Scarlet Benoit's grandmother has been missing for two weeks. The police have closed the investigation and Scarlet's only hope is Wolf, a street fighter she doesn't entirely trust but is forced to if she wants to find her grandmother. Meanwhile, Cinder is on the run after the explosive ending of the first book in Marissa Meyer's series. Retelling Red Riding Hood and continuing Cinder's story, Scarlet is the brilliant second book in the Lunar Chronicles series.

What I liked about this book is the way it managed to tell Scarlet's story in an in-depth manner while also continuing Cinder's story. The balance of focus on the two separate plot lines was something achieved really well in the book and the merging of the story-lines at the very end was done in a seamless way that, again, was highly effective.

Characterwise, Scarlet and Wolf were both welcome additions to the established cast of characters. Scarlet especially was a character who appealed to me as a reader because of her strong personality and her determination to achieve her goals, saving her grandmother being one of them. Wolf's more reserved character contrasted with this in an interesting way, however I did find Wolf a little tedious at times.

Overall, this isn't my favourite book in the series. ­It's a wonderful book but Cinder was a book that I couldn't put down from start to finish whereas Scarlet didn't give me that same feeling. That's not at all to detract from it, it's a brilliant sequel and like Cinder, perfect for readers who want an alternative look at a traditional fairytale. But personally, Cinder is the better book for me.

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