Scarlet (Scarlet, #1)

by A. C. Gaughen

The people of Nottinghamshire know Will Scarlet as Robin Hood shadow, a slip of a boy who throws daggers with deadly accuracy and is an accomplished thief with an unerring eye for treasure. A select few know Will was recruited by Robin two years earlier, but no one really knows who the real Scarlet is except Gisbourne, the ruthless thief-taker just hired by the sheriff to capture Robin and his band.

• ISBN13: 9781681198194
• Publish Date: 14 November 2017 (first published 14 February 2012)
• Publish Status: Out of Print
• Out of Print: 14 March 2021
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Bloomsbury USA
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 320
• Language: English

Reviews

[Angie]

I'm pretty sure the author used Ctrl + F to replace every instance of "was" with "were."

[anastasia]

Full Review on my blog!



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[Amber]

Well, wasn’t this book just sunshine and rainbows? Scarlet is a widely popular book in the book community, which is the reason I put it on my wishlist in the first place. I was dying to read it because it’s a Robin Hood retelling and I totally had a crush on that fox when I was younger. But if you’ve been following me on Twitter for the past couple of weeks, you’ll know that I bloody hated this book.

Or, rather, I hated every single character apart from Scarlet and Much. Especially Robin. Fucking. Hood. with his arrogance and abusive attitude.

What Scarlet is is a thinly veiled tale of abuse, which Gaughen has tried to sell as a romance. Lady Thief, the sequel, is even worse but I’m going to review that later on this week so I won’t get into that.

There is an awful love triangle in this book between Scarlet, Robin Hood, and John Little (Little John). John pursues Scarlet even after she tells him to stop, and Robin calls Scarlet a whore and treats her like crap for keeping her past a secret, even though those secrets are the only thing keeping her alive.

Aside from the romance, I did enjoy a couple of aspects of this book. Scarlet herself was a wonderful character when she was away from those two men, and I liked the setting. Nottinghamshire under the paws of Prince John is my favourite thing.

And that’s the only reason why I’ve given this book three stars. I would have rated it a lot lower but Scarlet was precious and I liked the rest of the story. The same can’t be said for Lady Thief, though.

All in all, this book isn’t as great as the book community led me to believe, and I am absolutely disgusted by the love story and the way it evolves in the sequel. But more on that later.

[vagasker]

I don't really know what rating to give this book. I'm a sucker for Robin Hood stories and I liked the idea of a badass lady being Will Scarlet, but the book didn't quite meet my expectations. I really liked it until the love triangle started. Love triangles are a big no. So yeah, two stars.

[tellemonstar]

I quite enjoyed this on actually. A really interesting retelling of the Robin Hood legend. Looking forward to the next one, Lady Thief.

[jnikkir]

This review can also be found at my blog, There were books involved...

-----------------------------

First off, I need to thank Angie (Disquietus Reads) for gifting me Scarlet and Lady Thief for my birthday this year (...back in April... shhhhhh). If she hadn't, I shudder to think what other, lesser book I might have picked up instead of Scarlet. ;)

How does one even begin to talk about a series like this? I binge-read Scarlet and Lady Thief back-to-back (after telling myself, "No, Nikki, you need to read other things after you finish Scarlet" -- haha NOPE). And after that marvelous (soul-crushing, feels-filled) experience, these books are just a swirl of awesomeness in my head. So, forgive me if this "review" comes across as more of a random collection of flails. I am attempting coherency, and that should count for something, right? I just have a lot of really good things to say about this series.

When I first heard about the Scarlet series (forever ago), it piqued my interest mainly because of two things. First, I adore everything Robin Hood, so a YA Robin Hood retelling is right up my alley. Second, I am a huge fan of the girls-masquerading-as-boys thing. So, Robin Hood + Will Scarlet is actually a girl? SIGN ME UP. If you're a fan of those two things, let me tell you in no uncertain terms that you need to pick up this series. Don't make the mistake of waiting like I did, okay?

Scarlet is the start of an amazing trilogy (again -- shhh, I know I haven't read the third book yet but it's the truth, okay?), and I loved every moment of it. The only thing that took me a while to get used to was the voice and style of writing. Scarlet herself is the narrator. She's quick, to-the-point, doesn't mince words, isn't flowery, and says things like "he weren't" and "they ain't". But once I got into the swing of it, I loved it. Scarlet's narration is so suited to these books, it's ridiculous. It feels like a quick and fast-paced read. The plot might be a bit vague for a while (Robin Hood steals from the rich and gives to the poor, which is all well and good; but the Big Bad doesn't really come into the limelight until a ways into the story). But stuff happens, a lot, and Scarlet's no-nonsense, tell-it-like-it-is style goes so well with that. And right from the start, something about Scarlet kept my attention, and when I fell for her and the rest of the band, I fell hard.

Scarlet herself was definitely my favorite thing about this first book, and she's a character whom I'm going to yell about from the rooftops. She doesn't fool around with either her words or her actions. She's not one to do anything halfway, and she doesn't wallow in unnecessary drama. She's got her secrets, but she also isn't afraid to speak up and speak her mind (when she knows it -- which is most of the time, which I loved), she doesn't lead people on, she's selfless and driven but also will fight for what she wants with everything she has, and... and... and... oh gosh, I'm rambling. I'll admit, I don't get super flaily about girl characters very often, but Scarlet... Wow. I don't know how she did it, but she easily makes my list of Top 3 Female Characters Of All Time. Yep, I went there. But seriously... seriously. Omg.

Other than Scarlet, there were a few other major highlights that I need to address. First, Robin himself. When you read a book about "Robin Hood and his Merry Men" Plus One Girl In Disguise, there's definitely some anticipation when it comes to Robin. I was so impressed with the characterization of all the characters in this book, but other than Scarlet, Robin was my second favorite. He's had his lands basically stolen out from under him, but he still feels the need to stay and take care of his people. A lot of adaptations have him being very cavalier and happy, but that is not the case with our Rob. He's fought in the Crusades alongside King Richard, which was not a happy time, and he's only been back a few years when Scarlet begins. Rob is very much not a mischievous thief, as many adaptations paint him. He's serious and real in ways that I think, if Robin Hood is/were actually true, he really would be. And I loved that.

Second (and I'm going to try not to dwell tooooo terribly much on this, because I've read Lady Thief and I need to save some of these flails for later), there is Rob/Scarlet. Or as I and Ashlea (Disquietus Reads) like to call them, ROBLET. (The caps are required.) For this subject, I'm just going to leave you with all of my Goodreads status updates, because... yeah.



Take from that what you will.

Finally, one other thing I have to mention about the shipping in this book: If you see a triangle developing, you're wrong. I've seriously never seen a (non-)triangle dealt with in this way before, and it was so freaking cool. And that's all I will say about that.

 
In conclusion...

If I haven't made myself 100% clear yet, let me fix that immediately: READ. THIS. BOOK. Are you a fan of retellings? Do you like the idea of Robin Hood? Do you like girls who take charge of their lives and spend their time showing the boys how to get things done? Yeah, you! You need this book in your life. Read it. Love it. You're welcome. *drops mic*

--

There were books involved...

[ellieroth]

Reseña completa: El Extraño Gato del Cuento

Todo se resume en esto:



Una de las primeras cosas que pensé al terminar el libro fue: ¿Cómo es posible que este libro no haya sido adaptado al español? Por alguna razón veo a Oz Editorial trayéndola (Si no son ellos, al menos alguna otra editorial debería hacerlo). En últimas traducciones, al menos las pocas que he leído últimamente, no hay personajes femeninos como el de Scarlet, me gustaría leer más personajes así.

Empecemos por la portada. Hay muchísimas portadas, infinitas de ellas, con un rostro como tema, pero esta en especial tiene algo que me hace quedarme prácticamente enamorada de lo que veo, quizá sea el hecho que en realidad es un retrato o los detalles del personaje bien hechos, la decoración de los hojas ¿han visto sus cejas? Son preciosas, sin duda una de las portadas con rostro que no me parece aburrida.

Como han visto con mi nuevo sistema de rating (las estrellitas azules bien bonis) le he dado cinco.

Este libro fue por recomendación de mi representante/relacionista pública/¿publicista? (no sé si son lo mismo ._.) Rele, la condición era "Tú lees este que me ha gustado un montón y yo leo ese que te ha gustado un montón". Aunque al final terminó siendo el libro de nuestro club de lectura interno (¿les gustaría participar en un club de lectura con el gatito? ¡Díganme en los comentarios!) el cuál nos dejó completamente maravilladas. Sé que te estarás preguntando por qué, ya que hasta ahora me las he ingeniado para hablarles de otra cosa y no de la reseña en sí. Esas habilidades que tengo.

Muy pocas veces podemos encontrar una heroína como Scarlet, al menos en literatura juvenil, alguien del cuál el oscuro pasado no la dirija exclusiva y únicamente a los brazos de su contraparte masculina. O sea, sí, hay romance, pero el libro es mucho más que eso. Para empezar Scar no es la damisela en apuros, los "damiselos" son Robin y su pandilla. Sin contar su envidiables habilidades con los cuchillos. O la manera en la que por ser una guerrera pierde su feminidad. La chica no solo es... ¿Genial? ¿Cool? (no encuentro una palabra que la defina mejor), está en el Top-Top de mis personajes femeninos favoritos. Scarlet demuestra que no toda la literatura juvenil está compuesta con personajes femeninos clichés y sin gracia.

Es un excelente retelling de Robin Hood, dándole un buen giro a la historia, le da más importancia a algunos personajes . La narración es bastante particular, ojalá si alguna editorial apuesta por este libro, no se pierda.

[Kait ✨]

I had this book on my to-read shelf on Goodreads but I no longer remember when or why I put it there. My lovely co-blogger, Rachelia, sent this to me as a Christmas gift and as soon as I read the back I was excited to dive into it. After reading the sticky note Rachelia included with her own thoughts, I was even more excited about the book, especially because Scarlet is supposed to be such a kick-ass young lady!

I have always been a big sucker for historical fiction, especially retellings of fairy tales and myths, so it’s no surprise that I was really into this book. I really love the premise and for the most part, I enjoyed Gaughen’s writing and found it an effortless and enjoyable read. (I finished this in a couple hours on Boxing Day!) The plot is very quick-paced and even during the moments with little action, there is always some sort of impending doom in the back of your mind, so I flew threw the pages.

Finish reading my review on Bookish Comforts!

[Briana @ Pages Unbound]

Scarlet takes readers to the beginning of Robin Hood’s band, introducing a group that of yet has only four members, all of whom are young and, though talented, still figuring out how to best utilize their skills.  The story features all the elements readers love in a Robin Hood tale, including the most beloved characters and a central fight between Robin’s men and the sheriff of Nottingham.  Gaughen also includes enough original features to make her version fresh and worth picking out of a lineup of retellings all set in Sherwood Forest England, during the Crusades.  She makes a few relatively minor changes, such as revealing in the first few pages that Tuck is not a friar but simply a man who owns an inn called Friar Tuck’s, and also introduces a second major conflict that runs parallel to the one with the sheriff.

All is told in a first person narrative from the perspective of Scarlet herself—who thankfully comes right out and admits she is a girl disguising herself as a boy.  Most authors using this plot element try to make it a sudden reveal halfway through the novel, which can be frustrating (readers go through the “but are you really the same person?” questioning phase just as much as the characters) and downright cliché.  Scarlet is a plucky girl determined to to carve herself a new life, though she is not always certain whether she wants that life to be with Robin’s band.  The story is just as much about Scarlet’s search for a home and identity as it is about fighting the injustice of Prince John’s government, which gives it a personal and human aspect not found in many retellings.  Annoying, Scarlet relates events in an affected commoner dialect, consistently saying things like, “He were afeared.”  Thankfully, no one else speaks like this, so when other characters are introduced and start talking, readers got a break from the horrendous grammar.  Of course, this also raises the question of why Scarlet speaks like this at all.  Where did she pick it up, if no other person, other commoners included, ever talks like that?  Readers may never know.

Gaughen also adds a swoon-worthy romance to her tale, which will leave readers hungry for more of the action and romantic dialogue in the sequel.  There is an attempt at a love triangle, but it has a rather obvious outcome, due to the characterization of the two men in question. Even so, both men appear to have a decent shot at winning over the girl, at least for a while, so the love triangle does manage to add at least of bit of tension to the book.  Basically, readers know how everything must end, but Scarlet herself appears legitimately torn and both men have enough good characteristics that her attraction to both believable.

The action plot also has a few obvious twists, but they are interesting enough and Gaughen writes well enough that the story is still fun to read, even if readers can hazard a few good guesses at what will happen.  In general, this is the sign of a good writer.  As I have mentioned before on the blog, one of my English professors was fond of commenting, “No one rereads books for plot.”  So if readers can know what happens and still want to keep reading, there must be something really enjoyable or interesting going on.

And there is.  Gaughen takes advantage of the inherent question of the Robin Hood story: What is moral?  Is it right to steal from the rich to give to the poor?  Is it just a lesser evil to steal and help people survive than to watch them starve to death?  Did Robin have any other options?  When threatened, should he turn himself in to the sheriff, or will he ultimately save more lives by continuing to live and give the people money?  I am not sure any Robin Hood tale gives a concrete answer to all or even most of these questions, but a good version explores them instead of assuming This is just how the story goes.  The characters should talk about them, and the readers should be lead to think about them.   Gaughen adds further moral ambiguity with some aspects of the romance plot.  Normally, I am all for characters following the straight and narrow in their romantic endeavors (I cannot, for example, really enjoy any book where the main romance is adulterous, like Water for Elephants), but the ambiguity seems so natural and necessary to a story like Scarlet.  I am looking forward to seeing how it plays out.

Robin Hood retellings, in my opinion, can get old.  They often seem so similar, in ways that retellings of other stories usually do not.  Cinderella, for example, has become a modern day waitress, a futuristic Japanese cyborg, a girl in a fantasy land who literally must obey any order given.  Robin Hood, barring a few exceptions, is always a man in Lincoln green living in Sherwood forest.  There are only so many changes an author can make to that tale.  Gaughen, however, has taken that story and made it seem new.  Instead of focusing on the action (though there is plenty), she highlights deeper aspects of the legend—the morality, the relationship among the band members, the search for an identity and a home when you are a criminal living in the woods—and she gives these aspects a unique voice, that of a tough girl who apparently knows no grammar.

[ladygrey]

I adore this book.

I wasn't expecting it to be so colloquial, but it's nor jarringly so and there is a reason for it and I fell into the story quickly.

I love Scarlet, which is a little surprinsg because she's not the sort of character I typically like. She's rough and kind of blind. But she's also fun and I liked that she's tough without being invulnerable.

And I love Robin. I love his nobility and that he's blatently heroic. But he's rough as often as he is kind and he's totally protective but also respects her strengths and the way she can take care of herself. And I love John and Much and the dynamic of these guys who are like her brothers and treat her with care as often as they fight with her. I love those kind of relationships.

I also really like Gaughen's writing style. There is a subtle sense of poetry to a lot of it that I enjoyed.

It's fun and has action and great characters and is dripping with romance. Totally my kind of book. At the end I found myself wanting more of this story and secretly hoping this is a trilogy.