Mini-Review: Cinder and Scarlet by Marissa Meyer

Humans and androids crowd the raucous streets of New Beijing. A deadly plague ravages the population. From space, a ruthless lunar people watch, waiting to make their move. No one knows that Earth’s fate hinges on one girl.

Cinder, a gifted mechanic, is a cyborg. She’s a second-class citizen with a mysterious past, reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsister’s illness. But when her life becomes intertwined with the handsome Prince Kai’s, she suddenly finds herself at the center of an intergalactic struggle, and a forbidden attraction. Caught between duty and freedom, loyalty and betrayal, she must uncover secrets about her past in order to protect her world’s future.

My Thoughts: Cinder totally captivated me. If I were to look back, I would say that it, in combination with Scarlet, are my top two books of the year. I know I'm really behind on this one, since it was released in January of 2012. Oops. I was so involved in this book that it was pretty much all I talked about during the few breaks that I took (I'm sure that I annoyed a couple people). The story is great because, while it's a re-telling, the world-building is awesome. The characters are fresh, and surprisingly aren't frustrating. I never wanted to bonk anyone over the head for making idiotic choices. Yes, one of the major plot points is predictable, but it's a re-telling...so that's kind of how it works! 

The fates of Cinder and Scarlet collide as a Lunar threat spreads across the Earth...

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

My Thoughts: Regular reads here will know how I usually see the second book in a series. I won't get into my cranky rant on that, but I will say that Scarlet really surprised me. We are introduced to new characters, the romance is reasonable (no eye-rolling over insta-love), and the plot becomes even more explosive. There were a lot of moments where I would read a paragraph, say "no" aloud, and I'm sure to the outside observer I looked like I had lost touch with reality. 

What I really appreciate about both of these books is the way that Meyer crafts strong female characters. Yes, they experience romance in the books, yet they aren't reliant upon their male leads to protect and save them. Does that mean that they don't occasionally step in and help? No, what it means is that Meyer has crafted a series where it's really equal. The characters help each other, betray each other, and learn about who they are. 

Seriously, so good! I can't even handle waiting for the third book. I'm going to go cry in a corner now.