The best in the series, so far

Scarlet
by Marissa Meyer
YA Sci-fi
Coffee Beans: 4.5/5
Content Rating: PG for kissing and fighting
Instalove factor: From Marissa? Pffft, please!
The Cover: In love
Spoilers: Nope
Disclaimer: I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for this honest review


I had been on the prowl for an ARC of Marissa Meyer's latest installment in the Lunar Chronicles for a long time. Keeping a sharp eye on Shelf Awareness, Edelweiss, Net Galley--all the usual suspects.

Nothing.

It was a couple of weeks before the book was due out, and I was loosing all hope at getting an early copy when, low and behold!, an email in my inbox from her publicist asking me if I'd like to have a galley!

Um, yes?!?!?!

So my wish was granted, and I was not disappointed.

Publisher's Summary:

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 Review:

I have to say, that out of the two books, this one is by far my favorite. There was so much more action and drama and the relationship between Scarlet and Wolf is my favorite so far of the YA literary sci-fi/paranormal world. They hate each other in the beginning, and it's a reluctant alliance until about a little bit past half-way through the book.

I love how Meyer is introducing new characters and stories in the fairy tale vein and tying their stories into Cinder's. As you can guess, Scarlet is about Little Red Riding Hood and the big, bad Wolf. The majority of the book focuses on her search for her grandmere, but the book also jumps around to what's going on with Cinder and her goofy and very likable, Captain Carswell Thorne, her new sidekick; and twists and turns until the two stories meet up and finally, so do the characters. And don't worry, Levana is still around, and as evil as ever. Poor, poor, Prince Kai.

This is a must read. Enjoy!

--Me

Cinder Book Report

Cinder

By: Marissa Meyer

Genre: YA Sci-fi/dystopian

Rating: PG

Coffee Beans: 4/5

Spoilers: Some minor-ish ones


 
Publisher's Summary:

Humans and androids crowd the raucous streets of New Beijing. A deadly plague ravages the population. From space, a ruthless lunar people watch, waiting to make their move. No one knows that Earth's fate hinges on one girl. . . .

Cinder, a gifted mechanic, is a cyborg. She's a second-class citizen with a mysterious past, reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsister's illness. But when her life becomes intertwined with the handsome Prince Kai's, she suddenly finds herself at the center of an intergalactic struggle, and a forbidden attraction. Caught between duty and freedom, loyalty and betrayal, she must uncover secrets about her past in order to protect her world's future.

My Review:

I got this book as an ARC and was so entirely thrilled when it showed up in the mail. The cover was awesome and the premise was exciting. Cinder is an interesting dystopian/sci-fi telling of a classic fairytale. I must admit, I'm a sucker for books that do this, and do it well. Cinder is a book that came so close, but in the end, fell a little short. But that doesn't mean it didn't offer a lot between the front and back covers.

The world Cinder lives in is industrialized and cluttered. Technology abounds but not in a futuristic "everything is completely awesome" sort of way. China rules the globe (Cinder lives in New Beijing) ruled by an emperor with a handsome son. There's also a colony of Lunar people who are evil and bent on over-taking earth (the hardest part of the book for me to swallow), and there's that nasty disease that's spreading through the city.

Cinder is a cyborg, a thing to be shunned and spit on in the streets, and she has a gimpy foot. Her step mother and two step sisters treat her as if she's worthless and force her to slave every day in the market, where she has the reputation as being the best mechanic in all of New Beijing. You guessed it, one day the prince comes to her shop, disguised, and asks her to fix his robot. As she's working on it, she uncovers some secrets the prince has been trying to hide—he's looking up information and contacting people he's not supposed to.

When Cinder's youngest step sister contracts the disease, and she gets blamed, her stepmother sends her the palace to be experimented on (as what happens to a majority of the cyborgs). So much happens at the palace and in the labs, that if I tell you, I'll spoil a lot of secrets. Let's just say it's pretty intense and, surprisingly, pretty unpredictable. Lots of twists and turns in this story. Meyer did really well on interpreting the classic fairytale and then warping it into her own story. I loved finding the parallels and seeing how she filled in the holes.

Meyer did a fantastic job really building up the characters. All of them are round, like they've never missed a meal a day in their lives. I felt like I knew each and everyone. She did a great job setting up the world and the characters and the story in the beginning of the book. I knew it was going to be deep and rich and layered and just overall, amazing. But as the story went on, I felt that Meyer kind of broke her promise to me. I felt like the last part of the book was rushed and not as detailed and woven as the beginning. It was good, and answered a majority of my questions, but I felt it could have been so much better; like Meyer didn't live up to her or her book's potential.

What's my usual disclaimer, folks? Pick it up and read it for yourself and form your own thoughts. It was a good book and I'll for sure be recommending it to others. I'll even pick up the second one to see what happens because I like the characters enough to see what Meyer's going to put them through. Happy reading, my friends!