Scarlet

Trying the sequel to a book you have really enjoyed is often a bit of a double edged sword, if it turns out that the book is as good as or better than the predecessor then you have sheer joy and a chance to spend more time with your favourite characters however there is always that fear that the second book is poorer than the first and instead of moving the story along in a fulfilling way it kills the vibes you had for your favourite characters and leaves you feeling that you wish they'd left well alone.

I think this initial worry is what meant I took nearly 6-8 weeks between reading Cinder and picking up the second Lunar Chronicles novel, Scarlet. Scarlet, like Cinder, is a fairy tale retelling and in this book we follow Scarlet, who is loosely based on Red Riding Hood, and a fighter she meets called Wolf. Scarlet's grandmother has been taken from their farm and Scarlet has no idea where she is and no one seems to want to help her find the old woman. During her search she meets Wolf, a fighter who goes from place to place earning his living by fighting and he offers to help her find her grandmother.

This story of Scarlet and Cinder is fishtailed into the continuing story of Cyborg Cinder who we left at the end of book 1 in the series languishing in a New Beijing prison awaiting execution. In this book, she again plays a central role as she begins to adjust to the news that she is a Lunar and that she is, in fact, the lost Lunar princess, Selene. Her friend and love interest Emperor Kai has promised to hand her over to the Lunar Queen in exchange for her leaving his people alone and he is facing the moral dilemma of the safety of his people versus what his heart is telling him to do.

The stories of these two couples become intertwined in this novel and lead to more revelations about Cinder's early life and the lengths people have gone to in order to keep her safe whilst also exploring the extent of the Lunar Queen's plans for earth. There's lots more action along the way and lots of romance too.

I liked this second book in the series but I do have to be honest I didn't enjoy it as much as I did book 1. I think that I would have liked to have seen more plot development in this book. Essentially we didn't move forward as much as I would have liked by way of showdowns between Cinder and her aunt. I also wanted some Kai and Cinder time which we didn't get in this book. There were some high points though, I loved the time we had with Scarlet and her grandmother, the small family moments Meyer treated us too were really emotional and moving and I would have liked a little more of that. I also loved the bits with Cinder and Scarlet together which don't come till quite late on in the book and I'm looking forward to more of this in book 3.

This isn't my favourite series, I like the twist on the fairy tales and giving them a really futuristic twist but sometimes I think there's a lot of focus on the surroundings and I would like more dialogue between the characters that is meaningful and emotional, sometimes it's all a bit superficial. I want to fall in love with the characters but I find them a tiny bit two dimensional and I feel like I'm only ever scratching their surface, I want to know more, I want more detail. I hope we will get this as the series progresses because I want to root for them but I'm not totally invested in them yet.

It's a good second book, it's not as good as book 1 but I am willing to hang on in there and give book 3 a try.