Please tell me he hasn’t eaten her Grandma.

Lauren:

WAIT, but…is Wolf going to turn into Scarlet’s Grandma at some point? Is Grandma going to turn into Wolf? I sure hope he didn’t eat her…

These are the three main thoughts that went through my head reading Scarlet. Worryingly, I instantly loved Wolf, so I had to ask Willow about three times if that was A-OK. If Scarlet had had to cut open his stomach to find her Grandma chilling in there with a nice cup of tea, I would not have been alright.

This one took me ages to read – I read the first 30% very slowly and then suddenly couldn’t put it down and read the rest in two days. In the beginning, I think I found the switching between Cinder and Scarlet’s story a bit off-putting and I couldn’t properly get into either, but then I was suddenly gripped.

I really enjoyed the romance between Scarlet and Wolf and the mystery surrounding him and his ‘gang’ that didn’t get solved until the end. Just like in Cinder, the nods to the original story were great when they happened – I was so excited when we finally got to the ‘Grandma… what soft hands you have’ moment!

Loved how the two stories intertwined and Scarlet and Cinder met at the end, really cleverly done. Can’t wait to see how Cress (a.k.a.) Rapunzel comes into the story in the next book…

Willow, take the mic.

Thank you, Lauren. You know, I can’t remember why this book was my least favourite? I can’t recall why I said it was the weakest. I gobbled it up! Maybe, because I knew what to expect this time, I was more willing to accept the alternative character perspective. I was prepared for the romance and I was ready for the gang.

I absolutely loved it. Every forgotten detail gripped my imagination. Once again, the breadcrumbs of this plot align so fantastically that I envy Marissa Meyer’s planning even more.

I was well into the Mysterious Bad Boy anti-hero this time around, too. When Lauren kept asking, “Is it okay that I think Wolf is hot?” I could honestly concur. Fan those flames, honey. Don’t resist this wolf’s bite.

Scarlet’s idyllic farmgirl life is flipped into orbit as she questions her true identity and races against time to rescue her grandmother from torture. What world-shattering secrets does her grandma keep? Who can she trust? As the story hurtles you between Cinder on the run (with her new, lovable rogue friend, Thorne) and Scarlet chasing after the bigger picture, this book ties together romance, the turmoil of self-identity, and a family mystery that ripples beyond Earth.

You might be wondering how a sci-fi story deals with the wolf thing. It’s a pleasure to say he’s not a werewolf, and he’s not magical. The fake-science thread holds strong and believable within the context of Cinder’s world. Wolf is genetically mutated to have predatorial traits; sharper canines; super strength; lightning reflexes; killer instincts, etc. He fits the wolf role perfectly and with a fresh-feeling spin.

This series is WICKED LUSH.