Forever Obsession: Scarlet

Scarlet by A. C. Gaughen
ISBN: 0802723462
Pages: 292
Appearance:

Summary:

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.

Hey everyone! Sorry I took such a long time to actually review this book. I was getting so swamped with all the books, I was reading way too fast to stop and write review in between. But now I'm back so no worries! What are we waiting for? Let's go!

I don't know about you, but when I think of Robin Hood, the first thing that comes to my head is the fox from the Disney cartoon and I'm pretty familiar with that movie since my sister was obsessed with it when she was younger. I loved that Scarlet stayed true to the plot of Robin Hood. A.C. Gaughen didn't change much of the tale, but only make it more interesting by exploring and enhancing details. For example, we all knew that the people of Nottingham were poor and the tax was only bankrupting them further. Gaughen portrays their desperation with two different types of people. A) Characters who are loyal to Robin till he reclaims his title and B) Characters that are so desperate they will do anything even betray the man who is their savior.

Scarlet aka Will took a bit to get used to. I found her portrayal of a "guy" to be a bit lacking, but then, she doesn't have Mushu to guide her. ;) Her "problems" about her feelings with Robin also bothered me a bit. I kinda liked the love triangle, but at the same time, I don't think Little John and Robin would jeopardize their relationship for a girl. I mean, bros are tight. I would have preferred with Much, honestly I think he's so sweet and definitely would be good relationship material. But again, that's just my opinion. I did warm up to Scarlet a bit after a while because she is pretty kickass. Her thieving methods are pretty killer and you have to admire her for what she does.

Personally, I actually really liked Robin. Through Scarlet's eyes, you definitely get the picture of him as a god, literally. It's not like overly gross descriptions, but the way she looks up to him gives you really strong image of him as basically the perfect guy. One thing I didn't like about him was how willing he was to go against Little John for Scarlet and how he kept "pushing her" away because he thought she was with Little John (even though he just mad at LJ). It gets a little confusing since aren't LJ and Robin like best buds? Even if I'm basing my knowledge off of Disney, they're supposed to be really good friends. To kind of deteriorate your relationship over a girl just didn't cut it with me.

Then we get to the ending. Whoo. The ending was a bit expected, but at the same time a complete surprise. I did kind of guess who Scarlet was and the role she played in the actual tale (that's a HUGE hint guys), but when her identity is revealed, it still surprised me and I was probably freaking out.

Like so...

What I loved most about the revelation was that even though you might have suspected it, Gaughen did a really good job in creating a new character to allow Scar to "hide" behind (even if Will did exist in the actual tale). I truly believe that the "mask" of Will was really solidly written and you will most definitely believe that Scarlet is a true member of Robin Hood's Men.

With that being said, I definitely recommend the book. It was a really fast and enjoyable read for me and in my opinion, a pretty well written re-telling of Robin Hood. :)