Book Review: Scarlet

 Summary: 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.

Thoughts: This was  a fantastic sequel to Cinder! Everything from the new characters to the world expansion just made this book even more vibrant than it's prequel! 
 The writing was still great, really holding you and never once pulling you away from the characters with overly wordy descriptions. Even so, the scenery and world-building never lacked. In fact, we get to see an entirely different side of this new place in Scarlet. 
 The characters were great, old and new, all were well thought out, three-dimensional, and fantastic! Scarlet was not very relatable for me but still a whole lot of fun! And don't even get me started on Thorne!
 The plot moved rapidly in the book compared to Cinder's slower pace. There's plenty of action and shocking new developments that will leave you feeling winded! 
Overall, a great installment in this series!

Content: There's a lot of bloody violence in here including SPOILER a few people who get their throats ripped out END SPOILER. At one point mention of rape is implied but never happens. Two characters sleep together in a romantic way but clothes stay on. There's a bit of kissing. There's a smattering of cussing including C***, D***, and H***. Porn is mentioned (as 'naughty pictures of women' and in the form of a naked woman painted on a ship's side) but never described. Aside from the violence everything is minor. Probably not the best read for children under age ten but a great read for mature fans of sci-fi and fantasy!