Scarlet - A.C. Gaughen

Scarlet - A.C. Gaughen

Wow. 

Scarlet was a really amazing book. Honestly, the bit that most piqued my interest was the whole Robin Hood aspect and getting a glimpse into a different story involving him. I find myself beyond intrigued when authors write their own twists with well known characters or books. Also, the synopsis just sounded really fun and creative and I'd wanted to read it ever since it first appeared in my Goodreads recommendations. While the story itself was really amazing along with the action and plot, there were little things that bothered me and hence dropped the rating down a star.

Scarlet does not lead an easy life. Drawn to a life of thievery, she manages to find herself a part of Robin Hood's band and does her best to take care of the people of Nottinghamshire, disguised as a boy named Will. While only few townspeople and the band know that Scarlet is a indeed a girl, no one knows that she is hiding an even bigger secret. It is with the arrival of Thief Taker Lord Gisbourne that she and the band find themselves in great peril. But even more so for Scarlet because he could be the one to expose her secret, or worse.

While I did greatly enjoy the plot of this book and most of the writing, there was one thing that bothered me throughout the entire thing; Scarlet's dialect. It really threw me off at first, but I figured that I'd easily get over it and everything would be fine. It didn't, at least for me. All that the dialect was was the world "was" being switched to "were". Sure, after awhile I just kept mentally correcting all of the "were"s to "was"s, but I still couldn't help but feel a little gypped. I mean, if you're going to write a character with a dialect, why not just go all out?

Aside from that, I did enjoy the story quite a bit. It was an interesting take on Robin Hood and I did find myself charging forward as I wanted so badly to know what was up with Scarlet and her past. Pacing-wise, this book did alright. There were definite parts that slowed me down a bit, but they weren't anything that some fighting or humor couldn't tide me over with.

The characters were interesting enough, but I feel like they could've been fleshed out a bit more. While we do get some back story on the others in the band, the only character that was really described in detail. Probably because she's the main character, but hey, I would've loved more back story on Robin or Much. 

Besides her sad dialect I only had one other minor problem with Scarlet. Her constant flip flop between Robin and John. I mean sure, I get that they're both important to you, but leading them both on at the same time, just no. You can't do that. Especially to John who completely adores and wants you. It's not fair to either. But, whatever, feelings get in the way and stuff happens like this in real life. It's just a personal thought that I can't help but feel, so don't let that affect your own reading experience.

Also, I couldn't help but smile at how the guys in the band wanted to take care of Scarlet. They were overbearingly overprotective, which wasn't always needed or warranted, but there were cute parts to it. The boys in the band were pretty endearing and all had their own qualities that I especially loved about each of them.

Jeez, and the ending. Wow. That really just happened? 

Overall, Scarlet was a GREAT book that I would highly recommend. With it, you get to read a story set in times with Robin Hood packed full of action and fighting that you'll seriously be wishing that it was a movie that you could watch. The characters were endearing and the writing (while a bit annoying at times) was nice and if you find yourself intrigued at all by the story then I do recommend that you get it a shot. 

I see that there's supposedly going to be a sequel next year. I think that I just might pick it up.

☆☆☆☆/5

Recommend?: If you have a thing for Robin Hood.

If you like to read about badass lead females.