A Review for Scarlet by A.C Gaughen

Posted by Jess
Release Date: February 14th, 2012

Finished Date: September 24th , 2012

Publishers: Bloomsbury

Source: For Review

Format: Paperback 

Pages: 286
Buy : Amazon UK / Amazon US / The Book Depo

Many readers know the tale of Robin Hood, but they will be swept away by this new version full of action, secrets, and romance.

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Posing as one of Robin Hood’s thieves to avoid the wrath of the evil Thief Taker Lord Gisbourne, Scarlet has kept her identity secret from all of Nottinghamshire. Only the Hood and his band know the truth: the agile thief posing as a whip of a boy is actually a fearless young woman with a secret past. Helping the people of Nottingham outwit the corrupt Sheriff of Nottingham could cost Scarlet her life as Gisbourne closes in.

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It’s only her fierce loyalty to Robin—whose quick smiles and sharp temper have the rare power to unsettle her—that keeps Scarlet going and makes this fight worth dying for.

The Review: “I’ll keep your heart, Scar,” he whispered. “If you keep mine.”-Robin

Donna had given this to me to read. I'd been meaning to pick it up for a while, but never got around to it until last week. Like every person, I love retelling of Robin Hood. There's so much that can be done with his story, no one knows the exact history, some say he was real, others just gave the name Robin Hood to general thieves, who knows! 

Anyway, I started this book and I really enjoyed it. It's told from the point of view Will Scarlet, who is in fact a girl (this isn't a spoiler, it's in the synopsis). Scarlet was a great heroine, she was headstrong, and didn't take any crap from anybody, not even Little John who liked to dish is out. Although there were some dull moments, and I felt that sometimes Scarlets inner monologue went on longer than necessary, the story is told well, it sucks you in completely and keeps you hooked. The author managed to write as a thief would have done back in that particular century and you feel the language come alive through Scarlet and the rest of Robin's band of merry men.

Little pieces started to fall into place for me regarding Scarlet and her past, and when it was finally revealed I had the "I knew it!" reaction. As romance goes, there's a little triangle going on in this book, I'm no always one for triangles, I don't find them all that necessary. And it's the same with this, I don't think there should have been a triangle, but I guess it worked because eventually the Robin and Scarlet admit their feelings for each other. As romance for Robin, Scarlet is far better suited for Robin than Maid Marian ever was, I never liked Maid Marian anyway, always needing to be rescued, always playing the damsel in distress, this isn't the case with Scarlet. The author managed to portray Scarlet as Robin's equal, both in fight and in bravery. It just seemed the logical choice. 

The ending seemed very open to me, the way it ended regarding Guy of Gisbourne, leaves the story open for a possible sequel to Scarlet. And I would read it, I really would.

Overall, a very entertaining story, full of action, for the most part anyway. If you like the story of Robin Hood, be it the TV show, or the one with Kevin Costner, you'll definitely enjoy this. It's a good twist on the tale and it's good way to tell us more about Will Scarlet, and that maybe he was a girl...who knows. I enjoyed it, and I'm pretty sure you will too :)