Scarlet ** is the second book in the Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer.  In this story we meet Scarlet, a strong-willed young woman who is searching for her grandmother.  While searching she teams up with Wolf, a man who seems to be full of secrets, and yet Scarlet is drawn to him.  Through many twists and turns, Scarlet finds out that her grandmother is connected to Linh Cinder. However, escaping from her grandmother's captors is not as easy as she had hoped.

Meanwhile Cinder is trying to break free from the Commonwealth prison.  She knows that she will become the most wanted fugitive in the country, but escape is all she wants.  She has too much knowledge about the disease and Kai's safety.  When she stumbles across Thorne, her outlook changes completely. Thorne adds a new level of interest in the ever growing cast of the Lunar Chronicles.

Somehow all four of these characters find themselves on the run, and together... but what will come of Kai and the world now that some amazing secrets have been revealed?

I really enjoyed the new characters, and how much time Meyer spent on developing them.  She added in a ton of backstory and history, that filled many many chapters. It was fun to see how one person's story can impact another person's story so much.

The action in this book was darker, especially for the first half of the book.  And yet, I found that interesting.  I was completely attached to Scarlet and Wolf immediately, even though the series left off with Cinder's story.

It was also fun to look for the story lines in this book that aligned with traditional Little Red Riding Hood stories.

I was a little disappointed in the lack of Cinder's story line in this book. More specifically the lack of any updates on Kai.  What can I say, I was looking for a follow up to the first book.  Do not hear this wrong, this is a great book, and it ties in greatly to the overall story. I just had a ton of questions at the end of Cinder and wanted to have some answers, if not full closure on her story, and there was none - just more questions to ask and a new set of characters to be curious over.

This is one of those very complex plots that is still growing at this stage of the series.  There are a good amount of characters that are developed, and interesting.  If you are into such aspects of literature, then you will be intrigued.  

Also, for fans of Science Fiction, that leans heavily on the Fantasy side, you will enjoy this series.  Not to mention, all those fans of fairy tales!  

My only word of caution is that this is a long series, each book is long, and they get longer as you go through the series.  So be aware of the amount of time you will give up to read this, because I am pretty sure, if you pick Cinder, and finish it, you will have to keep going with the series - curiosity will demand it. 

I have to give this book a five heart rating. I loved it.  It added to the series so much, and since there are more books in the series it is fine that there are still so many questions to be answered.  I would totally read this book again if I had the time. 

This whole series is aimed at teenage readers, so that would suggest thirteen and up.  With Cinder, I totally agreed with that assessment, but with this second book, the story gets darker.  Maybe thirteen is old enough, but realize that, as a parent, there might be situations your young teen would have questions about.  This is exactly why I think it is essential to try to read at least the reviews for the books your kids get into.  Read along, ask what they think.  This is such a great way to have discussions about the world and dangers and such in a safe context.

However, do not allow the Teen label scare away you if you are certainly out of the teen stage of life.  This book, and series, are full of complex characters and plots that will keep even the most mature reader engaged and interested.