Scarlet by A.C. Gaughen

I would have read this in one sitting, but work got in the way.  🙂  I LOVED this book.  It was one of those books that leaves you with a good feeling of wanting more.  I actually want this to be a series…I don’t want it to end. 

Side note: Shout out to my mom…she put this book on her list at her library and was able to get it WAY before I would have been able to at mine!  Mom, you rock!

Title: Scarlet

Author: A.C. Gaughen

Publisher: Bloomsbury / Walker Books

Summary (by Goodreads):

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.

First 4 sentences:

No one really knows ’bout me.  I’m Rob’s secret, I’m his informant, I’m his shadow in dark places.  No one ever takes me for more than a knockabout lad, a whip of a boy.  They never really see.

My take:

I love our characters!! Just the idea of the book alone got me excited about reading it!  Think about it!  A girl hiding as one of Robin Hood’s merry men?!?  There’s a love triangle, but it’s not so prominent to our poor little Scarlet.  Wanna know who?  You need to read to find that out!  But as for my favorite character, I loved Little John’s the most!  He’s kind of a Captain Jack Sparrow romancer mixed with a big older brother protector.  I hope that makes sense.

The story could have been corny, but she wrote it so well!  When I think of Robin Hood’s men, I generally think of more than 3.  Like this…

…not so in this story though.  We’re looking at a group of 4 with Robin included.  It’s more “quaint” that way.  More personal time to know and understand the characters.

So story goes…our girl Scarlet (nicknamed Scar by the guys and known to the rest of the population as Will Scarlet) is a knife throwing, breech wearing, tree climbing 18 year old girl who has found comradery with Robin, Little John, and Much.  She’s a great thief and has a heart for the people in not wanting to see them starve.  She has her own problems with eating though; she’s can’t bear to eat knowing there are others going hungry and it worries the guys seeing her starve herself for no reason.  She’s not starving herself to be skinny…

I will admit….in the beginning, I had a HECK of a time trying to understand the writing style of the author.  Anytime the word “was” should appear…it would show up as “were”, like “John Little were being difficult.”  The other word that had me scratching my head a little was “mug” meaning “face”, as in: “As soon as John Little heard, his mug fell.”  It’s written in Scarlet’s point of view, and since she grew up as a thief, that’s why it has the bad grammar.  The “John Little” thing irked me too…I’ve always heard “Little John”…so seeing it the other way around had me pause a few times.  Get past those though and you’ve got an awesome story!

Myst~