Scarlet: The Lunar Chronicles, Book 2

I was enchanted by the first in this series. Loved the plays on classic fairy tale tropes, but this installment left me irritated. Not sure if the fault lies in Scarlet's character and the weaker story or in the performance. The accent used for the character slips in and out and is incredibly shrill when she yells. The listener is left feeling as if they are in the presence of a banshee. This may seem a bit harsh and it may be second story in a trilogy syndrome but I wish that the charm of the first book had migrated to the second. I will listen to it again to better determine the fault. Despite these criticisms, I am still invested in Cinder's tale and eagerly anticipate the next installment.

In book 1 Marissa Meyer took one of our beloved fairy tales and turned it into an intriguing sci-fi set into a future with cyborgs and Lunar inhabitants. The story was fast paced and kept the reader wanting more. That said, I was anticipating book 2 with eagerness to find out what happens to our heroine. What I got was an okay story, when even less okay characters.

Meyer introduces a new character, Scarlet. Much of the book focuses on Scarlet's missing grandmother and her quest to find out the mystery behind her disappearance. Every time the book cut away from a scene with Cinder to a scene with Scarlet, I found my finger itching to fast forward and my annoyance on the rise. As the story progresses, Scarlet becomes nearly unbearable. She is stupid. I am referring to both the character in general and also her intellectual level. And she is constantly saying the same things over and over. "I've got to find my grandmother!" and repeat. This girl has no common sense and she comes off extremely whiny. She has zero forethought and her supposed "bravery" comes off as idiotic and rash. The narrator attempts to give her a french accent, which is at times thick and at other times almost non-existent. Add that to the already annoying character and its easy to see how this thrilling series took a nose dive.

The original character Cinder makes appearances and manages to keep the book from sinking into a black abyss. The mystery surrounding her is intriguing, as well as her new emerging abilities. Her new-found companion is arrogant and fancies himself a ladies man. He lightens the mood of the book and is a welcome addition. Cinder's funny android friend finds her way back into the story as the AI for their space ship. Her transition from an android into a gigantic space ship is funny and added to the enjoyment of Cinder's story.

The overall plot of book 2 didn't do a whole lot to further the story line of the series. Not much happens, and the main characters remain separate in their own stories until the very end of the book. As I read, I kept wondering why I should care about Scarlet at all. Unfortunately, this question was never answered. We do get to find out more about Cinder's past, and more about the Lunar queen's evil plot (that pretty much sums it up). Despite my disappointment with this book, I still want to find out what Cinder will do next and how she will fight against the odds. If you were a big fan of book 1 (like me) then I recommend suffering through Scarlet and cross your fingers that book 3 will put Scarlet into the back seat.

I miss Cinder. I enjoyed Scarlet and Wolf, but I wanted more Cinder and Kai. I feel like these should have been sister series like Mercy Thompson and Alpha and Omega. My fear is that book 3, and 4 will add even more characters and I will see Cinder even less.

Ok now that I have whinned about that let me actually review the book. It continues right from where the other one ends. We get to meet new characters and learn more about the consiracey, and about how Cinder got to where she is. The new characters are good, and are based off another fairly tail Little Red Ridding Hood. I actually liked Wolf a lot. He is an interesting spin on the warewolf without all of the shape changing and how much it hurts.

I already was checking to see when the next book would be released. I just hope we don't get another fairy tail and have to keep up with 3 female leads. If that happens I want a bigger book.

This book surprised me, as it took things up to the next level. Scarlet is a character that is very loosely based on Little Red Riding Hood. My biggest concern with Cinder was that it would try to mirror the Cinderella tale too closely, and now I realize my worries were unfounded. The Cinderella story has gone away, merely a stepping stone toward the larger, more awesome plot that has been unveiled.

I found all the new characters in this book very enjoyable. There was action, romance, drama... It reminds me of the television series "Once Upon A Time", but even better as it is set in an exciting science fiction setting.

I was not able to put this audiobook aside, so I listened to it all within a 48 hour period!

Nope.

Not nearly as good as the first book, I just couldn't connect with the characters in this one.

Still haven't finished it, I'm kind of dragging my heels at this point.

I didn't really care for Scarlet, but Cinder's character felt a little flat as well, it just doesn't compare to the first book. I wanted to love it, but couldn't.

I love Cinder. I'm a huge Sci-fi fan so mixing my love for fairy tales and Sci-fi was perfect. Scarlet was just as good as Cinder, more love story than sci-fi. Wolf was dark and intriguing of course but my favorite character ended up being Captain Thorne. He brought much amusement to the story. I do hope the next book has more Cinder, as that is who I read and reread the first book for.

Wonderful story with a terrific audible narrator. The middle of the story gets a bit slow, in my opinion, but the end is terrific. Don't stop listening to this book. In the end, you can't "put it down" and I'd be racing for the next one if it were only out. Sadly, I must wait for the next book (Cress according to Marissa Meyer's website) in 2014.

A more interesting character? Scarlet just seems like a stereotypical whiny teenage protagonist. Cinder was really really interesting in her background, lifestyle, etc. Nothing grabbed me in this one and I had trouble getting through it. Jumping back and forth between Scarlet and Cinder was irritating.

Continued to be as creative and innovative as she had been in the first one.

She was okay.

Scarlet.

There were lots of reviewers who didn't like the fact that Scarlett was the main focus of this book and didn't have Cinder as the main focus. I enjoyed this book even more than the first and can't wait for the next, Scarlett was a great addition. It is a young adult book and I tend towards the naughty adults stuff but I think all can enjoy this book. It has fantasy, sci-fi, romance and political war. I enjoyed the narrator, and I really enjoyed it when she did Scarlett's voice with the slight accent. I defiantly will be getting the next one, hopefully it won’t take too long to come out.

I loved Cinder (the first book) and I adored this second book in the Lunar Chronicle series. The plot thickened considerably where now we have two important characters we get to follow and we get to know. Cinder's dilema continues as she is a fugitive of both the earthen people and the Lunar Queen. A new and enchanting character we get to meet is Scarlett who is on a quest to find her kidnapped grandmother. Along the way she meet a boy by the name of Wolf who is both mysetrious and dangerous. I loved this story and it's many twists and turns and look forward to the next book in the series.