Scarlet by Marissa Meyer

Scarlet
by Marissa Meyer

Read: May 18-19
Published: February 4, 2014
Genre: Science Fiction, Fairy Tale

Cinder is back and trying to break out of prison--even though she'll be the Commonwealth's most wanted fugitive if she does--in this second installment from Marissa Meyer.

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. (Amazon)



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Why did you read this book?
....that freaking cliffhanger. I actually put off reading this one for a few days because Cinder wasn't all that exciting...but I'm so happy I finally read it!

What did you like about this book?
          I don't even really know where to start with all of the things I liked. This book was 20x better than the first one. It was just so exciting to read! I'll start first with the characters, I suppose. I really liked Cinder in this book, even though she didn't feature in it as much as she did in the first one. Despite her limited page time, I felt like she evolved as a character. And then she met Thorne, who I adore. I thought there was going to be a possible love triangle between Cinder, Thorne, and Kai, but after finishing Scarlet I don't think that will happen. Cinder and Thorne's relationship is hilarious to read and I love their instant love-hate relationship. Then, of course, there was Scarlet, the focus character of this book. She is easily my favorite character so far. She kicks butt and grows delicious tomatoes. What more could you ask for? The other character introduced in Scarlet was Wolfe. I loved him. I hated him. I loved him again. I even kind of still loved him when I hated him. I'm excited to see where the next book takes him as a character as well as his relationship with Scarlet (I ship it).
         Anyway, aside from the wonderful characters, I love that this book continued Cinder's story as well as introducing Scarlet's. I was worried that each book would be a different fairy tale with different characters. While it does essentially do that, it doesn't leave the previous characters behind. Instead, the story grows and evolves, each character finding their place within the folds of it.
         On top of all that, I am super excited to read the next book.

What didn't you like about this book?
          I don't have many complaints about this book. However, there is always something. And Scarlet's something is Kai. I really want to like him because he's supposed to be Cinder's prince charming, but he doesn't have a personality other than being stressed out and/or lashing out immaturely to the Queen Levana. You'd think being raised as a prince would have taught him a bit of diplomacy, but he doesn't seem to have much of it. Maybe it's because his character reminds me too much of Maxon from The Selection by Kiera Cass. Actually, you know...that is it. All of the other characters feel pretty original, Kai feels like a copy of Maxon with a different name.

Bottom-Line:
          This book is excellent and I would definitely recommend it. I'd recommend reading Cinder just so you could read this book. High marks from me.




"I think I realized that I would rather die because I betrayed them, than live because I betrayed you." -Scarlet by Marissa Meyer

The Selection by Kiera Cass

So, The Selection by Kiera Cass was on one of my reading lists. I read it on Saturday and I just finished the second book (The Elite). I'm going to try to do a book review on it. I'm also going to be stealing a review format that I found on www.loveisnotatriangle.com, which is great. She did a review on The Bone Season and I absolutely loved it, so you should definitely check it out. Here it goes!

*Possible Spoilers*

The Selection
by Kiera Cass 
Read: November 8, 2014
Published: April 24, 2012
Genre: YA, Dystopian
Series: The Selection Series

          For thirty-five girls, the Selection is the chance of a lifetime. The opportunity to escape the life laid out for them since birth. To be swept up in a world of glittering gowns and priceless jewels. To live in a palace and compete for the heart of gorgeous Prince Maxon.

          But for America Singer, being Selected is a nightmare. It means turning her back on her secret love with Aspen, who is a caste below her. Leaving her home to enter a fierce competition for a crown she doesn't want. Living in a palace that is constantly threatened by violent rebel attacks.

          Then America meets Prince Maxon. Gradually, she starts to question all the plans she's made for herself—and realizes that the life she's always dreamed of may not compare to a future she never imagined. (From Amazon)

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I read this book because my sister read it and she has been begging me to read it so we can talk about it. Well, mostly because it's on one of my book lists and I wanted to be able to cross it off. But also because my sister wouldn't stop bothering me about it. Anyway, I finally picked the book up on Saturday and finished it the same day.

Was the book really that good?

No. I don't think it was. I finished it in a day because I am a fast reader and the book isn't very large. Also, I had nothing else to do that day. Don't get me wrong, it's a decent book. Maybe I'm just sick of dystopian novels. Or maybe I've been reading too many classics. Whatever it is, this book fell flat for me. It seemed very shallow without any real purpose. 

What didn't you like about the book?

The characters, particularly America. It's hard to read a book when you dislike the main character. There is little to no character development in any of the characters, except perhaps Maxon. The whole book (the second one as well) is centered on whether America will choose Maxon or Aspen. I'm afraid this series will be one big, mess of a love triangle. Even when the rebels attack, America is so preoccupied with which suitor she will choose. She is thinking this through DURING the attack. Which brings me to the next question:

What do you like about the book?

The Rebels. We know very little about them because two books were wasted focusing on America's inability to decide who she's in love with, but they fascinate me. We know that the northerners are less violent and hostile than the southerners and we know that they want the Selection to stop. But that's about it. I'm really hoping that the third novel will focus more on the rebels and what they are about and less on our protagonist's hormones.

Three unexpected things in The Selection: I can't even really think of any. This book was painfully predictable.

Three things this book does not feature: Magic (no werewolves or vampires), originality, plot

Would you recommend this book to anyone?

I would, but only if they wanted a beach read. If they were looking for a great book that left them preoccupied for days (which is what I've been looking for) I would suggest The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern or The Bone Season by Samantha Shannon.

Bottom line is, I didn't really like the book. I tried to put my negative feelings towards it into words and I think I was partially successful. However, someone else put it into much better words than I did. Thank you, Christina A. Marley for your review on amazon, because it completely summed up everything I didn't like about this novel. I also chose to use a quote from the novel as my quote for today.

"No, I'm not choosing him or you. I'm choosing me." -The Selection by Kiera Cass