This second book of The Lunar Chronicles was okay but not as good as the first. Or maybe it was just as good but my expectations were higher after unexpectedly enjoying the first novel. 
 The story in this one felt scattered. The different points of view weren't distinct enough to keep the switch from being confusing. I felt annoyed that both powerful female characters got paired up with men to complete their tasks. Not that there's anything wrong with men and certainly nothing wrong with men helping out, I was just hoping for a more comprehensive flip of the fairy tale model. 
 I do admit, I like the way that the Big Scene was handled. The men were unable to help and three female characters got the job done on their own. I also appreciate that the male characters can't be trusted entirely. This speaks to the constant awareness that women have of being physically smaller than men, the awareness that the person they're trusting could hurt them if they wanted to. Or maybe I'm projecting. As a petite woman, in every venture outside and every time an electrician or painter or plumber does work at my house, I am quite aware of my size in relation to other people. I'm rarely outright scared, but I'm always aware that I'm the smaller mammal. 
 And I felt really irritated by Meyer's use of "list" as a transitive verb. Three times people "listed" their heads. Dude, just say "tilted" or even "inclined," if you want to sound fancier. "Listed" is awkward and takes a reader out of the story because she's not expecting the verb to be used that way. I'm not even sure it should be used this way. You could say something lists something else in the sense that one thing causes the other thing to list, but the only way I could see this working on someone's head is if they're wearing one really heavy earring. 
 Even though I didn't enjoy this novel quite as much as I did Cinder, it was a quick, fun read, and I enjoyed it enough to want to see what happens in the next book in the series.