Review: Scarlet by Marissa Meyer

Scarlet

Author: Marissa Meyer

Publication Date: February 5th, 2013

Publisher: Feiwel and Friends

Genre: YA/Romance/ReTelling/Dystopia

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Synopsis:

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 Thoughts: Marissa Meyer has mastered the ReTelling genre! You will not find any others in the genre  that are nearly as unique, imaginative, adventurous, and creative as The Lunar Chronicles. Meyer has breathed the most fresh breath of air possible into stories that we all know so well. She has all but turned these stories on their heads and emptied their pockets and stripped down to their bare essentials. She then rebuilt them in a way only she can, with every page and character becoming something even better and more astounding than it previously was.

I'm sad that it took me so long to read this. I read Cinder last year and I absolutely loved it. You can read my review for Cindre here. It should not have taken me this long to get my hands on the sequel, and if it weren't for my great friend Jenn here passing me on  her copy I would probably still have it on my to read list. So big thanks to Jenn for being so generous and giving me the encouragement I needed to get this book read!

Scarlet is a female heroine we all can't help but love. She has a  fierce loyalty to her loved ones and a determination that never quits. I fell in love with  her just as easily as I fell for Cinder in the first book. Both are female leads you will be rooting for right from the start.

I was especially happy to find that Cinder was in this book. I had assumed that it would be a brand new re-telling with all new characters. This is because I have a habit of not reading the synopsis to sequel books because I just love being surprised too much and I don't want the slightest surprise to be given away. But yes, you can imagine my delight when Cinder was amongst the pages. This delight only intensified to the max as Cinder's and Scarlet's stories intertwined.

The way Meyer has weaved these two fairy tales together is nothing short of incredible. She obviously has a gift for this genre and I would say her books are the yardstick that all others in the genre are measured against. You don't want to miss out on these books. If you have not looked into the Lunar Chronicles yet you seriously need to hop on that train! Pick up these books and prepare to fall in love with the stories you've always known, only this time around, they are revved up, and totally kick ass!

Review: Scarlet by Marissa Meyer

Scarlet

Author: Marissa Meyer

Publication Date: February 5th, 2013

Publisher: Feiwel and Friends

Genre: Science Fiction / Fairy Tale Retelling

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Synopsis:

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.

My Thoughts: Wow, just wow. Honestly I don't even know where to start with this review. I guess I will just pick my jaw up from the ground to begin with. So Scarlet, the second instalment of The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer, I might have liked it even more than Cinder. Crazy I know, since I loved Cinder. But I'm not really sure what happened when I started reading this one. I just couldn't stop. I dragged this book around until it was done. First of all, just look at that cover! I love how it's so similar to Cinder's cover and not at the same time. All you get to see is Little Red's cape and hair. In case you are wondering, no Scarlet doesn't run around in a cape being all super hero-y. She has a red hoodie, much more tactful for fitting in in the future.

So, there are multiple points of view in this one, which made me a very happy person because I quite enjoy the multiple PoV's. Especially, as in Scarlet there is a lot going on and you really need everyone's PoV. It starts off with Scarlet, so we get to meet our new favourite, ass kicking, ginger, farmer girl. All Scarlet wants is to find her grandmother, who has disappeared. She is sure that she was kidnapped but everyone else, including the police, think her grandmother is crazy and ran away. Scarlet is thinking about trying to find her gran herself when Wolf shows up. He is new to town and asks Scarlet for a job on her farm, she doesn't trust him and turns him away (good girl! You can't trust a Wolf!). Unfortunately, she finds out that she needs his help and falls for him hard (Bad girl!). There is huge betrayal, I don't know if it can be forgiven, but that's all I'm going to say on that matter. I really like Scarlet, even with her judgement lapses. I hope there is a bit more with her in the next books!

Cinder is fleeing, with the help of a fellow inmate, she manages to get a hold of a ship and evade capture, for the time being. They realize that they need to find someone from Cinder's past (although she doesn't let "Captain" Thorne in on this). There isn't really a whole lot of character building with Cinder this time since she is mostly trying to not be sent back to prison so her evil aunt won't get a hold of her and try to kill her, again. But she is still awesome! Also, IKO IS BACK!!! I'm not going to tell you how, but Iko is so not impressed right away.

The third point of view is Prince Kai! There's not really a lot from his PoV, since most of it is him trying to track down Cinder so Queen Levana doesn't start a war over all of this. We all know she's just using it as an excuse though. Kai make a very bad decision in this book :( Kai, you make us all sad!

Wolf. I love him, I hate him, I love him, I hate him, I love him. Seriously. He really needs to stop being so nice and then an ass. You can't trust him at all. You want to like him, but he's the big bad wolf, so clearly he's bad, right? Bad and yummy. *sigh*

Yes, I liked Scarlet possibly more than Cinder. I can't get over how Marissa Meyer just writes in a way that I can't physically put a book down. It's crazy. She has an amazing way with words. There was so much going on but it isn't at all confusing. I cannot wait for Cress to come out. Really, I can't. It's going to be a LONG year. In case you haven't figured out if I recommend this or not yet, yes, yes, YES! You have to read this series, it is an amazing retelling! All science fiction-y and such. I loved it! See, there's five owls down there!

Review: Fathomless by Jackson Pearce

Fathomless
(Fairytale Retellings #3)

Author: Jackson Pearce

Publication Date: September 4th, 2012

Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

Genre: Fantasy / Fairy Tale Retelling

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Synopsis:

Celia Reynolds is the youngest in a set of triplets and the one with the least valuable power. Anne can see the future, and Jane can see the present, but all Celia can see is the past. And the past seems so insignificant -- until Celia meets Lo. Lo doesn't know who she is. Or who she was. Once a human, she is now almost entirely a creature of the sea -- a nymph, an ocean girl, a mermaid -- all terms too pretty for the soulless monster she knows she's becoming. Lo clings to shreds of her former self, fighting to remember her past, even as she's tempted to embrace her dark immortality. When a handsome boy named Jude falls off a pier and into the ocean, Celia and Lo work together to rescue him from the waves. The two form a friendship, but soon they find themselves competing for Jude's affection. Lo wants more than that, though. According to the ocean girls, there's only one way for Lo to earn back her humanity. She must persuade a mortal to love her . . . and steal his soul.

My Thoughts: Alright, Jackson Pearce is so utterly amazing. This is the only the second book I've read by her, the first being Purity, I freaking loved them both!!! (I know, I'm terrible for not having read the other fairy tale retellings, but now I want to even more!!) I went in thinking this was about mermaids (Little Mermaid retelling, so yeah) but Lo is totally NOT a mermaid. I still don't really understand what she was, Pearce called her an ocean girl. No fins or flippers! Just two legs and the ability to walk on land, albeit painfully. So what exactly did I love about Fathomless?? EVERYTHING!! I started reading it and got completely hooked (no pun intended.. or was it?). I seriously was reading this book every spare moment I had, carrying it around to steal a few word here and there. Pearce has definitely made it into my favorite authors!

There are two (well three, kind of) protagonists in Fathomless. There is Celia, the triplet with the power to see the past and Lo, the ocean girl. Then of course there is Naida, who is Lo, or is she really? Lo and Naida are the same girl, yet they are so different. Each has a different voice, as the reader can plainly tell from reading. Celia is trying to help Lo/Naida remember her past, before she was an ocean girl. All Lo/Naida wants is to not forget, not lose herself again. Celia can help her remember. They meet after the rescue Jude, a boy who fell in the water. The both fall in love with him, but how can Lo even be with him? She lives in the water and the only way to become human again is to steal his soul, which means killing him, so what's the point really.

I will admit, the ending caught me slightly by surprise. I wasn't expecting it. Pearce has a way of writing that seems to keep me guessing and I really enjoy it. If you are looking for a book that will have you dragging it around, unable to put down, I think you should try something by her. I love her writing style, her characters, her imagination. It's just amazing. This was comepletely different from what I was expecting, and I couldn't be happier. There is just something great about a book when you finish it, close it and just stare at it with a giant grin. That is what this book did for me. So yes, yes you should read it!