Scarlet by Marissa Meyer

Cinder returns in the second thrilling installment of the New York Times-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 and 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 has no choice but to trust him, though he clearly has a few dark secrets of his own.

As Scarlet and Wolf work to unravel one mystery, they find another when they cross paths with Cinder. Together, they must stay one step ahead of the vicious Lunar Queen who will do anything to make Prince Kai her husband, her king, her prisoner.
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I know we're only two books in but I think I'm about ready for this quartet to be over. The books are not bad by any means, but I kind of have that feeling where ok - enough stalling - time for big bad confrontation and fairtytale ending. Scarlet picks up right where Cinder left off, with Cinder in the dungeon trying to escape surrounded by people who hate and fear her. In addition to that though we've got Scarlet (a take on "Little Red Riding Hood") who's trying to find her grandmother and the allies she picks up along the way are suspect to say the least.

I don't love how the book reads, flip flopping between story lines as the characters converge on each other just makes me impatient for both individuals to find their conclusions, but I think this will be corrected in the next book as the whole troop moves to save the Empire. We'll see since Meyer has an affinity for the kinda sorta cliffhanger ending and there are two more books in this series - I've been spoiled by the way I read young adult series as an actual young adult, where all the books were out and I just had to convince my mom to buy them all for me :).

Overall Feeling - B

Series - 1) Cinder 2) Scarlet 3) Cress (2014)
 

Cinder by Marissa Meyer

Humans and androids crowd the raucous streets of New Beijing. A deadly plague ravages the population. From space, a ruthless lunar people watch, waiting to make their move. No one knows that Earth’s fate hinges on one girl. . . .

Cinder, a gifted mechanic, is a cyborg. She’s a second-class citizen with a mysterious past, reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsister’s illness. But when her life becomes intertwined with the handsome Prince Kai’s, she suddenly finds herself at the center of an intergalactic struggle, and a forbidden attraction. Caught between duty and freedom, loyalty and betrayal, she must uncover secrets about her past in order to protect her world’s future. 
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This has been on my TBR list for a while and let me share with you my first reactions at finishing Cinder - 

1) ARRGH STUPID SEMI CLIFF HANGERY ENDINGS!!!

2) Not bad, not bad at all.

I knew going in it was a Cinderella re-do but everything turned out better than I expected (though I guess my expectations were low because every review I read praised it). The world building Meyer puts in is extensive but not boring, and definitely necessary. I want to understand the relationship between the Empire and the Lunars, why Kai would find Queen Levana so abhorrent. Through Cinder we're able to navigate this whole other echelon of society and it's very interesting.

My heart broke a few times for Cinder while reading, even when I was expecting bad things to happen. Heroines in young adult tales, especially those with world changing journey's to go on, suffer a lot and have significant emotional baggage (see Tamora Pierce or Robin McKinley). Near the end I couldn't help but compare Cinder to the movie Ever After, specifically the scene when Drew Barrymore is revealed as the peasant and the prince turns his back on her. I can't wait to pick up the next book (though I'm a little concerned that new characters are introduced while continuing Cinder's journey) and luckily I don't have to wait very long - Scarlett came out last month!

Overall Feeling - B+

Series - 1) Cinder 2) Scarlet 3) Cress (2014)

Blaze of Memory by Nalini Singh

Dev Santos discovers her unconscious and battered, with no memory of who she is. All she knows is that she's dangerous. Charged with protecting his people's most vulnerable secrets, Devi is duty-bound to eliminate all threats. It's a task he's never hesitated to complete...until he finds himself drawn to a woman who might prove to be the enemy's most insidious weapon yet.

Stripped of her memories by a shadowy oppressor and programmed to carry out cold-blooded murder, Katya Haas is fighting desperately for her sanity. Her only hope is Dev. But how can she expect to gain the trust of a man who could very well be her next target? For in this game, one must die...

I've talked before about how I love Nalini Singh. Her Psy-Changeling series is just incredible, with the perfect combination of love, sex, and heart pounding suspense. Some of her other books have really touch my heart, most especially Mine to Possess, but this was the first one to bring tears to my eyes. A romance! One I knew somehow had to have a happy ending still brought tears to my eyes, because as frustrating as it was to be along Dev and Katya's journey to each other, once they were a unit it was unbreakable and amazing.

......sorry about that. Sometimes I feel like I gush too much when I talk about her. But it's just so rare to have that an author who you know is going to write a great book. If I really thought about it, there are only about enough authors to fill up one hand that have that same distinction. Either way, it's another fantastic book and Nalini Singh even has a spot here on Blogspot where you can find her! You can take a look at her books and posts about everything, here.

Overall Feeling - Thumbs up. A great book that really touches the heart, it continues upon the high standards that Singh has set for herself with this series.

Series - 1) Slave to Sensation 2) Visions of Heat 3) Caressed by Ice 4) Mine to Possess 5) Hostage to Pleasure 6) Branded by Fire 7) Blaze of Memory

The Royal Treatment by MaryJanice Davidson

In a world nearly identical to ours, the North won the Civil War, Ben Affleck is the sexiest man alive, and Russia never sold Alaska to the U.S. Instead, Alaska is a rough, beautiful country ruled by a famously eccentric royal family, and urgently in need of a bride for the Crown Prince. But they have no idea what they're in for when they offer the job to a feisty commoner. . .a girl who's going to need. . .

The Royal Treatment

The Princess-To-Be Primer,

Or, Things I've Learned Really Quick, As Compiled by Her Future Royal Highness--Yeah, Whatever--Christina. That's me.

1. Telling jokes you picked up from the guys on the fishing boat doesn't go over really well at a fancy ball.

2. Must learn to curtsy, stifle burps, and tell the difference between a salad fork and a fruit knife.

3. Must not keep thinking about Prince David's amazing eyes, lips, hands, shoulders, uh. . .wait, can I start over?

4. Becoming a princess is a lot harder than it looks.

5. Falling in love is a whole lot easier. . .

This was one of my first few rereads of 2010, and a perfect example of MaryJanice Davidson at her best. When I first started reading her Betsey vampire series I was just blown away by her light hearted writing and how funny being turned into a vampire could be, if put in the hands of someone who's willing to see it that way. But as she kept going the books got less enjoyable and it just seemed very contriving - I'm not lying when I say it broke my heart a little. Still I was willing to give The Royal Treatment a try and I was pleasantly surprised to find that it harkened back to the beginning of the 'Undead' books and it was a great romantic comedy! Christina is completely without pause when she meets up with the royal family of Alaska and hers and David's romance is unique to say the very least. Filled with laugh out loud scenes, candy, and 'sharp as shurikan' psychologists, I'd definitely recommend that you pick this up!

Overall Feeling - Thumbs up. The rest of the series has it's ups and downs, but this is a great beginning and very enjoyable as a stand alone.

Series - 1) The Royal Treatment 2) The Royal Pain 3) The Royal Mess