By A.C. Gaughen
Genre YA Retelling
Pages 287
First Sentence No one really knows 'bout me.
Synopsis
In this retelling of Robin Hood we get to see things from Will Scarlet's perspective. But Will isn't a boy, she's a young woman with mysterious past. With Gisbourne arriving to put a stop to Robin's band things are about to get even more dangerous than usual. Especially since Scarlet has her own reasons to avoid Gisbourne.
What it has going for it
I'm going to now list things this book has going for it from the perspective of someone who did like it. This one has it all. A steamy love triangle, adventure, danger, thieving and a bossy "Edward" like Robin Hood. What's not to like you ask???
What's lacking
Everything! I'm sorry, I knew going into this one I wasn't going to like it. First of all, I guessed the big secret long before I actually read the book. So that was annoying. Second of all the whole accent thing drove me nuts! Besides the fact that it took forever to train my brain to not correct Scarlet's English, I kept wondering why a book taking place in Robin Hood's England outside of London had a protagonist speaking like she was from the 1800's wild west?! What the hell, guys?! So annoying! Oh, and the whole Edward like love interest! Seriously?! I'm sorry, but I'm so sick of reading about these control freak, angst ridden boys and this one was bad, guys, really bad! The adventurous plot wasn't that bad but even it got to be too much for me to handle at the end. Sigh! Oh well. It was a fast read and now I can say I read it.
Yea or Nay?
I seriously think I'm the only person who didn't like this one, so don't take my word for it, but don't say I didn't warn you. ;)
Bummer you didn't like it! I hate when that happens. :(
ReplyDeleteYeah, since I knew I probably wouldn't like it I probably shouldn't have read it. Oh well.
DeleteOh man. You had me going there for a second. I was reading the "what it has going for it" and you were talking about the bossy Edward love triangle thing and right there I went NOPE. In all honesty though, this book never struck me as one I'd enjoy. Based off of your review, I was right.
ReplyDeleteYeah, just avoid it.
DeleteOkay because I know we don't always agree on things, I'm still going to read this. It'll be interesting to see if I think the same or differently.
ReplyDeleteIt will be interesting to see what you think.
DeleteI AM SO WITH YOU. I was so irritated by the over-the-top accent. I hated the love triangle. And I thought the grand reveal was soooo obvious. I enjoyed the action scenes well enough, but it wasn't enough to redeem the book for me. Glad to see I'm not alone!
ReplyDeleteExactly!
DeleteWhen I first read this book, I for some reason liked it. I gave it a good review and everything. Then I tried rereading it a few years later and struggled to get through it. I gave up in the end. I don't know what changed, but I definitely agree with a lot of what you've written. Weird how a few years can change things, but I can't even imagine why I was such a fan of this when I first read it...
ReplyDeleteYeah, it happens. Sometimes books just work better for us at different times in our lives.
DeleteOh, I totally did not like this at all.
ReplyDeleteLOL. Love this review :)
ReplyDeleteI haven't read this one, but I hate big reveals that are so obvious it makes the characters look stupid for not figuring it out sooner. And over-the-top accent writing can be so aggravating. I'm guessing this one would NOT work for me. Thanks for the warning.
What is it about books we know we'll hate but we go ahead anyway? I do that too and then wonder why I even bothered. At least you gave it a go and tried to find something good about it!
ReplyDeleteThat's too bad you didn't like this one! I found Scarlet's language annoying at first too, but I got use to it after a while. I also thought the secret was fairly obvious, but I read this one at the beach when I was in the mood for something light and easy, and so I ended up really enjoying it when I read it!
ReplyDeleteI want to read this, but I'm so afraid of the way it is written!
ReplyDeleteI like the idea of Will Scarlet being a woman, but think that the love triangle would throw me off. I'm really, really tired of love triangles! Hope your next read is better!
ReplyDeleteEh, I was going to read this, but it kind of passed me by. I'm not a huge fan of Will Scarlet as a woman... but only because I had a HUGE crush on Christian Slater back in my teen years, and he played Will Scarlett. ;)
ReplyDeleteI couldn't finish this one. That accent thing going on? I completely agree, I kept wanting to correct her english! It was too bothersome. Plus I just couldn't get into the story at all. Glad to know I'm not the only one who didn't like it.
ReplyDelete