A review by the_jesus_fandom
Scarlet by Genevieve Cogman

adventurous

3.25

 Hm, this book was a mixed basket for me. 

 On the one hand, I loved this take on the Scarlet Pimpernel were the blatant classism and sexism in the original series was addressed. Eleanor clapping back at Charles was very nice. On the other hand, it doesn’t make sense to me that a girl like Eleanor, who has spent her whole life being told to shut up or she’d get punished, would immediately get so defiant and brave. The sexism and classism shown by characters in this book are super unsubtle, but then again, they were that bad in the original series as well. The book also offers a plausible explanation for Percy’s over-the-top “obey me implicitly” attitude. 

 There’s this weird part in the book where Eleanor reflects on her Christian beliefs that just feels like the author preaching. The tone of the passage doesn’t even fit the tone of the rest of the book: 
"Unless one considered God in the Old Testament, whose whole “sacrifice our only son to me, Abraham,” attitude seemed quite close to the “proper daughter of the Revolution” speech which Desgas had given her…"

 Another great quote (if you don’t immediately get it, it’s like a game of “which of these three does not fit in”): 

"But what about other countries, girl? India? Africa? China?" 

 The epilogue was a thing in and of itself. First of all, when the author says “I exaggerate” after a whole list of weird things from the series… no, actually, she’s super right and there was no need to qualify it. Preach. 

 But then her parting words are: “Let the curtain rise upon a revolution.” And, um… no thanks.