Finally! A sequel to
one of my favorite books from last year, Cinder. Scarlet is another spin on the
fairy tale story of Little Red Riding Hood, and while some elements are still
the same (Girl in hood, wolf, grandmother) that’s where the similarities end.
Scarlet helps her
grandmother in a futuristic France that’s still reeling from the explosive
events described in Cinder. War is still imminent, and it was refreshing to see
a different country and a different set of characters react to the events of
Cinder. What I liked best about this book is that it immediately follows Cinder
without too much of a gap. Scarlet’s grandmother goes missing, and Scarlet
embarks on a very action-packed (and very sexy) adventure. Along the way she
meets some very familiar faces, too.
I think the thing
that saved this book from being a total flop is the fact that Cinder, the main
protagonist from the first book, was still prevalent within the story. The
narrative switched between Scarlet and Cinder and most of the time I was aching
to get back to Cinder’s story arc. The dynamic between Cinder’s set of
characters and Scarlet’s was imbalanced. Scarlet’s character seemed a little
forced, and so did her romantic interest, Wolf.
It felt like Marissa Meyer was going:
Because while their
circumstances were certainly interesting, the conversation between Wolf and
Scarlet were superfluous at best. They’re a cute couple for sure, but their
relationship needs a little more time to mature before I can start feeling like
they’re full-fleshed characters instead of two puppets dancing for our
entertainment.
So all in all,
Scarlet was a very worthy follow-up to Cinder. The original fairy tale isn’t
lost on the reader, yet it still manages to tie in some new elements that make
the story well-paced and memorable. I can’t wait for the third installment of
the series called Cress.
Rating: 7.5/10
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