Review: Scarlet by Marissa Meyer

Scarlet by Marissa Meyer = Fabulous, fabulous! I want more Meyer! This second installment in the Lunar Chronicles kicked butt. Cinder still rocks (now with a great sidekick) and we added Scarlet to the awesome. She is from the French countryside (a place that I am in love with) and serious shizz is going down--her grandmother has gone missing.

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 (GoodReads).

• Absurdity: 10. Scarlet is officially insane with the Red Riding Hood retelling. Nana was a pilot in space and has been kidnapped, potentially by a gang with wolf nicknames!? Add in heavy sci-fi with hover crafts, robots, Lunars annnnnndddd secret laboratories  This is crazy but Meyer tells a good story, so bring it on.
• Originality: 7. so, so high for a retelling. I love how Cinder and Scarlett's stories intersected and the whole sci-fi world of genetic mutations and mental powers and robots was super fun and interesting.
• Level of Paranormal Romance: 8. I bet you a handsome, genetically modified wolf-man and raise you a couple of attractive ladies born on the moon, and will throw in some mind control powers for good measure. *****spikes the mic and walks out*****
• Level of Harry Potter-ness: 8 I did not have to push my way through this story: it totally sucked me in and kept me up late because it was awesome. Sounds like HP, no? Get reading!