Lady Thief
(Scarlet 2)
Author: A.C. Gaughen
Publisher: Walker Children, 2014
Genre: YA Fairy Tale
Buy: Amazon ♥ B&N ♥ TBD
Scarlet’s true identity has been revealed, but her future is uncertain. Her forced marriage to Lord Gisbourne threatens Robin and Scarlet’s love, and as the royal court descends upon Nottingham for the appointment of a new Sheriff, the people of Nottingham hope that Prince John will appoint their beloved Robin Hood. But Prince John has different plans for Nottingham that revolve around a fateful secret from Scarlet’s past even she isn’t yet aware of. Forced to participate at court alongside her ruthless husband, Scarlet must bide her time and act the part of a noblewoman—a worthy sacrifice if it means helping Robin’s cause and a chance at a future with the man she loves. With a fresh line of intrigue and as much passion as ever, the next chapter in Scarlet’s tale will have readers talking once again.
They might have won the battle against the sheriff of Nottingham, but now Scarlet and her friends must prepare for war, because royalty is coming into town. Prince John and the Queen mother will be present to appoint a new sheriff. Scarlet knows that if she ever hopes to bring peace to the people the position must go to Robin. Lucky for them, the opportunity comes in the form of a tournament. But Gisbourne has also returned with an offer that Scarlet can’t refuse; the chance to get her marriage annulled.
Lady Thief sweeps you into another adventure with Scarlet, Robin Hood, and their friends as they set out to win the tournament against all odds. Jousting, sword fights, an archery contest, all entangled with a blazing romance.
There is no question now as to how much Scarlet and Rob love each other, and I was pleasantly surprised that the love triangle element was completely dismantled in this book. Sadly, the couple doesn't have an easy time about it. After being tortured at the hands of Gisbourne in the last book, Rob is dealing with some serious PTSD—nightmares that have him waking up in the middle of the night and reacting violently. Scarlet refuses to leave his side, even when Rob unconsciously beats her. But the other kids, especially John, are wary and counsel Scarlet away. Regardless of her wishes, she still has to part from Rob to fulfill her end of the deal with Gisbourne.
When Scarlet returns to the castle, she is as tough as ever, ready to challenge authority to save the people of Nottinghamshire. But I think that some of her cleverness in planning and being smart with her moves went right out the window. She didn’t think things through, and that got her into a lot of trouble. I believe at one point I screamed, “Use yer head!” Also, I really thought she would have to fend for herself at the castle, rely only on her own strength and cunning to deal with the nobles. But then the rest of the story Scarlet moves fairly easily between the castle and the town. She was never deprived of outside help, and it just seemed too easy. It took the tension out of many of the things happening. Though, as a trade off, with all the sneaking around we do get a lot of fiery hot scenes between Rob and Scarlet.
One of the main obstacles Scarlet had to deal with was Gisbourne. Let me confess that I get so so conflicted when bad characters start to act nice. I have to be like, “No! Remember he is evil. He is evil!” This is exactly what happened with Gisbourne in this sequel. He starts talking about how he protects what is his no matter what, and even when he is horrible to Scarlet, there were times when he went out of his way to shield her from harm. He seems particularly sorry after what is done to her hand, and he gifts her a knife when she goes face her parents, knowing that having a weapon would soothe her. It all came down to me developing a soft spot for the bastard! Unnaceptable! But well done A.C. Gaughen for manipulating my emotions like that. Anyone can write an evil villain, but not everyone can write an evil villain and make me care for him.
The sequel delivered all that I hoped for and more, I just wish the story had more tension. The last chapters had plenty of tension and conflict, and I loved every single page till the last. It was a cliffhanger ending, so I’ll definitely be waiting for the next installment and hoping to learn more about Scarlet’s newest friends—Allan a Dale, the Earl of Winchester, and Queen Eleanor herself.
*Arc copy provided by the publisher via Netgalley*
Favorite Quotes:
~Scarlet~
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.
~Lady Thief~
I nudged his face with my nose until he brought his mouth down to mine for another kiss like magic potion. I needed some unholy kind of strength and courage to walk away from him.He broke it off with a heavy sighing. “I love you, Scarlet. Go on, now, before you steal my sanity too,” he said.
“Too?” I questioned.
His grin by the moon were wicked and handsome. “Thief of my heart.”
~Coins~
“Here,” Gisbourned said as I were done. He tossed a purse of coin my way and I snatched it. “The princess will expect you to spend.”I peeked inside. “You won’t see any of this back, you know.”
His lip curled up like a dog. “So be it. You’ve already been stealing from me anyway, haven’t you?”
Tying the purse inside my skirts, I didn’t cop to it none.
“Marian,” he said.
“Fine, I nicked the coins,” I said, rolling my eyes. “You married a thief, you should hide things better.”
