Thursday, April 5, 2018

Scarlet by A.C. Gaughen


Scarlet 
by A.C. Gaughen
287 Pages 
Published by Walker Childrens

Plot: Will Scarlet is good at two things: stealing from the rich and keeping secrets - skills that are in high demand in Robin Hood's band of thieves, who protect the people of Nottingham from the evil sheriff. Scarlet's biggest secret of all is one only Robin and his men know...that she is posing as a thief; that the slip of a boy who is fast with sharp knives is really a girl.
The terrible events in her past that led Scarlet to hide her real identity are in danger of being exposed when the thief taker Lord Gisbourne arrives in town to rid Nottingham of the Hood and his men once and for all. As Gisbourne closes in a put innocent lives at risk, Scarlet must decide how much the people of Nottingham mean to her, especially John Little, a flirtatious fellow outlaw, and Robin, whose quick smiles have the rare power to unsettle her. There is real honor among these thieves and so much more - making this a fight worth dying for. (2018, Goodreads.com)
Review:  I've been thinking about reading Scarlet for quite some time.  One of my all time favorite stories is Robin Hood, so a retelling of this story definitely piqued my interest.  However, I was not too sold on a romance story line between Will Scarlet (but in this case she is a girl pretending to be a boy) and Robin.  I'm pretty loyal to the whole Robin and Marian love story.  So, right away I started questioning:  Where is Marian?

But, I decided to give it a try and I am glad that I did.  It is not what I first thought and you can figure out the main plot twist before it is revealed.

In this story, Scarlet is a thief that Robin picked up a few years ago.  He has returned home from the crusades, but is unable to take over his father's estate because they killed the Earl to take his land.  The Sheriff regards Robin as a traitor's son and therefore a criminal.  Robin is an outlaw with John and Scarlet. Guaghen follows the original story line for most of the book in terms of overall theme of the story.  They steal from the rich and feed the poor.  The only difference is Scarlet is a girl and there is a love triangle between her, John and Robin.  Not much is known about Scarlet in the beginning, but over the course of the book you find out who she really is and where she comes from.  Interesting take on an old legend. The ending is interesting and I do plan to read book 2. Recommended for anyone who loves Robin Hood and retellings! 

Rating:  3.5 Hearts!
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