Scarlet

A Synopsis: 

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. 

(Taken from Goodreads)

Review: (contains spoilers!)

Scarlet starts off right were Cinder left off. We are introduced to Scarlet Benoit and Wolf; two mysterious characters whose plot intertwine with Cinder's. I thought the general progression with the plot was a bit slow at first, obviously with new characters being introduced. However as the pages flipped by, the plot picked up pace quickly and gained momentum until the big climax which I'll go into detail later.
Scarlet was an interesting character whose values are introduced very early on in the story with her grandmother missing. I thought her relationship with Wolf was interesting enough yet predictable. It was obvious as soon as he was introduced that we would be the love interest and that he would be connected to her missing grandmother... but I didn't mind it. Sure it was predictable but it didn't make it any less enjoyable.

Cinder's character development in this novel alone surprised me on many levels. She was no longer reluctant and more assertive in her decisions. Cinder and Thorne had heaps of chemistry and bounced off each other with witty dialogue. Their chapters quickly became my favourite in the entire novel. Thorne was such a breath of fresh air in a novel that takes on such an epic storyline. He's brash and arrogant and, dare-I-say, narcissistic? Nonetheless, I thought he was a great addition to the crew and a great possible love interest *cough cress cough*. AND IKO. OH IKO. She added so much humour to the story and I loved how she would constantly add comedic relief that would make me laugh out loud.

Wolf was an extremely well written character. He was wonderfully flawed and complex which is my favourite type of character. The contrast between his feelings for Scarlet and his raw manufactured 'kill all exterminate everything' nature is something that I don't see a lot of in YA and was pleasantly surprised by. Wolf continues to be one of my favourite fictional characters of all time and is also one of the most elaborate characters I've ever read about.

The climax was, to say the least, epic. From the wolf pack to the badass thaumaturges to Michelle Benoit's freaking death! GAH. When both plotlines collided, its friction sent the plot into a frenzy. When the crew tried to escape the church and reach the Rampion, an action packed climax ensued. Marissa Meyer concocted an unputdownable fight that left me speechless by the end of it. The story just clicked into place like a puzzle and felt whole. Scarlet remains one of my favourite books of 2015 and was an amazing installment in the Lunar Chronicles.

Rating:

4.5 Stars.

~ Have a good one, J Woo.
~Again, sorry for being so sporadic with my posts, hope to get into routine soon!