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introvertinterrupted's Reviews (1.08k)
My actual rating if I could give decimal stars would be a 3.75
The premise of Scarlet is interesting and promising however, Marissa Meyer seems to be trying to either a) give too much detail on Scarlet's search for her grandmother or b) have added too much fluff along this storyline. When reading Scarlet's part of the novel I found myself wrestling not to skip ahead to the next chapter.
The fact that she spends most of the time looking for her grandmother yet, there was no actual action until half-way through the novel was problematic for me. I understand that the Wolf pack let her father go to "warn" her/string her along but, the whole idea that no harm would fall on her until 3 weeks later is a little sketchy to me. Which brings me to my next problem with this story...Wolf.
Wolf's character was hot and cold for me. I loved the parts of his personality that were somewhat childlike and curious however, when he got to the point where he became less transparent with Scarlet and started to back away/fall into her advances I became frustrated. Meyer's formation of this character lacked something on this front because, I felt as if Wolf was holding back from the reader. To rectify this issue in further installments, I would suggest Meyer's give Wolf his own chapters so the reader can hear his thoughts and understand his motives first hand instead of through Scarlet's point of view.
Unlike, Cinder and Kai, Scarlet and Wolf's romance while somewhat adorable and promising did not cause me to be emotionally invested in what was happening to them like when I read Cinder and Kai's story. With Scarlet and Wolf I found myself yelling at them (mostly Scarlet) to get it together! Scarlet's mind seemed to be one tracked and outside of that, her likeability as a character was a few notches lower than what I'd give Cinder due to her not really getting a back story outside of the "privileged kid abandoned by divorced parents who gets sent to live with her grandma in the country then has to grow a pair to rescue said grandma from the bad guys" storyline. Usually, when a character's loved one gets taken, you understand their motives but, in this novel I felt as if Scarlet was just searching for her grandma because she had nothing else to do.
I really love Melissa Meyer's creation of Cinder and Scarlet's world and can't wait til Cress and Winter come out. I personally hope Meyer's gives Thorne and Wolf more speaking chapters so that I can get to know them better.
Predictions:
1. I am convinced that the girl who talked to Cinder in the first book through D-COMM is actually the Dr.'s daughter who is also made Thaumaturge Sybil's slave. I think she is Cress and the next novel will follow her on Lunar and show her interacting more with Cinder.
2.I really want Cinder to apprehend an Earthen satellite or even just a netfeed to broadcast to the Earthen nations that she is really Princess Selene. I feel like her doing this BEFORE Queen Levana and Emperor Kai's wedding would totally shake things up a bit and add some kick to the next novel.
Lastly, is anybody else wondering how long it's going to take Kai to figure out who Cinder actually is? I swear something should have clicked in his head 350 pages ago why Queen Levana really wants Cinder. I mean seriously why hasn't she asked for any other Lunar to be returned to her. GET IT TOGETHER KAI!
The premise of Scarlet is interesting and promising however, Marissa Meyer seems to be trying to either a) give too much detail on Scarlet's search for her grandmother or b) have added too much fluff along this storyline. When reading Scarlet's part of the novel I found myself wrestling not to skip ahead to the next chapter.
Wolf's character was hot and cold for me. I loved the parts of his personality that were somewhat childlike and curious however, when he got to the point where he became less transparent with Scarlet and started to back away/fall into her advances I became frustrated. Meyer's formation of this character lacked something on this front because, I felt as if Wolf was holding back from the reader. To rectify this issue in further installments, I would suggest Meyer's give Wolf his own chapters so the reader can hear his thoughts and understand his motives first hand instead of through Scarlet's point of view.
Unlike, Cinder and Kai, Scarlet and Wolf's romance while somewhat adorable and promising did not cause me to be emotionally invested in what was happening to them like when I read Cinder and Kai's story. With Scarlet and Wolf I found myself yelling at them (mostly Scarlet) to get it together! Scarlet's mind seemed to be one tracked and outside of that, her likeability as a character was a few notches lower than what I'd give Cinder due to her not really getting a back story outside of the "privileged kid abandoned by divorced parents who gets sent to live with her grandma in the country then has to grow a pair to rescue said grandma from the bad guys" storyline. Usually, when a character's loved one gets taken, you understand their motives but, in this novel I felt as if Scarlet was just searching for her grandma because she had nothing else to do.
I really love Melissa Meyer's creation of Cinder and Scarlet's world and can't wait til Cress and Winter come out. I personally hope Meyer's gives Thorne and Wolf more speaking chapters so that I can get to know them better.
Predictions:
1. I am convinced that the girl who talked to Cinder in the first book through D-COMM is actually the Dr.'s daughter who is also made Thaumaturge Sybil's slave. I think she is Cress and the next novel will follow her on Lunar and show her interacting more with Cinder.
2.I really want Cinder to apprehend an Earthen satellite or even just a netfeed to broadcast to the Earthen nations that she is really Princess Selene. I feel like her doing this BEFORE Queen Levana and Emperor Kai's wedding would totally shake things up a bit and add some kick to the next novel.
Lastly, is anybody else wondering how long it's going to take Kai to figure out who Cinder actually is? I swear something should have clicked in his head 350 pages ago why Queen Levana really wants Cinder. I mean seriously why hasn't she asked for any other Lunar to be returned to her. GET IT TOGETHER KAI!
Cinder was EVERYTHING!
You know how you see certain books in other people's reviews and just sideeye the book and think, "really?... how old are you again? Fairytales are for kids!" Yeah...This was one of those times where I was totally wrong!
Cinder's story starts two centuries into the future after Earth has gone threw a destructive Fourth World War and the world is broken into new factions known as The Earthen Nations and their enemy, Luna a.k.a "The Moon."In what we would now consider to be Asia, Cinder, a cyborg girl lives in New Beijing and works as a mechanic. Orphaned at a young age and lacking a sufficient memory of her childhood, she is adopted by the Linh family and taken in as their third daughter. However, once her stepfather dies after falling ill with the Leutomitis Plague, Cinder's life becomes a fictional Hell. Not knowing who she really is, Cinder lives life as an outcast and her stepmother's personal verbal punching bag. Yet, things start to look up one day when the Prince of the Eastern Commonwealth (a.k.a Asia) stops by her mechanic booth and gets her to fix his droid. From there, the fun begins. Love sparks start flying and secrets become the backdrop to a kick butt storyline.
Things that I enjoyed about this story:
1. Marissa Meyer seems to have thoroughly thought out what pieces of the Cinderella fairytale she would use to create her story. Instead of just extracting the whole tale, Meyer takes what she needs and leaves the rest of the tale alone. Her story never feels as if it was written between the lines of the Grimm brother's fairytale or in between the scenes of the Disney film adaptation. Meyer's story takes on a life of its own standing in the forefront in a saturated genre of literature where most stories have already been re-written to death. Her characters are well thought out and so is her setting for the story. Which brings me to point #2...
2. The setting of Meyer's story made me extremely happy due to me not really being a fan of dystopian novels. I always feel as if dystopian writers are trying to prove something when they write about worlds that have gone wrong in their quest for perfection/one country dominance/etc.. Yet, Meyers makes me feel as if this world has naturally evolved even though she makes it clear that their was once a war that took place. Unlike her contemporaries though, she doesn't force the issue of gore and death or other bad things upon the reader.
3. The technology in this novel was so cool! I really felt like the portscreens were really just amped up smart phones and this made me a little giddy about where technology might go in the future (LOL I know...how very nerdy of me). Cinder's BFF/Sidekick was one of my favorite characters. Iko, a humorous droid kept me laughing continuously whenever she oogled over the Prince or did some other human-like thing to cheer her buddy. Also, the ball scene where Cinder drives the car through New Beijing's streets seriously amused me. LMBO It was like a slight PSA about what'll happen if we don't learn to clean-up our Earth and recycle and all that Jazz.
4. The ending was also my favorite part of the novel besides the ball scene when Cinder danced with the Prince/Emperor. The fact that Cinder is ended with her in jail makes me giddy at what's going to happen next. I always feel like the best stories end with the character in a hard place.
Overall, Cinder was an excellent read. That I am glad that I picked up. I am now a true believer that fairytales are not just for kids.
You know how you see certain books in other people's reviews and just sideeye the book and think, "really?... how old are you again? Fairytales are for kids!" Yeah...This was one of those times where I was totally wrong!
Things that I enjoyed about this story:
1. Marissa Meyer seems to have thoroughly thought out what pieces of the Cinderella fairytale she would use to create her story. Instead of just extracting the whole tale, Meyer takes what she needs and leaves the rest of the tale alone. Her story never feels as if it was written between the lines of the Grimm brother's fairytale or in between the scenes of the Disney film adaptation. Meyer's story takes on a life of its own standing in the forefront in a saturated genre of literature where most stories have already been re-written to death. Her characters are well thought out and so is her setting for the story. Which brings me to point #2...
2. The setting of Meyer's story made me extremely happy due to me not really being a fan of dystopian novels. I always feel as if dystopian writers are trying to prove something when they write about worlds that have gone wrong in their quest for perfection/one country dominance/etc.. Yet, Meyers makes me feel as if this world has naturally evolved even though she makes it clear that their was once a war that took place. Unlike her contemporaries though, she doesn't force the issue of gore and death or other bad things upon the reader.
3. The technology in this novel was so cool! I really felt like the portscreens were really just amped up smart phones and this made me a little giddy about where technology might go in the future (LOL I know...how very nerdy of me). Cinder's BFF/Sidekick was one of my favorite characters. Iko, a humorous droid kept me laughing continuously whenever she oogled over the Prince or did some other human-like thing to cheer her buddy.
4. The ending was also my favorite part of the novel besides the ball scene when Cinder danced with the Prince/Emperor. The fact that Cinder is ended with her in jail makes me giddy at what's going to happen next. I always feel like the best stories end with the character in a hard place.
Overall, Cinder was an excellent read. That I am glad that I picked up. I am now a true believer that fairytales are not just for kids.