Lion Heart by A C Gaughen

Lion Heart (Scarlet, #3)

by A. C. Gaughen

Scarlet has captured the hearts of readers as well as the heart of Robin Hood, and after ceaseless obstacles and countless threats, readers will finally find out the fate of the Lady Thief.

Only the greatest loves can survive great danger. . .

Imprisoned by Prince John for months, Scarlet finds herself a long way from Nottinghamshire. After a daring escape, she learns that King Richard's life is in jeopardy, and Eleanor of Aquitaine needs Scarlet's help to free him. For a lifelong thief, this newfound allegiance to the crown-her family-is a strange feeling.

Scarlet knows that helping Eleanor will put her and those she loves back in Prince John's sights. Desperate not to risk anyone's life but her own, Scarlet formulates a plan to help save the king on her own. But fate-and her heart-won't allow her to stay away from Nottinghamshire for long. Even if Scarlet and Rob can together stop Prince John from going through with his dark plans for England, will their love be enough to save them once and for all?

Reviewed by Amber on

1 of 5 stars

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This review was originally posted on Books of Amber

I really, really dislike - hell, I hate - this series, but I had to finish it. Apparently I hate myself too. I didn't like Scarlet because of the abusive relationships that were romanticised and brushed over, and I only read Lady Thief because I had it on my shelf. Who even knows why I spent money on Lion Heart, because I knew what I was getting into. Whatever, I'm here to call out the abusive and manipulative bastards, so here we go.

So, let's start with Robin. All of a sudden, Robin's PTSD has disappeared like the contrived plot point that it was to begin with. He's suddenly all better. It's a shame Gaughen didn't attempt to fix his personality flaws either, not that I would be interested in reading about that since I'm not here for abuse apologists. And boy, is Robin Hood fucking flawed. And not in a good way either. He has been abusive and manipulative and controlling towards Scarlet from the beginning, and in this one he seems to have chilled out a little bit, but that doesn't excuse his previous actions because they're NEVER FUCKING TALKED ABOUT. Plus, he gets shirty with Scarlet for no reason at all because he's a giant prat.

As a series finale, Lion Heart wasn't that great. Even ignoring the awful characters, the plot was bad. I'm not entirely sure what the point was. I was mildly looking forward to seeing more of Eleanor, and also King Richard. There was little of the former and none of the latter. Scarlet spent the whole book wandering from one place to another,like an incredibly dull rendition of the first third of the Deathly Hallows.

The historical stuff was also poorly done. Bits and pieces were barely mentioned, particularly the bits about Richard being held captive and his eventual return. Don't go into this series expecting a great historical setting, because that's not what this at all.

All in all, Lion Heart is on par with the previous two books in the trilogy, which is say, it's fucking terrible.

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Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 24 June, 2015: Finished reading
  • 24 June, 2015: Reviewed