This was quite good, though I didn't enjoy it as much as Cinder. The narrative jumps around to different characters a lot, which was a bit jarring coming from the first book and the short stories, where the narrative follows a single character almost the entire time. And since Cinder continues to be an awesome-sauce unconventional heroine, I'd have liked to have more of the story focus on her. So I guess this is really just me whining about how much I love Cinder and how much I want more Cinder. XD 
 The parts with Scarlet felt like I was reading an entirely different series. Scarlet has a very distinctive personality, and I appreciate that Meyer gave Scarlet's narratives her own voice (so many authors never seem to be able to pull that off). But the entire, hmm...tone I guess? felt so different from the rest. Scarlet's sections are edgy and gritty (view spoiler)[and has a whirlwind romance with a bad boy (although if we've read The Queen's Army we know he's not that bad, but Scarlet doesn't know about that does she) (hide spoiler)] and with a definite increase in violence/gore, just like so many YA novels are, while Cinder's felt more realistic and original, and imo Cinder's qualities makes her really stand out from the average YA fair. (Scarlet is a great character, don't get me wrong, she's pretty kick-ass and fierce.) 
 And as in The Queen's Army, I am still not very keen on the whole (view spoiler)[werewolf thing. I get how it's another little nod to Sailor Moon (Queen Beryl with her youmas), and again as a long-time Moonie I appreciate that like crazy, but did it have to be werewolves? In addition, the brutality of the wolf packs and the emphasis on pecking orders conflict strongly with recent findings on wolf behavior. Plus I don't like the perpetuation of the savage wolf stigma, as this negative prejudice against wolves leaks into real life and damages conservation efforts. (hide spoiler)] 
 I was a little worried about the (view spoiler)[Scarlet and Wolf romance because of the whole Bella-and-Edward abuse-is-love craze that is sweeping the young females of the world, but Marissa Meyer (how awful it must be to be a writer with that last name right now) managed to keep it fairly healthy and positive. Although it did wrap up a bit too suddenly for me -- what, they've known each other for like, a week, during which time he betrayed her trust, and now he's essentially proposing to her? (alpha female? really? bleh) I do like them together and think they'd be good together given some time, but this was just too fast. (hide spoiler)] 
 ANYWAY, even with all my gripes and knit-picks, I still give it a strong 4 stars. It was a gripping and enjoyable read, with quality writing and quality characters. When is #3 coming out??