Review: Scarlet by Marissa Meyer

I finished Scarlet early this morning, making it my first completed book of 2015. Thinking back on it, I'm pretty sure that my first completed book of 2014 was also in the early morning of January 5.

I'm sure that you are no stranger to this book, which has received a lot of hype in the past couple of years. If you are indeed unfamiliar with the series, The Lunar Chronicles are sci-fi fantasy, fairytale retellings. Each book follows a different character, but every sequel brings the character together, allowing them to interact in some way.Book 2 in the Lunar Chronicles, Scarlet takes place after Cinder, in the same sci-fi, fantasy realm. But this time, we are following a new character, Scarlet, instead of Cinder, as she adventures through the world that Marissa Meyer has created.

Publication: February 5, 2013

Personally, I think that one should go into this series without knowing the synopsis, but if you're the type of person that insists on having one, I have compressed my own non-spoiler version.

Non-spoiler synopsis:
Scarlet is on a quest to find her missing grandmother. Along the way, she meets a man named Wolf, who brings certain adventure and mystery into her life.

Thoughts:
I definitely found Scarlet to be more enjoyable than Cinder, as it kept me wanting to know more. The action here was well spaced out and often had little, amusing elements.

The premise was also more interesting in Scarlet, because there were more characters to focus on and a completely new adventure at hand. And I have to say, Marissa Meyer does a wonderful job of beginning a new storyline while continuing with her pre-established storyline (you'll understand if/when you have read it).

Characters:
I found the characters in Scarlet more enjoyable than I did in Cinder. Part of that is probably due to the character development here, but I found myself relating to Scarlet a lot more. I really liked that she was bold, loyal, and determined. The latter two traits became increasingly apparent as she embarked on her search for her grandmother. Despite the lack of support from the people around her, Scarlet was determined to find her grandmother and bring her home.

I also really enjoyed meeting Wolf, whom I am beginning to understand why readers find him quite attractive. Initially, I didn't really care much for him, but as the story progressed, I found him more and more intriguing.

Overall:
I gave this book 5 stars and would highly recommend it to anyone who is skeptical about continuing with the series after reading Cinder.

I really wish I could say that I'll be jumping straight into Cress, but instead, I will be picking up The Blood of Olympus by Rick Riordan, and thus finishing the Heroes of Olympus series. But you can definitely expect a review for both Blood of Olympus and Cress sometime later this month.