My Initial Reaction...
Yeah, that was even better than Cinder and I'm not even that big of a fan of the The Little Red Ridding Hood! Of course, that could be because Scarlet's similarities with the fairy tale are so small - wolf (actually werewolf), grandmother, red hood (well hoodie), and I think that's really it.... - I almost forgot this was a fairy tale re-telling. Meyer continues to blow me away with the way that she can gives these old characters such inventive new lives!
Note: Expect some series spoilers.
The Narration...
Rebecca Soler is an A+ narrator. She did such a great job in Cinder that I didn't dream I would be even more impressed with her reading of Scarlet. But then Scarlet takes place in France and BAM! Rebecca Soler pulls out the French accent and yeah... I'm very impressed. She's an incredible narrator and I'm wondering how much of my love for this series is because of the life she gives each character.
The Characters...
Of course, the characters are pretty freaking fantastic all on their own. Let me begin by passing on a warning that I was oh so glad to have before launching into Scarlet. You will start reading this book and discover that we've gained another POV - Scarlet's. I suppose this shouldn't be too shocking since it is her book and all. But considering how Meyer left us with Cinder you're going to be a bit frustrated. Take heart. Cinder makes ample appearances and before too long. She makes a friend (who I loved), is learning some nifty tricks of her own, and causing all kinds of havoc! And since we're still getting Cinder's story, we still get some of our wonderful Prince Kai. So rest assured that story continues, just not right away.
Which is fine, because you're going to seriously love Scarlet. See, Scarlet reminds me of the kick ass, snarky chicks I read in Urban Fantasy all the time. She has a firery temper to match her scarlet hair. She cares deeply and passionately, even to her own detriment. She rushes headlong - not once, but many times - into danger, because she doesn't see herself as the petite vulnerable girl everyone else does. She's got loved ones to protect and wrongs to right. And it doesn't always go well for her, because - while she does carry a gun - she's not super girl or anything. And that's why you just gotta love her. I know I do.
We're also adding wolf to the character mix in Scarlet. If you read the novella before this - "The Queen's Army" - then you'll recognize him and a few other characters... I highly recommend you take the couple of hours to read it (you can even get it for free). You don't have to, but it really added to how well I understood Wolf and what was going on with him. I remained on the fence about Wolf for pretty much the entire book, so I won't say much on that count - don't want to spoil anything for you ;)
The Story...
So we've got two story lines running in Scarlet. The one picks up from Cinder with Cinder in prison and soon to be handed over to the Queen Bitch... I mean Queen Levana. That's a big problem for many reasons, so when we return to her story the question is will she escape? Not to mention all those startling discoveries at the end of Cinder need to be dealt with. So that's going on.
And then across the globe in a tiny town in France, we meet Scarlet who works delivering vegetables that her and her grandmother grow on their farm. Except that her grandmother disappeared without a trace. Her id chip has been removed and she didn't bring her port screen - making it seem that she ran away and doesn't want to be found. But Scarlet knows that something is very wrong - that her grandmother has been kidnapped. So she's trying to figure out where she is and how she can save her, when this handsome guy named Wolf, with a weird tattoo on his elbow enters the picture - can he help her? Can he be trusted? I asked myself those two questions back and forth for pretty much the entire story.
Concluding Sentiments...
Scarlet is faced paced and incredibly clever. I'm learning, however, that Meyer leaves me on a bit of a cliff when she finishes up - I'm satisfied but also anxious. So I'm nervous about picking up Cress right now, since Winter (the final book) isn't due until 2015. The wait will be torture I'm afraid!