Scarlet Review

464 pages

Cinder returns in the second thrilling installment of the New York Times-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 and 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 has no choice but to trust him, though he clearly has a few dark secrets of his own. As Scarlet and Wolf work to unravel one mystery, they find another when they cross paths with Cinder. Together, they must stay one step ahead of the vicious Lunar Queen who will do anything to make Prince Kai her husband, her king, her prisoner.

Review:
I love the way the author of this series twists fairytales in a dystopian fashion yet makes the story completely original and fresh. This second book in the Lunar Chronicle is told from Cinder, Scarlet, and Prince Kai's point of view.  While Cinder is still the main focus of this story, Scarlet plays a huge role in this novel. Scarlet is a brave character, albeit a bit jaded and not too trusting. Scarlet is a new addition to this story and we get to see a bit of the tale of Red Riding Hood play out in her life. Cinder is still trying to figure out exactly who she is and this takes her on an adventure of a lifetime. I feel so bad for Cinder since the Lunar Queen has twisted everything to her advantage and made Cinder look like she manipulated Prince Kai. Prince Kai is really a good guy but its hard for him to stand against the Lunar Queen and all of her power. This novel is full of action and adventure as Scarlet races to try and save her grandmother, and Cinder tries to escape from prison. There is also the looming danger of the Lunar Queen who wants nothing more than to take over the Commonwealth. I absolutely loved this novel and can't wait to see where the author takes this story next. I definitely recommend this novel if you like fairytale retellings and distopian fiction but make sure to read Cinder first.