Thursday, April 4, 2013

"Scarlet" by Marissa Meyer Book Review (and an Update on My Just For Fun Challenge)

Goodreads Summary:  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 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.


My rating: 5 of 5 stars
As much as I loved "Cinder," I love "Scarlet" at least as much and maybe even more!  When it comes to young adult fantasies/fairy tales, I cannot recommend these books highly enough.  marissa Meyer is an absolute masterful storyteller, and her books are completely free of two things--profanity and sex.  For me, this is the most refreshing part of this book.  It is over 400 pages of almost nonstop action with somewhat familiar characters told in a post-modern setting.  Yes, there is some violence, but none of the descriptions make me recoil.  My daughter is almost ten, and this is the first truly young adult series that I would be comfortable with her reading.

One of the things that amazes me is that Marissa Meyer actually makes me like her fantasy books.  i am one who generally does not like fantasy books, but once in a while, I find one I like.  And this series is definitely a keeper.  She explains things so that they somehow logically make sense.  And the links between the various characters are absolutely incredible.  One more thing--don't expect an ending that ties up all the loose ends.  Just like she did with "Cinder," she has left you somewhat hanging.  This is a book that I recommend you start with caution (but please read "Cinder" first) because once you start it, you won't want to stop!

I won this book, and I reviewed it because I wanted to.  No one asked me to review it, and all opinions are 100 percent mine.

View all my reviews


About Marissa Meyer
One of my first spoken words was “story” (right along with “bath” and “cookie”), my favorite toy as an infant was a soft, squishable book, and I’ve wanted to be a writer since I first realized such a job existed.
When I was fourteen my best friend introduced me to anime and fanfiction—over the years I would complete over forty Sailor Moon fanfics under the penname Alicia Blade. Those so inclined can still find my first stories at fanfiction.net. Writing fanfic turned out to be awesome fun and brought me in contact with an amazing group of fanfiction readers and writers. As Alicia Blade, I also had a novelette, “The Phantom of Linkshire Manor,” published in the gothic romance anthology Bound in Skin (CatsCurious Press, 2007).
When I was sixteen I worked at The Old Spaghetti Factory in Tacoma, Washington, affectionately termed “The Spag.” (Random factoid: This is also the restaurant where my parents met some 25 years before.) I attended Pacific Lutheran University where I sorted mail that came to the dorm, carted tables and chairs around campus, and took writing classes, eventually earning a Bachelor’s degree in Creative Writing and Children’s Literature. Knowing I wanted a career in books, I would also go on to receive a Master’s degree in Publishing from Pace University (which you can learn more about here). After graduation, I worked as an editor in Seattle for a while before becoming a freelance typesetter and proofreader.
Then, day of days, someone thought it would be a good idea to give me a book deal, so I became a full-time writer. CINDER is my first novel, though I have an adorable collection of unfinished ones lying around too.
I now live with my husband and our three cats (Calexandria Josephine, Stormus Enormous, and Blackland Rockwell III), who go in and out, in and out, about eight hundred times a day. My favorite non-bookish things include Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, re-watching episodes of Firefly, and playing all manners of dress-up.
(from the author's website)


I invite you to follow Marissa via social media (I love the fact that she and I were born in the same city!!)

https://twitter.com/@marissa_meyer
https://www.facebook.com/MarissaMeyerAuthor
http://www.youtube.com/user/marissameyer22
http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4684322.Marissa_Meyer
http://pinterest.com/marissameyer22/
http://www.marissameyer.com/

I have not updated my reading challenges at all this year--things have been crazy.  But this is one I am sticking with:  The Just For Fun Reading Challenge. (click on the picture for clarification)


Although I have not updated until today, I am actually up-to-date.  Scarlet is my book from March.  

My book for February was The Joy of Hate.

And my book for January was The Lipstick Laws. (I actually did blog about this back in January in relation to the challenge.)

As to my other challenges, we'll see if I can post about those this month!


9 comments:

  1. I really have to start reading Cinder! Everyone I know seems to love the books.

    - Ellie at The Selkie Reads Stories

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  2. I agree with you. I am NOT a fantasy fan AT ALL. But the fact that you like it, makes me pause!

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  3. Hmmm may need to give these a try. thanks for the recommendation!

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  4. sounds really neat, I think my hubs would actually like it

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  5. I am trying so hard to get myself to read more. This looks like something the old me would really enjoy

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  6. I've been wanting to read her books since Cinder! I've got to get on the ball and order one.

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  7. i really wish i had more time to read! this sounds like a good book i would like

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  8. I am in 2 book clubs, but so many of the books are a bit to "heavy" for me. I need to get back to reading for fun. This sounds like a good one.

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  9. I've been looking for a good Fantasy read, and I will certainly be checking out Scarlet!

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