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lawbooks600's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Score: Seven points out of ten.
Well. First I have a statement, the last book I read from Marissa Meyer (a hit or miss author), Cursed, was a hit so I headed in with high expectations when I picked up the book and finally read it. When I finished it, I enjoyed it but I didn't think this novel was a step up or a step down from Cinder (it was at the same level as Cinder, which isn't a bad thing) and I'm hoping Cress might be better. It starts with the new main and titular character Scarlet Benoit or Scarlet for short living in Rieux, France. The book cuts to Cinder in the Eastern Commonwealth from the preceding book. As with other long books (like 400+ pages long) it's slow paced but again that let me explore new and familiar characters e.g., Wolf (which I liked.) Speaking of, I liked all the people in this book except Levana but for some reason I couldn't connect to them which didn't ruin my enjoyment of the narrative in any way. The first three quarters of the book had nothing much happen except character dynamics except the last quarter, where the Lunars started a war on Earth, invading and causing human genocide (horrific but understandable; they're the villains after all) which ends the book. The bonus content at the end was intriguing as well including a short story and a sneak peek at Cress.
Graphic: Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Confinement, War, Pandemic/Epidemic, Fire/Fire injury, and Genocide
Full trigger warnings: Blood depiction, physical assault and injury, imprisonment, war themes, pandemic, fire, genocideamschelly153's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Death, Abandonment, War, Death of parent, Violence, Grief, Gore, and Blood
thumbeleia's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Murder, Pandemic/Epidemic, Medical trauma, Toxic relationship, Confinement, Blood, Physical abuse, Racism, Violence, Vomit, War, Abandonment, Ableism, Classism, Death, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Colonisation, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Medical content, Slavery, Torture, Xenophobia, Gaslighting, Genocide, and Injury/Injury detail
shadowrain's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Graphic: Murder, Gore, and Death
Moderate: Medical trauma and Fire/Fire injury
crunchycrystals's review against another edition
4.0
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Fire/Fire injury, and Blood
Minor: Vomit
msradiosilence's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content warnings at the bottom. :)
I remember reading this like 4 times in high school. It was my favorite of the series. I love Scarlet and Wolf, I love the French setting, and I hate tomatoes but this book made me want to like them.
Wolf and Thorne are my two favorite characters, and I love them for different reasons. Wolf is the epitome of “I can fix him” and gentle with the people he cares about while being absolutely terrifying to everyone else. This is for sure what molded my love life, at least when it came to men. Thorne is just…he’s a himbo, no thoughts only crime, and he cracks me up.
Iko as the Rampion was fantastic, even if it was a little fatphobic. She didn’t have to talk so bad about how big she was all the time, but Meyer did an excellent job describing how she emotes while an actual ship.
Anyway. Once again, Meyer has a hard time with setting, but with Scarlet and Wolf visiting very specific French places, it’s a little easier to picture, but I wish she would allow herself to be more descriptive with the settings.
Rating: 5
Would I recommend? Yes, especially if you enjoy moon people, quippy robots, and sci-fi fairytale retellings.
Content warnings: Car accident, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Murder, Pandemic/Epidemic, War, Child death, Medical content, Classism, Death of parent, Gun violence, Ableism, Death, Fatphobia, Grief, Confinement, Alcohol, Blood, Violence, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, and Kidnapping
Graphic: Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Violence, War, Fire/Fire injury, Blood, Murder, Fatphobia, Alcohol, Classism, Confinement, Death of parent, Medical content, Pandemic/Epidemic, Gun violence, Medical trauma, Car accident, Child death, Gore, Ableism, and Death
kenna13's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Death, Colonisation, Alcoholism, Fire/Fire injury, Murder, Medical content, and Gore
Minor: Death of parent
strawberrytheauthor's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Graphic: Death, Fire/Fire injury, Blood, Confinement, Death of parent, Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Torture, and Violence
Moderate: War, Pandemic/Epidemic, and Racism
prashiie's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
5.0
This book presents us with two major storylines. First we meet a new character, Scarlet, who resembles Little Red Riding Hood and lives in the European Federation. Her grandmother is really the only family she has ever known and now she's missing. She decides to find her grandmother herself and right around that time she meets Wolf, a peculiar character.
At the same time, Cinder escapes prison together with another prisoner, Carswell Thorne. She explores her new-found powers and struggles with the morality of it.
"She didn't want to be one of those Lunars who took advantage of her powers just because she could. She didn't want to be lunar at all.”
It was so difficult to put this book down. The chapters weren't very long and it was easy and interesting to read. If there was no need to sleep, I would have finished reading this book in one go. It's been a few months since I read the first book and I forgot some details.
On to the sequel!
Graphic: Bullying, Grief, Abandonment, and Xenophobia
Moderate: War, Child abuse, Gun violence, Blood, Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, Death of parent, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Medical content, Child death, and Medical trauma
Minor: Rape
psliz's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Graphic: Gun violence, War, Death, Murder, and Violence
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Medical trauma, Confinement, Alcohol, Torture, and Violence
Minor: Blood, Kidnapping, and Suicide