Title: Scarlet
Author: A.C. Gaughen
Series: Scarlet, Book 1
Number of Pages: 292
Date Read: 4/14/13
Genre: Fairy Tale/Legend Retellings, Historical Fiction, Adevnture
Rating: A
Synopsis (Found on Goodreads.com)
Many readers know the tale of Robin Hood, but they will be
swept away by this new version full of action, secrets, and romance.
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.
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.
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.
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.
My Review:
This was a quick read and an awesome retelling of the Robin Hood Legend. Scarlet is one of Robin Hood's band of Merry Men, except that she's really a girl!
I liked Scarlet. She was moody, sarcastic and tough. I loved the way she fought with her throwing knives and her martial art like fighting skills. She flipped in the air and used the other members of the band to launch herself into the enemy. She was very accurate with her knives as well. I also loved the way she always climbed into trees and traveled by jumping and running through the branches of the trees like Tarzan. When she did this she reminded me of Katniss from the Hunger Games who also liked to climb trees. She was also a very slick thief who stole all the time and helped Robin and her and to spot the wealthy people to steal from as they traveled on the road. While she was moody and had a smart mouth, she was also caring and stole a lot of things like food to give to the poor people. She had a very hard life and as the story goes on you are slowly informed of what her life was like before she became Will Scarlet. While most of the people thought Scarlet was a boy, there were some who knew she was really a girl. I liked how she reacted to Robin and the band when they tried to protect her and act like her guardians~ she told them off and did what she wanted anyway. While she wasn't strong she was still an awesome fighter. She gets hurt a lot in the book, sometimes badly but she doesn't let that stop her and she keeps on fighting and doing the right thing. Near the end of the book you find out who she really is. When I read that part I felt really stupid because I didn't guess who she was. lol.
I liked Robin Hood and his band mates too. Robin is a disinherited earl, who came back from the crusades and found out he has nothing. He still loved his people and they still loved him and saw him as their earl. So he decided to become Robin Hood and stole from the rich to give to the poor. Not only does he give his people food and money, he protects them fiercely. Little John is one of the band mates and is a huge flirt. He is big, burly and strong. Much is another one of the band mates. He had his hand cut off by the sheriff for stealing. He is very caring, sweet and treats Scarlet equally. He never makes fun of her for being a girl. He's like a brother to Scarlet.
Of course there is a romance between Robin and Scarlet but its not the main plot of the story. Its a subtle romance. Little John becomes infatuated with Scarlet which causes Robin to think Scarlet is with John which causes little twists in the romance plot. You can tell Robin and Scarlet love each other with the little touches and conversations they have, even though both don't want to admit their feelings.
The plot of the whole book is interesting. There's a thief taker/hunter whose connected to Scarlet and is there to catch and kill Robin Hood. He is also looking for Scarlet and Scarlet is terrified of him, which was surprising because she is not really afraid of anything. There was a lot of spy work and stealth which keeps you on the edge of your seat thinking "Are they gonna get caught?" , "Whats going to happen?" The ending has a lot of action in it with explosions, killings, fights and injuries. Very entertaining. The ending leaves room for another book which I believe the author is going to write, making the books a series. While I am excited to see what the next book will be about, this book could be a great as a standalone as well.
I liked Scarlet. She was moody, sarcastic and tough. I loved the way she fought with her throwing knives and her martial art like fighting skills. She flipped in the air and used the other members of the band to launch herself into the enemy. She was very accurate with her knives as well. I also loved the way she always climbed into trees and traveled by jumping and running through the branches of the trees like Tarzan. When she did this she reminded me of Katniss from the Hunger Games who also liked to climb trees. She was also a very slick thief who stole all the time and helped Robin and her and to spot the wealthy people to steal from as they traveled on the road. While she was moody and had a smart mouth, she was also caring and stole a lot of things like food to give to the poor people. She had a very hard life and as the story goes on you are slowly informed of what her life was like before she became Will Scarlet. While most of the people thought Scarlet was a boy, there were some who knew she was really a girl. I liked how she reacted to Robin and the band when they tried to protect her and act like her guardians~ she told them off and did what she wanted anyway. While she wasn't strong she was still an awesome fighter. She gets hurt a lot in the book, sometimes badly but she doesn't let that stop her and she keeps on fighting and doing the right thing. Near the end of the book you find out who she really is. When I read that part I felt really stupid because I didn't guess who she was. lol.
I liked Robin Hood and his band mates too. Robin is a disinherited earl, who came back from the crusades and found out he has nothing. He still loved his people and they still loved him and saw him as their earl. So he decided to become Robin Hood and stole from the rich to give to the poor. Not only does he give his people food and money, he protects them fiercely. Little John is one of the band mates and is a huge flirt. He is big, burly and strong. Much is another one of the band mates. He had his hand cut off by the sheriff for stealing. He is very caring, sweet and treats Scarlet equally. He never makes fun of her for being a girl. He's like a brother to Scarlet.
Of course there is a romance between Robin and Scarlet but its not the main plot of the story. Its a subtle romance. Little John becomes infatuated with Scarlet which causes Robin to think Scarlet is with John which causes little twists in the romance plot. You can tell Robin and Scarlet love each other with the little touches and conversations they have, even though both don't want to admit their feelings.
The plot of the whole book is interesting. There's a thief taker/hunter whose connected to Scarlet and is there to catch and kill Robin Hood. He is also looking for Scarlet and Scarlet is terrified of him, which was surprising because she is not really afraid of anything. There was a lot of spy work and stealth which keeps you on the edge of your seat thinking "Are they gonna get caught?" , "Whats going to happen?" The ending has a lot of action in it with explosions, killings, fights and injuries. Very entertaining. The ending leaves room for another book which I believe the author is going to write, making the books a series. While I am excited to see what the next book will be about, this book could be a great as a standalone as well.
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