Review : Scarlet by A.C Gaughen

Summary (from Goodreads) 

Title : Scarlet (Scarlet #1)
Author : A.C Gaughen
Publication Date : February 14th 2012
Publisher : Walker Childrens
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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.

Personal Thoughts

Why, oh why did I stay away from this book for so long? Scarlet was a consuming retelling of Robin Hood that drew me in from early on. I loved this book and I can't wait to get deeper into the series with this fantastic cast of characters.

The strength in Scarlet lies in the band of characters. These characters were EVERYTHING! I just had so much love for them. The banter and camaraderie between them was one of my favorite parts of the book. Scarlet, the only girl, in the group, was the fierce thief! I loved this girl so much. She was strong, brave and so witty. Once I met her, it was hard for me not to love her. Behind her tough facade though, hid a vulnerable girl running away from a traumatic past. Despite her past not being the most colorful, Scarlet tried to overcome her grief through various ways in the book. While Scarlet might be a Robin Hood retelling, Robin Hood himself wasn't at the forefront. He was more of a shadow of a character and while we don't get to know him quite in depth as we did with Scarlet, he was still a character that I enjoyed. I particularly liked that he was so shrouded in mystery and during the scenes that he did open up to the people around him, we got glimpses of his loyalty and protectiveness. I'm hoping that in the next installment, his character becomes clearer. The secondary characters were also well-developed. I, especially, loved to hate the main villain in the book, Gisbourne who had a deep connection to Scarlet's past. He was despicable and I couldn't wait to watch his downfall in the book.

The writing in Scarlet took some time to get used to because Scarlet speaks in a dialect, so her English grammar was at times confoundin. But once I got used to her voice, which happened quite early on during the book, the story flowed smoothly. You definitely need to go in with an open mind when you read Scarlet. Know that her way of speaking is truly part of her personality. Scarlet also had one of my favorite plot tropes, a girl pretending to be a boy. This trope is always so much of fun and A.C Gaughen executed this perfectly. The main storyline involving Gisbourne after Robin Hood was exciting and also had me stressed out quite a bit. Gisbourne, being the deplorable human being that he was, had a lot up his sleeves and that made me so nervous. Despite the exciting plot line though, what really caught my attention was the relationship between Scarlet and Rob. These two, my goodness! They gave me so many feels and I found myself craving for more and more scenes between the two of them. They had feelings for each other from the start. That much was clear to the reader, but they fight off those feelings and many times, they say hurtful things to each other. Despite everything, I was convinced that they were a perfect complementary couple. The one thing that I had some minor issues with was the pseudo-love triangle. John, Rob's partner, claimed to have feelings for Scarlet early on in the book and he acted on those feelings, but he was so hard to take seriously because he was constantly flirting with every female in the book. I could have done without his romantic interests in Scarlet, but it also didn't dampen my enjoyment of the book.

Scarlet was a fantastic Robin Hood retelling. If you haven't read this book yet, don't be as foolish as I was. Read it, because this is one book that I think will thoroughly appeal to a wide range of readers.

Rating 

Cover : 4/5
Plot : 5/5
Characters : 4/5
Writing : 4/5