest. Yay!

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Feb 20, 2019 Carolyn rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: ya, sci-fi

I didn't like this as much as Cinder, probably because I was so engrossed in that story that Scarlet's story seemed like a long introduction to a new character. ...more

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Feb 20, 2013 Alya rated it liked it

Shelves: 2013

This could have been rated higher had the romance between scarlet and wolf not evolved into alpha-male/female wolf mate territory. Mm hmm. The development and raw authentic pains of Cinder from book one eclipse this in my mind. That said, it was a fascinating--if slightly over done?--read. I thought the way the storylines were brought together worked really well. I just have a difficult time sometimes imagining the world itself.

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Dec 16, 2014 Jenny rated it really liked it

Shelves: fiction, fantasy, young-adult, romance

I'm really liking this series a lot. Good characters and plot movement. Normally these series tend to suffer from the middle books being a tad boring, but this one wasn't. She managed to introduce a new character while keeping Cinder's story relevant and moving forward.

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Jun 28, 2012 Abby Johnson rated it really liked it

I loved Cinder and this sequel didn't disappoint, combining a new cast of characters (a retelling of Little Red Riding Hood) with some of our old friends from the first book. Fans of the first book will love it. ...more

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