Title: Scarlet
Author: A.C Gaughen
Publisher: Bloomsbury
New cover release date: May 2018 (all three books)
Synopsis:
Scarlet is good at keeping secrets. To the people of Nottingham, she's Will Scarlet, the young lad who protects those who cannot protect themselves. To Robin Hood and his band of thieves, she's the girl with a tongue as sharp as her knives. But nobody knows the truth about Scarlet's life before Nottingham - not even Rob, whose quick smiles have the rare power to unsettle her. And when someone from her past comes hurtling back into her life, everything she's fought for is suddenly at risk, including her own life.
The idea of a Robin Hood retelling is intriguing. When I was younger I loved watching the cartoon versions and immersing myself in the story of Sherwood's own hero. Now fast forward time to the beginning of this year when I received a copy of Reign the Earth by A.C Gaughen (review here!) and I loved it! So with the curiosity of a Robin Hood retelling mixed with the words of A.C Gaughen, comes this trilogy, and I was kinda keen.
Firstly, the first book was published in 2012 - they have been rereleased with these beautiful new covers. Now because I had read the authors more recent work, I found myself comparing them a little bit however, they are totally different stories (duh!) so I quickly embraced the writing style of book one - Scarlet.
It. Was. Hard.
Robin Hood originates like around the 15th - 16th century, I'm not sure on the era the author was focusing on since I have no clue on what it was like but the language takes some getting used to BUT I promise you it gets easier. Though perhaps, you shouldn't read a second book at the same time as Scarlet.
The main character Scarlet, is clearly traumatised from her past life - I actually feel like their should be a trigger warning for disordered eating, she seems to reject food or give it to someone else as what seems to be a form of self punishment. While her character developed throughout the entire story, it was definitely lacking in the beginning which made it hard to connect with her at all. She is though, pretty badass which was one of my favourite things about the book.
I really liked two of the side characters - John and Much - especially Much, but I didn't really like Robin all that much. It was like he was constantly changing his mind on things and it just didn't sit well with me. Me being me, I was very interested in the 'main villain' of the story: Gisbourne, and it was unfortunate he was not featured as much though I definitely think he'll feature in the next two books.
Okay, now for the romance, I did not like it. It would have been better if there was absolutely nothing or just an attraction type thing. I thought it wasn't developed enough and so the characters 'romantic' feelings were kind of confusing.
Okay, so I didn't love this book but if you're into Robin Hood I think you'll enjoy this trilogy for the most part.
If you want me to do a full review of the next two books - let me know! Otherwise there will be definite updates on Instagram (@erenareads)
Rating: 2.5/5
----
*These books were sent to me unsolicited by Bloomsbury Australia. All opinions are my own.
WHERE YOU CAN FIND ME:
Contact: erenabennett@hotmail.com
Instagram: @erenareads & @erena_b
Goodreads: @erenareads
Twitter: @erenareads
YouTube: My Life As Erena or click here
Follow my blog with Bloglovin'!
No comments:
Post a Comment