5 out of 5: SCARLET by A.C. Gaughen

Scarlet (Scarlet #1) by A.C. Gaughen

Summary:
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.

Review:

Interesting start to the book. If you don't read the synopsis on the inside cover (or back if you have the paperback version), or guess based on the cover of this book, you would think that this story starts with a boy's point of view. A.C. Gaughen did an excellent job of portraying a strong, and mysterious girl.

With every turn of the page, I loved Scarlet even more and more. She does like to be called weak, she doesn't like being burden on anyone. Yet, under all that toughness, she does get hurt, except she doesn't show it. The characters have underlying emotions for one another. First, John is the "player" of the group. Later on in the book, John had a little-bit-more-than-a-crush on Scarlet. However, Scarlet never truly believes him. And truth be told, the Gaughen was trying to push the reader towards "shipping" Robin and Scarlet. It makes this book almost like a love-triangle, the only difference is that Scarlet never really saw John that way.

As for the plot, I could not put this book down! It's a slightly shorter book (287), but I think it was the perfect size. I got sucked in right away; part of the mystery in this book is finding out who Scarlet was. Then, finding out what Gisbourne means to Scarlet. The second part of this book is rescuing everyone from jail, this leads to an epic battle that would look so amazing if this book became a movie.

There is no cliff hanger at the end of this book. Yet, I can't believe I have to wait another year to read the next book, Lady Theif! I feel so bad for all the people who read this in 2012 and had to wait for 2 years!

Find Scarlet on: Amazon.com | Goodreads