Scarlet - Marissa Meyer
Hmm. I think this book sort of has the "2nd book in the trilogy" syndrome. You know the kind: where a book doesn't really have an end or a self-standing plot and only serves to connect the first and third book. Scarlet was that kind of second installment.

That's not to say there were things I didn't enjoy. Scarlet moved at a quick pace and never had a dull moment (even if it did have some frustrating ones). Cinder was still a darling spitfire, and "Captain" Thorne made me laugh out loud a couple times, although I wished he brought more to the book than comic relief. I'm hoping he'll have some point to the plot in the third installment; crossing my fingers! Kai was also wonderful in his brief moments. He stood on his own and really tried to do his best in his unfortunate circumstances.

I did, however, have some problems with our newcomers Wolf and Scarlet. On one hand, I ADORED Wolf when he first was introduced. I loved the relationship between the two in the beginning. However, I feel like my fascination waned as the novel progressed . . . pretty quickly, actually. I feel like the book would have been much stronger if Wolf's motives would have been kept in the dark a bit longer.

I was also frustrated with the character development or, rather, the lack thereof. To be honest, I think the character who developed the most was Kai, and he had the least scene time out of everyone! Most of the time, Scarlet annoyed the heck out of me. She seemed a little hypocritical. To me, she hated her father for the same reasons I disliked her.

But I'm still looking forward to the last book in the trilogy! Hopefully it'll give Cinder and Kai more scenes and have a more firm hold on the plot.