Scarlet by Marissa Meyer Audiobook Review

Scarlet by Marissa Meyer Audiobook ReviewScarlet by Marissa Meyer
Narrator: Rebecca Soler
Series: The Lunar Chronicles #2
Published by Macmillan Audio on February 5th 2013
Genres: Young Adult, Fairy Tales & Folklore, General, Science Fiction
Format: Audiobook
Length: 11 hrs. 19 mins.
Source: Library
Goodreads
four-stars
Also by this author: Cinder

Cinder, the cyborg mechanic, returns in the second thrilling installment of Marissa Meyer's 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.
An NPR Best Book of 2013

I read Cinder over two years ago, so I’m a little behind at reading this sequel. I kind of like waiting until I have a stockpile of sequel books to read so the cliffhangers don’t get to me too bad. And now I get to read Scarlet and Cress back to back! Fairytale retellings are not usually my thing but maybe the SciFi element of this series makes it more appealing to me.  Strong characters, fast paced action, romance, and a creative setting make this a standout series.

I was worried that this installment features a whole new cast, since I liked Cinder so much in the first book. But, there is still a lot of Cinder in this book, and the new characters fit right in. Scarlet features a cool twist on the Little Red Riding Hood story, with a tortured love interest in Wolf, and the mystery of the missing grandmother.

Though it’s been a while since I read the first book, it was easy to catch up. The book picks up where Cinder left off, with Cinder locked up. She meets a cocky spaceship “captain” Han Solo-type named Thorne in jail and they become partners in crime.

Scarlet is a fearless new character. She is self-reliant and kick-ass and just wants to save her beloved grandmother. She doesn’t know if she can trust Wolf, and the reader is understandably wary of him too, considering the source material. But at the same time this bad boy romance works, even though this bad boy is a member of a wolf pack.

The action alternates between Cinder’s and Scarlet’s stories, so we learn a lot more about the political developments and backstories through each character’s eyes. Other fan favorite characters from Cinder also feature in the book, including Prince Kai and Cinder’s android pal Iko.

I loved Rebecca Soler’s performance in the Cinder audiobook, so I’m sticking with that format for the series. Soler gets to play more with accents in this installment since Scarlet’s story is set in France. Her accents are subtle yet effective and help make the character’s voices distinct. Soler’s Scarlet voice lines up with the character’s headstrong and impulsive personality. Soler continues to do a solid job with her performance, and makes the story more intense and exciting. I have the Cress audiobook in hand happily and can’t wait to dive in.

Overall this series is a lot of fun. We are halfway through the four-book series and I can’t wait to see where it’s all going. I liked Scarlet a little less than Cinder, maybe because I missed the Kai/Cinder dynamic in this book, and there are so many balls in the air. We learn more pieces of the puzzle in this book, but I still feel a little in the dark. The new characters bring a freshness to the series though, and I look forward to seeing how the relationships develop.  If you’ve been putting off reading the Lunar Chronicles, it’s a good time to catch up on this inventive series! Cress is out now, and the final book Winter is due out in 2015.

Listen to the first chapter of Scarlet, performed by Rebecca Soler:

Ornament

12 thoughts on “Scarlet by Marissa Meyer Audiobook Review

  1. So glad you enjoyed Scarlet, I thought it was a lot of fun and I really liked that the original characters are featured along with new ones 🙂 I might give the Cress audio a go!

  2. bookgoonie says:

    She so creatively twists the old into something new yet familiar. There are lots of balls in the air. Meyer has me anxious to see how she is going to pull all the ensemble casts & storylines together.

  3. BermudaOnion says:

    My sister would probably like this one!

  4. bftreviews says:

    I loved this book. Glad you liked it too!!

  5. Candice says:

    Oh I LOVED Rebecca Soler’s performance of Cinder! I wish I had known she was narrating Scarlet; I might have held off reading it (I had an ARC loaned to me) so I could have listened! I’m glad you’re loving this series and hope you will enjoy Cress!

  6. Quinn says:

    I’ve read all three books in this series so far, and Scarlet is my least favorite, although I’ve loved each and every one. I think you might like Cress a bit more, because we get to see Cinder and Kai a lot more. Plus, Cress is awesome. Well, I liked her a lot anyway.

  7. I love this series and I enjoyed what you had to say about the audiobook. I think I will give it a try. Great review! 🙂

    Alice @ Alice In Readerland

  8. I do like these in audiobook! I think they are excellent 🙂

  9. My daughter is crazy about this series and has read all three books. I think I will try the audio book. You’ve convinced me.

  10. I got to meet Soler in person at one of Meyer’s signing and she read out loud. She was fantastic. I loved the audio version of the books. I actually have read and listening to both Cinder and Scarlet! Cress is sooooo good 🙂 The best yet!

  11. Brittany says:

    YAY I’m so glad you enjoyed this!!! I LOVE this series and I love the sci-fi aspects of the fairy tale retellings as well!
    I LOVE Thorne and I totally saw him as a Han Solo-type too. He had some great comedic relief and I loved everything that he provided for the book!
    The cast keeps expanding with every book, but I feel like Marissa Meyer makes it easy for us to follow and the story just keeps building on itself.
    Lovely review! 🙂

  12. stacybuckeye says:

    I agree that I liked this less than Cinder, but it was solid. I also listened to the first 2 on audio and plan to continue that way with Cress,

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