“One of my first spoken words was “story” (right along with “bath” and “cookie”), my favorite toy as an infant was a soft, squishable book, and I’ve wanted to be a writer since I first realized such a job existed.

When I was fourteen my best friend introduced me to anime and fanfiction—over the years I would complete over forty Sailor Moon fanfics under the penname Alicia Blade. Those so inclined can still find my first stories at fanfiction.net. Writing fanfic turned out to be awesome fun and brought me in contact with an amazing group of fanfiction readers and writers. As Alicia Blade, I also had a novelette, “The Phantom of Linkshire Manor,” published in the gothic romance anthology Bound in Skin (CatsCurious Press, 2007).

When I was sixteen I worked at The Old Spaghetti Factory in Tacoma, Washington, affectionately termed “The Spag.” (Random factoid: This is also the restaurant where my parents met some 25 years before.) I attended Pacific Lutheran University where I sorted mail that came to the dorm, carted tables and chairs around campus, and took writing classes, eventually earning a Bachelor’s degree in Creative Writing and Children’s Literature. Knowing I wanted a career in books, I would also go on to receive a Master’s degree in Publishing from Pace University (which you can learn more about here). After graduation, I worked as an editor in Seattle for a while before becoming a freelance typesetter and proofreader.

Then, day of days, someone thought it would be a good idea to give me a book deal, so I became a full-time writer. CINDER was my first completed novel, though I have an adorable collection of unfinished ones lying around, too.

I married my husband in 2011, two months before the release of Cinder, and we adopted our two beautiful twin daughters, Sloane and Delaney, in 2015. Reading lots and lots of bedtime stories is most definitely a new favorite pastime.”

Marissa Meyer in her own words, from www.marissameyer.com

Backlist Briefs – Mini Reviews for WINTER and OUR DARK DUET

Backlist Briefs – Mini Reviews for WINTER and OUR DARK DUETWinter by Marissa Meyer
Also by this author: Scarlet (The Lunar Chronicles, #2), Heartless
five-stars
Series: The Lunar Chronicles #4
Published by Feiwel & Friends on November 10th 2015
Genres: Young Adult Fiction, Fantasy
Pages: 827
Source: Library
Amazon
Goodreads

GOODREADS SYNOPSIS:

Princess Winter is admired by the Lunar people for her grace and kindness, and despite the scars that mark her face, her beauty is said to be even more breathtaking than that of her stepmother, Queen Levana.

Winter despises her stepmother, and knows Levana won't approve of her feelings for her childhood friend--the handsome palace guard, Jacin. But Winter isn't as weak as Levana believes her to be and she's been undermining her stepmother's wishes for years. Together with the cyborg mechanic, Cinder, and her allies, Winter might even have the power to launch a revolution and win a war that's been raging for far too long.

Can Cinder, Scarlet, Cress, and Winter defeat Levana and find their happily ever afters? Fans will not want to miss this thrilling conclusion to Marissa Meyer's national bestselling Lunar Chronicles series.

Review:

Winter is the fourth and final book in Melissa Meyer’s The Lunar Chronicles. In Winter we not only continue the original story that Meyer has created in the midst of her fairytale retellings of Cinderella, Red Riding Hood, and Rapunzel, but we also get a Snow White retelling added to the mix.  As always, I’m most impressed with the way Meyer manages to seamlessly weave so many retellings into this series without losing any of the originality of the overall storyline.

As the lovely, quirky, and perhaps somewhat mentally unstable Snow White character, Winter is a welcome addition to this wonderful cast of characters that I’ve come to love so much.  I was definitely more attached to the characters I’ve known longer, but I grew to love Winter too and wish I had had more time with her.  What I especially liked about the introduction of Winter was that her presence really served to cast Levana even more firmly into the role of the evil (ummm, psychotic?) stepmother. Have I mentioned how much I loathe Levana?

Speaking of Levana, one of the coolest parts of this final book is that we finally make it to Levana’s home on the planet Luna.  Meyer gives the reader a vivid look into the lives of the Lunar people and the ways they are forced to live because of Levana.  I don’t want to give away anything else about the plot, so I’ll just say that I loved getting to see these amazing characters in action one more time working together to fight against the tyranny of Levana and free the Lunar people from her once and for all. (Even Iko is a total badass and it’s just so much awesomeness!) Because it’s so focused on the resistance and taking Levana down, Winter is truly action-packed from start to finish.  That’s pretty much my favorite kind of read ever, so I loved every page of it.  I’m so sad to have finally reached the end of this series, but I couldn’t have asked for a more perfect ending.  5 STARS

 

Backlist Briefs – Mini Reviews for WINTER and OUR DARK DUETOur Dark Duet by Victoria Schwab
Also by this author: A Darker Shade of Magic (Shades of Magic, #1), A Gathering of Shadows (Shades of Magic, #2)
five-stars
Series: Monsters of Verity,
Published by Greenwillow Books on June 13th 2017
Genres: Young Adult Fiction, Fantasy
Pages: 510
Also in this series: This Savage Song
Source: Purchased
Amazon
Goodreads

GOODREADS SYNOPSIS:

THE WORLD IS BREAKING. AND SO ARE THEY.

KATE HARKER isn't afraid of monsters. She hunts them. And she's good at it.

AUGUST FLYNN once yearned to be human. He has a part to play. And he will play it, no matter the cost.

THE WAR HAS BEGUN.

THE MONSTERS ARE WINNING.

Kate will have to return to Verity. August will have to let her back in. And a new monster is waiting—one that feeds on chaos and brings out its victims' inner demons.

Which will be harder to conquer: the monsters they face, or the monsters within?

Review:

Victoria Schwab really blew me away with Our Dark Duet, the final book in her Monsters of Verity duology.  Not only was it filled with dark and creepy monsters and the action-packed goodness that I enjoyed so much in This Savage Song, the first book in the duology, but it also literally reduced me to tears by the end.

There’s so much to love about this book, but Kate Harker’s growth as a character is probably at the top of my list.  She is now a spike wielding, monster-killing badass and I adored her even more in this book than I did in the first one.  My love for poor tortured August is still strong in this book too, and I rooted for both he and Kate as they valiantly battled their demons, both literally and figuratively.

Schwab’s worldbuilding and pacing are spot on in Our Dark Duet too.  I love this world she has created – it’s dark and creepy with monsters literally lurking around every corner, which just makes for such an intense and suspenseful reading experience.  The pacing was incredible too as it mirrors what is going on with Kate and August.  It starts off at a steady and even pace as Kate and August are each battling a lot of internal demons, but then once they come together to battle a monster that appears to be even worse than the Corsai and Malachi we met in This Savage Song, the pace increases to almost a frenetic pace.  The second half of the book flies by and is filled with blood, explosions, destruction, and death.  I devoured the nearly 500 page book in 24 hours.

Don’t even get me started on the ending, which just shattered my heart into a million pieces.  Schwab has done it again — Our Dark Duet is truly a heartbreaking piece of writing perfection. 5 STARS

five-stars

About Marissa Meyer

meyer

“One of my first spoken words was “story” (right along with “bath” and “cookie”), my favorite toy as an infant was a soft, squishable book, and I’ve wanted to be a writer since I first realized such a job existed.

When I was fourteen my best friend introduced me to anime and fanfiction—over the years I would complete over forty Sailor Moon fanfics under the penname Alicia Blade. Those so inclined can still find my first stories at fanfiction.net. Writing fanfic turned out to be awesome fun and brought me in contact with an amazing group of fanfiction readers and writers. As Alicia Blade, I also had a novelette, “The Phantom of Linkshire Manor,” published in the gothic romance anthology Bound in Skin (CatsCurious Press, 2007).

When I was sixteen I worked at The Old Spaghetti Factory in Tacoma, Washington, affectionately termed “The Spag.” (Random factoid: This is also the restaurant where my parents met some 25 years before.) I attended Pacific Lutheran University where I sorted mail that came to the dorm, carted tables and chairs around campus, and took writing classes, eventually earning a Bachelor’s degree in Creative Writing and Children’s Literature. Knowing I wanted a career in books, I would also go on to receive a Master’s degree in Publishing from Pace University (which you can learn more about here). After graduation, I worked as an editor in Seattle for a while before becoming a freelance typesetter and proofreader.

Then, day of days, someone thought it would be a good idea to give me a book deal, so I became a full-time writer. CINDER was my first completed novel, though I have an adorable collection of unfinished ones lying around, too.

I married my husband in 2011, two months before the release of Cinder, and we adopted our two beautiful twin daughters, Sloane and Delaney, in 2015. Reading lots and lots of bedtime stories is most definitely a new favorite pastime.”

Marissa Meyer in her own words, from www.marissameyer.com

About Victoria Schwab

ve schwab

Victoria “V.E.” Schwab is the NYT, USA, and Indie bestselling author of more than a dozen books, including Vicious, the Shades of Magic series, and This Savage Song. Her work has received critical acclaim, been featured by EW and The New York Times, been translated into more than a dozen languages, and been optioned for TV and Film. The Independent calls her the “natural successor to Diana Wynne Jones” and touts her “enviable, almost Gaimanesque ability to switch between styles, genres, and tones.”

She is represented by Holly Root at Root Literary and Jon Cassir at CAA.
All appearance and publicity inquiries should be directed to either her agent, or one of her publicists:

Harper: Gina.Rizzo@harpercollins.com
Tor: Alexis.Saarela@tor.com

Book Review: RENEGADES

Book Review:  RENEGADESRenegades by Marissa Meyer
Also by this author: Scarlet (The Lunar Chronicles, #2), Heartless
three-stars
Published by Feiwel & Friends on November 7th 2017
Pages: 552
Source: Goodreads
Amazon
Goodreads

FTC Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via Goodreads. All opinions are my own.

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MY REVIEW:

Is there anything worse that having one of your most anticipated reads of the year not live up to expectations?  Because that’s what happened to me with Marissa Meyer’s Renegades.  Generally speaking, I LOVE Meyer’s books.  The Lunar Chronicles and Heartless have been some of my favorite reads from recent years, so when I heard she was coming out with another new series and that it was filled with superheroes and villains, my expectations were sky high.  Perhaps, too high.  I don’t know if I just built up expectations in my mind that were unrealistic or what, but for me, Renegades was just an average good read.  It wasn’t bad by any stretch – I definitely still enjoyed it and am interested in continuing the series – but it just didn’t blow me away like every other Meyer book I’ve read thus far.  So yeah, I was a little disappointed.

The premise behind Renegades is that it focuses on a group called Prodigies.  Prodigies are humans who have some kind of super powers.  Some of the prodigies become Anarchists, which are basically villains, while others join the Renegades, which are the heroes.  Needless to say, these two groups do no play well together.  The story itself is set during a time when society as we know it has basically come apart at the seams.  The Anarchists, who thrive on chaos, have taken advantage of the situation and deemed themselves in charge, thus creating even more instability and chaos as they run roughshod over those without powers.  That is, until they are challenged and defeated by the Renegades.  The Renegades restore some semblance of law and order and become a symbol of hope for the people.

When the novel opens, the Renegades are firmly in charge and are actually being celebrated with a parade through the city, while the Anarchists have been relegated to living in abandoned subway tunnels.  The Anarchists are not finished, however, and are actively planning how to get vengeance on their enemies.  At the crux of their plan is a young woman named Nova.  Nova, known in Anarchist circles as Nightmare, has been tasked with infiltrating the Renegades as a new recruit.  Why?  So as to learn as much about the Renegades’ inside operations as possible, which should in turn make it easier to take them down.  Nova is not only up to the task, but she is highly motivated to defeat the Renegades because she holds the Renegades responsible for the murders of everyone in her family.

Once Nova infiltrates the Renegades, however, she meets Adrian, a fellow Renegade who immediately takes a liking to her.  And as if that doesn’t put enough of a kink into Nova’s plan,  Adrian is also on a mission of his own that could potentially put them at odds.  Adrian is seeking justice for his mother, who was murdered by an Anarchist, and he, ironically enough, is actively searching for the Anarchist Nightmare (a.k.a. Nova) because he believes she holds the key to the murderer’s identity.

Will Adrian realize that Nightmare is basically hiding right under his nose posing as a Renegade or will Nova be able to maintain her secret identity?

Marissa Meyer has brought to life two fascinating main characters in Nova and Adrian.  Nova is an Anarchist, while Adrian is a Renegade.  However, even though they are at opposite ends of the hero-villain spectrum, they still have a lot in common, namely that they are both living double lives and keeping secrets from those around them.  I loved the complexity that the double lives added to each of these characters.

In addition to enjoying watching Nova and Adrian attempt to pull off these secret lives without revealing themselves, I also just found both of these characters extremely likeable and was therefore very sympathetic to both of their plights.  Adrian’s mother was murdered by an Anarchist and he desperately wants justice for her even if he has to work outside of the confines of being a Renegade to do so.  Nova’s entire family was killed right in front of her when she was a child and she feels betrayed by the Renegades who she had believed would show up and save them all but who didn’t show up at all until it was too late.  Even though I might not agree with the idea of seeking vengeance, I can understand why Nova feels the way she does, just as I can understand why Adrian is so determined to track down any leads he can when it come to his mother’s murder.

Aside from Nova and Adrian themselves, what I enjoyed most about Renegades were the superpowers that Meyer has envisioned for all of the Prodigies in the novel.  The powers themselves were unique and so exciting to watch in action.  The action sequences as each character was called on to unleash their powers were some of my favorite moments of the book.  If you’re a fan of Marvel, the X-Men, and other similar superhero stories, you would probably really enjoy this aspect of Renegades as well.  I thought it was especially brilliant that Adrian can use his power, the ability to sketch something and then somehow bring it to life, to actually draw additional powers for his secret super hero identity.  It’s almost as though he’s able to give himself an upgrade via ink.

My biggest issues with Renegades were the uneven pacing and what felt like too much filler information.  While I did fly through some sections of the book, there were many other places where I felt that the descriptions were just heavy handed and filled with unnecessary details that bogged the story down.  One slow area that comes to mind was when Nova first infiltrates Renegade Headquarters as a new recruit.  She is given a lengthy, in-depth tour of the facilities.  After the tour, we are then given a surprisingly long description of Nova being presented with and trying on her new uniform, followed by a discussion about how it fits and how it will be sent off to a tailor for a better fit.  I just kept thinking the entire time I was reading that what took pages and pages could have been wrapped up easily in a few paragraphs.  Because the book itself is so huge, I was very tuned in to descriptive passages like that one.  At over 500 pages, I’m always going to be one who begins to question what feels like extraneous information.

I also didn’t feel like I really got to know the secondary characters very well.  While I thought all of the superpowers of both the Renegades and the Anarchists were unique and very impressive, I just felt like the characters themselves fell kind of flat.  Most of the time I couldn’t even remember the names of Nova’s Renegades teammates or her fellow Anarchists.

As much as I enjoyed the overall storyline, I think if some of the descriptions had been pared down a bit and the secondary characters had been better fleshed out, this would have been a 4 star read for me.

Even though Renegades fell short of my expectations, I still think it’s a solid read that fans of superhero/villain stories would definitely enjoy.  The superhero powers are amazing, the action scenes are fun and exciting, and the two main characters are just so easy to find yourself rooting for.  While I would have liked more character development for the secondary characters and less wordy descriptions throughout, Renegades has still enticed me enough that I want to follow the series and see what happens to Nova and Adrian.

GOODREADS SYNOPSIS

Secret Identities. Extraordinary Powers. She wants vengeance. He wants justice.

The Renegades are a syndicate of prodigies—humans with extraordinary abilities—who emerged from the ruins of a crumbled society and established peace and order where chaos reigned. As champions of justice, they remain a symbol of hope and courage to everyone…except the villains they once overthrew.

Nova has a reason to hate the Renegades, and she is on a mission for vengeance. As she gets closer to her target, she meets Adrian, a Renegade boy who believes in justice—and in Nova. But Nova’s allegiance is to a villain who has the power to end them both.

three-stars

About Marissa Meyer

meyer

“One of my first spoken words was “story” (right along with “bath” and “cookie”), my favorite toy as an infant was a soft, squishable book, and I’ve wanted to be a writer since I first realized such a job existed.

When I was fourteen my best friend introduced me to anime and fanfiction—over the years I would complete over forty Sailor Moon fanfics under the penname Alicia Blade. Those so inclined can still find my first stories at fanfiction.net. Writing fanfic turned out to be awesome fun and brought me in contact with an amazing group of fanfiction readers and writers. As Alicia Blade, I also had a novelette, “The Phantom of Linkshire Manor,” published in the gothic romance anthology Bound in Skin (CatsCurious Press, 2007).

When I was sixteen I worked at The Old Spaghetti Factory in Tacoma, Washington, affectionately termed “The Spag.” (Random factoid: This is also the restaurant where my parents met some 25 years before.) I attended Pacific Lutheran University where I sorted mail that came to the dorm, carted tables and chairs around campus, and took writing classes, eventually earning a Bachelor’s degree in Creative Writing and Children’s Literature. Knowing I wanted a career in books, I would also go on to receive a Master’s degree in Publishing from Pace University (which you can learn more about here). After graduation, I worked as an editor in Seattle for a while before becoming a freelance typesetter and proofreader.

Then, day of days, someone thought it would be a good idea to give me a book deal, so I became a full-time writer. CINDER was my first completed novel, though I have an adorable collection of unfinished ones lying around, too.

I married my husband in 2011, two months before the release of Cinder, and we adopted our two beautiful twin daughters, Sloane and Delaney, in 2015. Reading lots and lots of bedtime stories is most definitely a new favorite pastime.”

Marissa Meyer in her own words, from www.marissameyer.com

Book Review: Heartless by Marissa Meyer

Book Review:  Heartless by Marissa MeyerHeartless by Marissa Meyer
Also by this author: Scarlet (The Lunar Chronicles, #2), Renegades
Published by Feiwel & Friends on November 8th 2016
Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult Fiction
Pages: 453
Source: Purchased
Amazon
Goodreads

MY REVIEW:

Marissa Meyer’s Heartless is one of the most wonderful, whimsical, and heartbreaking books I’ve read this year.  It was actually one of my most anticipated reads for 2016, but for reasons I can’t explain, I’m just now getting around to reading it.  Thankfully though, it was so worth the wait! I devoured Heartless in just a couple of sittings and feel like I can’t sing its praises high enough.

For anyone unfamiliar with the premise for Heartless, it’s meant to be an origin tale for the Queen of Hearts from Alice in Wonderland, basically providing a plausible backstory for her and explaining what then led her to become the character that we all love to hate.  Well, not only does Meyer create a plausible backstory for the Queen of Hearts, complete with new characters and an original storyline, but she is also able to do all of this while retaining all of the whimsy and wonder from the original fairytale.  Although I knew the story would ultimately end badly for Meyer’s heroine, I still loved reading every magical moment of her journey.

 

LIKES

Cath.  Even knowing that she would eventually become the Queen of Hearts, I still fell in love with Cath right away.  She’s smart, sassy, and a girl ahead of her time.  While most girls in the kingdom of Hearts would dream of having a chance to marry the King and become Queen, Cath has absolutely no interest in that whatsoever.  Why?  Because she and her best friend and maid, MaryAnn, have their own dream.  They want to go into business together and open a bakery.  Cath is a gifted baker and MaryAnn has a head for numbers, so they have a whole business plan all worked out and ready to go, if only Cath’s parents would just let her follow her dreams instead of theirs.

Jest.  Jest was actually my favorite character in Heartless.  He is the new court jester for the King of Hearts, and he’s mysterious, a bit roguish, witty, and a real showman when it comes to entertaining the King and his guests.  He piques Cath’s interest from the first moment she watches him perform, and there is an instant connection between them when they finally come face to face.  I don’t know if I’d call it love at first sight, but there’s definite chemistry there and once Cath and Jest do start to get closer, it’s almost impossible not to root for them, especially when the alternative for Cath is the ridiculous, always giggling King of Hearts.  I swear, that King is way more of a fool than his court jester. I just cringed every time I read a scene with him in it, haha.

Characters and Scenes from the Original Fairytale.  I thought Meyer did a brilliant job of seamlessly weaving so many beloved characters and memorable scenes from Alice in Wonderland into her story.  It made me smile every time I came across something familiar, whether it was the mischievous Cheshire Cat, being just as much of a pain in the rear as he is in the original tale, or Caterpillar smoking his hookah pipe and asking “WHO…ARE…YOU?” or the Mad Hatter (Hatta in Meyer’s tale) with his tea party, and especially the croquet match where they used hedgehogs for balls, flamingos for clubs, and the deck of cards as wickets.  And don’t even get me started on what Meyer did with the Jabberwock…it was brilliant!  Much of my excitement while reading was because I was so eager to see how else she had incorporated elements from the original tale into Heartless.

Shout-outs to Other Famous Rhymes.  As if all of the cameos by characters from Alice in Wonderland weren’t enough, Meyer takes it a step further and includes a couple other famous tales that are sure to be recognized by most, if not all readers.  Peter Peter, Pumpkin Eater and his wife actually play a major role in the story, and then there’s also the most delightful shout-out to Edgar Allan Poe’s famous poem, The Raven.  There is literally a raven, a sidekick of Jest’s of course, flying around and quoting lines from ‘The Raven: “Nevermore!”  And you might read this and think that sounds kind of hokey, but nope…trust me, it’s fabulous!

The idea that a sexist world is what ultimately creates the Queen of Hearts.  As much as I kept hoping something miraculous was going to happen and save Cath from the dreaded fate we all know is in store for her, I thought it was somewhat poetic that sexism plays such a huge role in Cath’s fate. I swear, if I lived in a place where no one took me or my dreams seriously and where everyone told me it was my duty to marry some daft king, I’d be running around yelling ‘Off with their heads!’ too.  Just ugh!

After everything goes dreadfully wrong for Cath and it appears she has no options left other than to marry the King, her parents try to make amends by asking what would make her happy (even though it’s already too late), Cath’s response just says it all: “How different everything could have been if you had thought to ask me that before.”  (I have to admit I shed a few tears when I read that line.)

DISLIKES/ISSUES

I loved pretty much every aspect of this story (aside from the ending of course since we already know, because this is an origin story, that Cath is doomed to become the Queen of Hearts. *cries*).  The only thing I didn’t particularly care for were the character names, Cath and MaryAnn.  They just seemed so ordinary compared to so many of the other names we came across.  Obviously, the names in no way hampered my enjoyment of Heartless, but I kept wishing the names were a little more whimsical in keeping with the rest of the story.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Heartless is one of those books I’d recommend to almost anyone.  I loved that it was an original read but that it also had so many familiar elements and characters that reading it reminded me of my childhood.  Meyer’s take on the original tale made me laugh and it made me cry. If that kind of read is one that appeals to you, then definitely consider giving Heartless a try.

RATING:  4.5 STARS

GOODREADS SYNOPSIS

Catherine may be one of the most desired girls in Wonderland and a favorite of the unmarried King, but her interests lie elsewhere. A talented baker, she wants to open a shop and create delectable pastries. But for her mother, such a goal is unthinkable for a woman who could be a queen.

At a royal ball where Cath is expected to receive the King’s marriage proposal, she meets handsome and mysterious Jest. For the first time, she feels the pull of true attraction. At the risk of offending the King and infuriating her parents, she and Jest enter into a secret courtship.

Cath is determined to choose her own destiny. But in a land thriving with magic, madness, and monsters, fate has other plans.

 

About Marissa Meyer

meyer

“One of my first spoken words was “story” (right along with “bath” and “cookie”), my favorite toy as an infant was a soft, squishable book, and I’ve wanted to be a writer since I first realized such a job existed.

When I was fourteen my best friend introduced me to anime and fanfiction—over the years I would complete over forty Sailor Moon fanfics under the penname Alicia Blade. Those so inclined can still find my first stories at fanfiction.net. Writing fanfic turned out to be awesome fun and brought me in contact with an amazing group of fanfiction readers and writers. As Alicia Blade, I also had a novelette, “The Phantom of Linkshire Manor,” published in the gothic romance anthology Bound in Skin (CatsCurious Press, 2007).

When I was sixteen I worked at The Old Spaghetti Factory in Tacoma, Washington, affectionately termed “The Spag.” (Random factoid: This is also the restaurant where my parents met some 25 years before.) I attended Pacific Lutheran University where I sorted mail that came to the dorm, carted tables and chairs around campus, and took writing classes, eventually earning a Bachelor’s degree in Creative Writing and Children’s Literature. Knowing I wanted a career in books, I would also go on to receive a Master’s degree in Publishing from Pace University (which you can learn more about here). After graduation, I worked as an editor in Seattle for a while before becoming a freelance typesetter and proofreader.

Then, day of days, someone thought it would be a good idea to give me a book deal, so I became a full-time writer. CINDER was my first completed novel, though I have an adorable collection of unfinished ones lying around, too.

I married my husband in 2011, two months before the release of Cinder, and we adopted our two beautiful twin daughters, Sloane and Delaney, in 2015. Reading lots and lots of bedtime stories is most definitely a new favorite pastime.”

Marissa Meyer in her own words, from www.marissameyer.com

Book Review: Scarlet by Marissa Meyer (The Lunar Chronicles #2)

Book Review:  Scarlet by Marissa Meyer (The Lunar Chronicles #2)Scarlet (The Lunar Chronicles, #2) by Marissa Meyer
Also by this author: Heartless, Renegades
four-half-stars
Series: The Lunar Chronicles,
Published by Feiwel & Friends on February 5th 2013
Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult Fiction
Pages: 454
Also in this series: Winter
Source: Purchased
Amazon
Goodreads

Goodreads 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. 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 Review of Scarlet:

The Lunar Chronicles series is definitely one of the most original and entertaining retellings I’ve come across in recent years.  As was the case when I read Cinder, I totally flew through the 450+ pages of Scarlet in just a couple of day because the story being told is just so darn good!  I also love that even though this series is a fairytale retelling, it doesn’t really feel like we’re just rehashing a story that has already been told.  Meyer may use those fairytale characters as the jumping off point for her story and may incorporate a few elements here and there — like little shoutouts to those fairy tales – but her story is truly an original.  It’s like nothing I’ve ever read before and I love that freshness about it.

As you can probably guess from the title, Scarlet is a retelling of Little Red Riding Hood, with Scarlet in the Red Riding Hood role (complete with fiery hair and a little red hoodie that she loves to wear).  As with the original Red Riding Hood tale, there is also a grandmother who is in danger, as well as a wolf (well, a character named Wolf anyway).  From there, as I said, the story takes off on a completely original path that eventually ties it in to Cinder’s story from the first book in the series.

Things I Loved:

Strong Women:  I have to say I loved Scarlet every bit as much as I loved Cinder.  They’re quite different from each other in the sense that Scarlet tends to be more brazen and rash than Cinder, but bottom line, they’re both fiercely protective of those they love and are determined to stop anyone who means them harm.  It’s great to have these two strong, smart females leading the series.

The Plot Thickens:  I especially loved how effectively Meyer begins this second book with a whole set of new characters and a whole new storyline.  Scarlet is trying to find out what has happened to her grandmother, who has mysteriously gone missing early on in the book.  Along the way, Scarlet meets this odd Wolf character and enlisted him to help her.  As their story unfolds, Meyer weaves the tale in such a way that it seamlessly entwines with the storyline from the first book in the series, and all of the major players in both books end up working together.

Chemistry:  Let me start here by saying that I think The Lunar Chronicles series so far has been, for me anyway, the perfect mix of action and epic adventure with a hint of romantic potential thrown in to spice things up.  I found Scarlet and Wolf to be just as likable as a potential pairing as I did Cinder and Prince Kai from the first book.

What kind of surprised me though was how much I LOVED newcomer “Captain” Carswell Thorne. who was charming in his own roguish, kind of clueless way and who often provided a bit of comic relief throughout the story.  I think he’s meant to be a minor player, but in many ways, he steals the show as soon as he appears in the story when Cinder comes across him trying to download porn in prison.  He and Cinder accidentally cross paths after Cinder is imprisoned at the end of the first book, and they decide to break out of prison together.  Adventure ensues (as well as a great deal of chemistry, in my opinion).  Even though Cinder clearly has feelings for Prince Kai, I actually have to confess that I found myself shipping her a bit with Thorne.  I’m probably the only reader on the planet who did, but I just loved their banter and found their interactions to be a lot more natural and realistic than I found those between Cinder and Kai in the first book.  I’m curious to see who, if anyone, Cinder ends up paired with, but at this point, I’d be cool with either Thorne or Kai.

Plot Twists:  I don’t want to give any important plot details away, so I’m just going to say that If you like plot twists, you’ll love Scarlet then because it’s full of them!  All I’ll say is that if you thought the idea of Cinderella as a Cyborg was WOW!, wait until you see how Meyer pays homage to the wolf from Little Red Riding Hood.  It’s mind blowing!

Anything I Didn’t Love:

Queen LeVana:  Ugh, I also didn’t think it was possible to loathe Queen LeVana anymore than I did in Cinder, but yep, it’s definitely possible.  She is just pure evil and I can’t wait to read the next book in hopes that Cinder, Scarlet, and their companions finally take her down once and for all.

 

Final Thoughts?

If you’re looking for a truly unique read, definitely give The Lunar Chronicles a try. I don’t think you’ll be disappointed!

 

Rating:  4.5 stars

four-half-stars

About Marissa Meyer

meyer

“One of my first spoken words was “story” (right along with “bath” and “cookie”), my favorite toy as an infant was a soft, squishable book, and I’ve wanted to be a writer since I first realized such a job existed.

When I was fourteen my best friend introduced me to anime and fanfiction—over the years I would complete over forty Sailor Moon fanfics under the penname Alicia Blade. Those so inclined can still find my first stories at fanfiction.net. Writing fanfic turned out to be awesome fun and brought me in contact with an amazing group of fanfiction readers and writers. As Alicia Blade, I also had a novelette, “The Phantom of Linkshire Manor,” published in the gothic romance anthology Bound in Skin (CatsCurious Press, 2007).

When I was sixteen I worked at The Old Spaghetti Factory in Tacoma, Washington, affectionately termed “The Spag.” (Random factoid: This is also the restaurant where my parents met some 25 years before.) I attended Pacific Lutheran University where I sorted mail that came to the dorm, carted tables and chairs around campus, and took writing classes, eventually earning a Bachelor’s degree in Creative Writing and Children’s Literature. Knowing I wanted a career in books, I would also go on to receive a Master’s degree in Publishing from Pace University (which you can learn more about here). After graduation, I worked as an editor in Seattle for a while before becoming a freelance typesetter and proofreader.

Then, day of days, someone thought it would be a good idea to give me a book deal, so I became a full-time writer. CINDER was my first completed novel, though I have an adorable collection of unfinished ones lying around, too.

I married my husband in 2011, two months before the release of Cinder, and we adopted our two beautiful twin daughters, Sloane and Delaney, in 2015. Reading lots and lots of bedtime stories is most definitely a new favorite pastime.”

Marissa Meyer in her own words, from www.marissameyer.com