Scarlet (Book #2 of The Lunar Chronicles) by Marissa Meyer

Scarlet

Cinder, the cyborg mechanic, returns in the second thrilling installment of the bestselling Lunar Chronicles. She's trying to break out of prison--even though if she succeeds, she'll be the Commonwealth's most wanted fugitive.

Halfway around the world, Scarlet Benoit's grandmother is missing. It turns out there are many things Scarlet doesn't know about her grandmother or the grave danger she has lived in her whole life. When Scarlet encounters Wolf, a street fighter who may have information as to her grandmother's whereabouts, she is loath to trust this stranger, but is inexplicably drawn to him, and he to her. As Scarlet and Wolf unravel one mystery, they encounter another when they meet Cinder. Now, all of them must stay one step ahead of the vicious Lunar Queen Levana, who will do anything for the handsome Prince Kai to become her husband, her king, her prisoner.  

     Scarlet is the second book of The Lunar Chronicles, written by Marissa Meyer. The Lunar Chronicles is a fairytale retelling series that sets in the future. While the first book, Cinder, is the retelling of Cinderella and takes place in New Beijing, Scarlet is the retelling of Little Red Riding Hood and takes place in Paris. The plot of the story is very unique and appealing, just like the first book, if not better. Hence a lot of people said the series got better in each book. The story follows Scarlet and her ‘journey’ to find her lost grandmother, along with a guy she met named Wolf. There’s also the continuation of Cinder is this book. What amazed me is how Marissa Meyer able to write two different stories of two different characters and made their stories connected with each other without seem forced. The plot flows beautifully and the story is also has many plot layers. The world making is very beautifully done, too.

 

     There are plenty of plot twists in this book and personally, most of the time I didn’t see it coming. I find myself needed to stop reading for a while to sink in what I just read. The characters in this book are also very independent and strong, even stubborn at times – but they never annoy me. Cinder is still my favorite out of all characters. Even though she’s not exactly the main character in this book, she still steals the spotlight for me. She’s definitely one of my favorite book hero. What I adore the most of her is that she’s quick-to-think and doesn’t dwell too much on what have happened in the past. Scarlet is very smart and has this ‘never give up’ attitude. Even though I didn’t feel myself attached to her character while reading this book, she’s also such a kick-ass character. 

     The male characters on this book are very amusing. Cinder escaped from jail with this inmate named Thorne, which makes them become the most wanted people on both Earth and Luna. Let’s just say that I’m in love with Thorne. He is those kind of quick-thinking, cocky heroes who are all too aware of their own charm, as Marissa Meyer described. He is indeed very charming, though. He kind of reminds me of Peter Quill from Guardian of Galaxy. Then, there’s Wolf. Even though he didn’t leave me much impression, I still think he’s a very likeable character. His background story on The Queen’s Army is what made me really like him. It is very another-worldly but at the same time still believeable. 

 

     Another thing that I like from this book/series is that Marissa Meyer always introduces the readers into a new environment in each book; Cinder in New Beijing and Scarlet in France. It really adds up to the plot and makes it very enjoyable to read. 

     I highly recommended this book series to readers who enjoy reading Fantasy, Sci-Fi, or fairytale retelling. The book is very gripping and thrilling. The writing style is somewhat unique. Marissa Meyer is such a wonderful writer. I rate this book 5/5 stars. Definitely would read Cress soon. If you haven’t read this series, you definitely should give it a chance and check it out.

Thankyou! - F

TV Show Time: F.R.I.E.N.D.S (1994 - 2004)

      Okay. Let’s talk about TV show. Specifically, MY favorite TV show, which is…….. F.R.I.E.N.D.S!! Yes, it is an old TV show. But who cares?? It will always be awesome, no matter what year it is. In case any of you didn’t know (you  better start watching, though), FRIENDS is an American sit-com (first aired 1994) about 6 best friends who hang out together most of the time either in a coffee shop called Central Perk or Monica’s apartment. The premise of the TV show is actually nothing special; it’s just a bunch of people hanging out together. Then each of them had to go through some hard times, like mid-life crisis, bad and failed relationships (lots of it), having to do a job you hate, and more – which I guess is the reason why this show is very interesting; because it’s very realistic.

      There’s Monica Geller (Courteney Cox) – a perfectionist woman who also very competitive. Then there’s Rachel Green (Jennifer Aniston) – Monica’s childhood friend who runaway on her wedding day and became Monica’s roommate. There’s Phoebe Buffay (Lisa Kudrow) – a musician, who sometimes can be very strange, with thousands of weird stories and experience in the past (and also love cats!). Ross Geller (David Schwimmer), which is Monica’s brother, is a paleontologist who just got divorced. Chandler Bing (Matthew Perry) is a businessman with a lot of sarcastic jokes and comments. At last, Joey Tribbiani (Matt LeBlanc), a very simple-minded womanizer who works as a (struggling) actor. 

      There’s a lot of famous quotes and one-liners on the show. For example, Joey’s “how you doin” or “Joey doesn’t share food!” (I can relate to this on so many levels). Phoebe’s song “Smelly Cat”. Janice’s “Oh… My… Gawd!”. Don't forget about Rachel Green's famous haircut! Then there’s the famous purple door and the sofa in Central Perk. That famous soundtrack in the beginning of the show that makes you clap everytime you hear it (watch it here). I could rambling on and on about this. What I’m saying is there are a lot of wonderful and funny unforgettable moments in this tv show. My eyes were totally welled up in tears when I watched the finale. 

      I gotta say, I unfortunately didn’t grow up with this show. It was so popular in the 90s though! I watched it on tv for the first time when I was around 14 and I heard a lot about it on tumblr. I love it ever since. My best decision that day. Anyway, I’ve learned a lot of things from this tv show and I am so so glad I found it. If you guys know and love How I Met Your Mother, it’s very similar to it, but with better ending obviously. So I recommend to anyone who haven’t watched it , GO WATCH IT!!! 

"Welcome to the real world. It sucks. You're gonna love it"

The Heir by Kiera Cass book review

The Heir

Kiera Cass

                The Heir is the fourth book of The Selection series. The story follows Eadlyn, the first child/daughter of King Maxon and Queen America. This makes her automatically becomes the heir of the thrones. The castes system has been removed but the riots are still happening out there. This makes the whole kingdom really nervous. Someone came up with an idea to make another Selection; although this time the contestants are 35 boys, not girls. Eadlyn very disagree with the idea of being surrounded by 35 boys, who either wanted to be with her so badly, or her crown. But for the sake of her parents and not wanting to worry them even more, she sacrificed herself and agreed about The Selection being held once more.

                The premise is actually very promising and interesting. Kiera Cass is a great writer whose writing style I adore because it is beautiful and easy to read. I really like the idea of a new kind of Selection, and seeing how the boys handle Eadlyn, vice versa. But it turns out not as spectacular as what I thought would be. One of the reasons is because I am not really fond of Eadlyn’s character. She is meant to be this strong, in-control yet gracious woman but I hardly find any ‘gracious’ in her. At times, she can be conceited and other times being self-absorbed, spoiled princess. I didn’t really like how she treated the people around her. I can relate to her condition and do understand how she feels and how hard it must be to be a princess, handle 35 boys and prepare herself to be the next queen all at the same time, but sometimes I feel like I want to shake her shoulder so badly. Despite that, I like how Kiera Cass makes Eadlyn character rich with capabilities. She can do a lot of things and good at it which really adds the spice to the story.

                Maxon and America did not have much appearance in the book as they are not the main characters anymore and maybe because of that, I feel like they have lost their personality. I feel like they are just the king and queen and not Maxon and America. Anyway, much can happen during the time between The One and The Heir so I totally understand about that.

                The thing really keeps me going and interested of the story is the life background of the boys; how they come from different social groups, how their condition at home, what they’re interested at, etc. The story of these boys is really diverse and it’s very amusing. I really like some of the boys in this book; some of them are really strange and quirky while some are cute.

                Overall, I think The Heir is an entertaining book, but I can’t say it is as special as the previous three. Anyway, I’m still eager about upcoming books or companion novels. I gave this book 3 out of 5 stars for I think this book slightly raised the idea of feminism, which is totally great! Don’t forget to add me on goodreads and see what book I’m going to read next. THANKS! 

“I'm not sure anyone knows what they're looking for until they find it.”