Title: Scarlet
Author: Marissa Meyer
Rating: 3.5/5 stars
Plot:
As Cinder reinvented the tale of Cinderella, Scarlet puts a new spin on the story of Little Red Riding Hood. I wasn’t aware upon picking up Scarlet that Meyer had intended to reimagine more fairytale characters to weave into the story but I am definitely impressed with it. At points, the plot felt a bit dry in the first half of the book but as the storylines of Cinder and Scarlet began to merge, the story became a lot stronger. I was concerned that bringing more fairytale aspects to the story might make it cheesy or predictable, but Meyer has succeeded in fusing these well-known characters into a world of her own creation and made it realistic, interesting and unique. I feel like the weakest point of the plot currently is the relationship between Wolf and Scarlet, but there is so much more going on that I can forgive that.
We got a whole new cast of characters in this book and I did like most of them although I didn’t find myself as fond of them as the original ones. At the beginning, I found Scarlet to be a sort of meh character. She had a bland personality and her story revolved almost solely around her concern for her grandmother and her intrigue in Wolf. As the story progressed though, I felt like we got more out of her and I liked her more and more but my biggest issue, as I mentioned above, is her relationship with Wolf. I don’t know if I’m alone here but I didn’t really feel a strong connection to Wolf in general and their relationship felt far too rushed and under-developed. Perhaps my feelings will change in Cress?
My favourite of the new characters is definitely Thorne, though. He’s a really fun character and while I don’t appreciate how his flirtations sometimes get a bit too much, he still is a character I grew to like a lot. I really hope we get more depth from him in the future novels because I feel like there is potential there. I also hope we get more development between him and Cinder (non-romantically). Speaking of, I think our original characters made some huge decisions in this instalment but I don’t think that, as characters, they grew a great deal. The only exception being the shift in Cinder at the end. I was so, so happy when we saw her making the decision to fully accept her title and make her mark in this war. I can’t wait to see where she is at the start of the next book.
Writing:
Similar to how I found Meyer’s writing in Cinder, Scarlet reads really easily. This isn’t to say anything bad about her writing but to say that it flows nicely and doesn’t over complicate anything. It’s easy to devour her novels, which also means it’s easy to get sucked into the world so completely you read most of the book in one sitting. It’s definitely something I enjoy about this series.
General comments:
This series is getting better the more it goes on. I could have given this book a solid 4 stars but the first half of the novel really weighed down the rating for me. But I think the last section of this novel was the strongest the story has every been and I’m very excited to see where the story goes next. How did you guys find Scarlet? Let me know in the comments below!
Also, how do you guys find this new set up? I think breaking down my reviews into categories gives it more structure and makes it easier for me to discuss things, but I want to hear your opinions as well. Let me know in the comments below!
Until next time,
J, xxx
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