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I'm never getting over this series. Never ever. I love it so much. Scarlet impressed me so much, but Lady Thief just solidified my
How do I love thee? Let me count the ways...
Scarlet
If "Scarlet" isn't at the top of everyone's list of reasons to love this series, I would question their sanity. I flailed a lot over her in my earlier review, so I'll try to rein it in here, but she is just as awesome in Lady Thief, if not moreso. She goes through hell in this book, but she never wallows in self-pity -- even when it would be totally understandable if she did. She also isn't one to place blame anywhere but where it belongs -- on the bad guys. I've seen plenty of heroes blame themselves for the consequences of their fighting for good, for the things the bad guys do in retaliation -- but not Scarlet. She knows who's to blame and she is fiercely set against them. And through it all, she has her sights set on her goals -- being able to be with Robin, and saving the people she cares about, along with keeping all of Nottinghamshire safe, and I just... This girl is fierce and I love her.
"You learned to use your hands to fight for you. And you learned to trust the band to be at your back. You may have even learned to let Rob save you. But you don't need a damn one of those things. Your power, your great gift, is that you never give up. When something fails you make a new plan, and another, and another. You never accept defeat. You never give up."page 61
Scarlet/Robin (aka ROBLET)
The only way I'd understand if Scarlet wasn't someone's favorite thing about this series, is if their favorite thing is ROBLET. Because let's be honest, this is one of those OTP's that makes other ships feel small and inconsequential. There are epic feels EVERYWHERE. Rob and Scar are perfect for each other, and they fight so hard to be together, but Lady Thief throws many more obstacles in their path -- there are some awful things going on with Rob, and of course the whole Gisbourne thing (shhh, spoilers)... Plus, no matter how much they love each other and would love to run off together and escape all the awful things going on in Nottinghamshire, they have to fight for the safety of their town and people -- it's in their natures, no matter how much their happiness might be put at risk because of it. And I JUST HAVE ALL THE FEELS OKAY?
"The shadows aren't the same without you, love."page 147
Believable Bad Guys
Gisbourne was bad enough in Scarlet, but in Lady Thief, he's on a whole other level. He, and many of the upper-class men of the royal court, had me absolutely enraged throughout the book not only because of the way they treated Scarlet, but because of their views of women in general. It was disgusting -- but the reason it was so bad was that it was so believable. Women were basically owned by their husbands during this time, and Lady Thief shows you a side of this that you'd probably rather not think about. But that just served to make me root for Scarlet and Robin and the rest of the good guys even more. The believability of Nottinghamshire's predicament made the plot absolutely gripping.
Historical Figures in Historical Fiction...
I mean... okay, it's debatable whether the legend of Robin Hood is actually historical fiction or, you know, just a legend... But still, these books are set in what I'm pretty sure is a fairly accurate historical setting, and Lady Thief brings in real historical figures. Usually, I hate it when books do this. My brain has a problem reconciling fictional characters and their interactions with real historical figures. But in Lady Thief, it worked for me. I actually really loved the way Gaughen dealt with these "characters", and I applaud her for making them feel not like stuffy historically-accurate representations, but actual people.
Feeeeeeeeeeeels!!!
Okay, this subject is rather all-encompassing, but seriously, it cannot be emphasized enough. Scarlet and Lady Thief are full of feels and they will wring out your heart and stomp on it and then attempt to put it back together only to have it wrung out again. But it's so worth it.
Part of the reason these books are so good is the fact that the characters face horrible situations, and those situations have real consequences. So many times, the good guys face near-insurmountable odds only to come out the other side unscathed. Which can be great, and uplifting, and whatever. In Lady Thief, these characters are facing terrible situations, and there is no way that they could ever come out unscathed. So they don't. Like I mentioned earlier, believability is a huge issue for me when it comes to bad guys - and it's a huge issue for me when it comes to high-stakes situations, as well. And in Lady Thief, as one should expect, actions have consequences. Even for the good guys.
In conclusion...
I feel like that last paragraph might have scared some of you away -- obviously that was not my intention. For me, the best books are the ones that make me feel ALL THE FEELS, and those usually turn out to be the intense ones with many soul-crushing feels along with the good.
If you haven't read these books, they need to be on the top of your TBR; not only are they so incredibly good, they're doing things that most YA I've been reading lately just doesn't do, and you need to experience them for yourself. They're unbearably gripping, and I just cannot recommend them enough.