This was definitely on par with, if not better than, the first installment and many of my lingering questions from Cinder were answered. Scarlet was another admirable heroine, but just like with the whole Cinder-Kai relationship in the last book, I had a hard time enjoying the Scarlet-Wolf thing. I really think it's my fault though - my cynical, crotchety self can no longer stomach cheesy teen romance like I used to. I appreciate that that's the draw in a lot of YA books (particularly series), and thankfully for these books, the girls themselves outshine all of that lovey-dovey stuff. The relationships are part of the plot but don't take center stage. I really enjoyed the introduction of Captain Thorne - who doesn't love a little comedic relief? - and the revival of Iko as a spaceship was also fun and clever. Scarlet's biggest strength was in the twist and turns of the story itself - Cinder was a bit predictable, but it was hard to guess exactly where this book was going and whether certain characters were trustworthy or not. Meyer really keeps readers on their toes in this one, and I can imagine things only get more intense in the next book. (Fingers crossed there's less awkward romance in my future, but I think that would be asking too much).