A. C. Gaughen

Scarlet's story continues in this romance-filled, action-packed second book in A. C. Gaughen's stunning twist on Robin Hood. * "A rip-roaring tale." --Booklist, starred review, on Scarlet Life can never go back to normal now that Scarlet has been forced to marry the man of her nightmares. In order to win a life with her love, Robin, Scarlet must abandon her knives to fight a different kind of battle--one within the castle walls at court, fought with secrets and skillful manipulation. But doing so will test the limits of Scarlet's courage, especially when she discovers a truth no one was ever supposed to know. A truth that will change the course of her life forever . . . Don't miss these other books from A. C. Gaughen: The Scarlet series Scarlet Lady Thief Lion Heart The Elementae series Reign the Earth Imprison the Sky

A Scarlet Novel

Lady Thief

A.C. Gaughen

The fresh, feminine twist on Robin Hood continues in this sequel to the romance-filled, action-packed Scarlet

dija

This wasn't as good as the first one but still not disappointing. Also, there's a lot of beating going on here so i gotta warn you.

Leah Patton

AHHHHHHH! I CAN'T BELIEVE THIS BOOK JUST HAPPENED. This book was all caps GOOD! Scarlet was romantic, but this, this was something else.
In the last book my main concern was Robin. I get that he was tortured about loving Scarlet and trying to hurt himself by being mean to her but still, at times he was vicious. I'm all for equal rights but most of the time, it was uncalled for and seemed to come out of nothing. Everything would be lovely and then in the next moment, he was dark and angry. Thankfully, in this book, that was completely gone. Robin was so sweet, he made me swoon. All he wanted was for Scarlet to be happy and safe.
One thing that was confusing was Gisbourne. He protected her only to beat her with his own hands later. I get the territorial thing where an abusive guy is like, you're mine, I love you, no one else can have you, but this was something different. Something that was unidentifiable to me. He was just a confusing character. Read and find out!
Also THAT ENDING! I got down to only a few chapters and I could just tell that it wasn't going to end here. To be honest, I was a little disappointed. Although I'm so excited to be with Scarlet in this world, it's so annoying that they can't be happy! Everything that goes wrong, does, and in that way, it's kind of predictable.
The next book, however, (if there is one, I haven't checked) speaks of an ending! A happy ending where they are in love and married and having babies! HOT! :)

Ella Zegarra

Reseña completa: El Extraño Gato del Cuento

No tengo idea qué me pasó con Lady Thief cuando empecé a leerlo. Con Scarlet solo me tomó un día devorarlo, me gustaría decirles que alargué la lectura de Lady Thief para disfrutarlo, pero sería mentir, me costó un montón volver conectarme con la historia.

Tiene un inicio bastante tedioso, ni siquiera le puedo echar la culpa a qué leí el primer libro hace mucho tiempo ¿Fui solo yo la que sintió que es un inicio, no quería decirlo pero no encuentro otra palabra que lo defina, aburrido? Si lo están leyendo ahora, les digo que mejora... Bueno, eso depende de como tus nervios lo tomen porque lo que Gaughen nos hace en esta segundo libro...

Seguro que lo que pensaste sobre este segundo libro es que la autora quizás nos daría un libro de relleno y puente para el tercero, un libro dónde quizás no pasaría mucho y Scarlet tendría un poco de tranquilidad ¿Verdad? Si la respuesta es sí, ay, pobre alma inocente eres. Porque... *risa maníaca* jajajajaja *risa maníaca* porque una escritora dicen tiene un poco de alma ¿verdad? JAJAJAJAJAAJAJA NOOOOOOO, KITTENS, LA SEÑORA GAUGHEN NO TIENE ALMA, Y SI LA TIENE ES HORRIBLE.

Uno como lector siempre se da a la idea de que hay personajes fijos, que a esos personajes por más en peligro que esté siempre encontrarán la forma de salir victoriosos, Hollywood nos enseñó eso ¿no? Entonces, entenderán mi completo horror cuando terminé Lady Thief, no porque haya sido un libro malo, todo lo contrario, es solo que... No me lo esperaba para nada. Hay algo que me encanta cuando leo un libro así, tan cruel, es que se me hacen mucho más reales porque no siempre vas a ganar, no siempre vendrá la salida mágica, por muy heroína, badass y tengas más vidas que un gato.

El primero me encantó, pero este segundo no llegó a llenar mis expectativas por esa mitad de libro tan lenta, donde casi no pasó nada, solo angustia, y ya cuando pasa algo fue como cuando frenas en seco, ¿te vas para adelante y tu cerebro revota dentro de tu cráneo? Sí, así fue.

Scarlet’s story continues in this romance-filled, action-packed twist on Robin Hood, now with a new series look!

Kerry Gibbons

Finished in under a day again. This one got a bit dark but it's good. Sometimes main characters need to be maimed or murdered for the story to move!

Marissa Scudlo

b.andherbooks

At the end of Scarlet, Rob has confessed his love for our lady thief, endured torture, and was bravely rescued after Scarlet agrees to marry the terrible Guy of Gisbourne. Scarlet and the rest of the band escape (and we have no smoochies).

So, whence we meet our beloved characters again, Scarlet, Rob, John, and Much are hiding out, even more in trouble for their actions on the terrible day they blew the castle walls. Rob and Scarlet are deeply in love, but haven't yet kissed, and Rob is suffering massive PTSD from the torture he is barely recovered from. This trauma is also leading him to unintentionally hurt Scarlet during his dreams, which angers the rest of the band, and causes her to agree to an odd proposal from her still-husband, Guy. Guy vows that if she comes to the castle, acts as his wife, and persuades King John to appoint him Sheriff, he will allow an annulment of their marriage.

Scarlet takes the deal, with massive consequences for all, especially herself. More light is shed on Scarlet's past, revealing secrets even she was unaware of.

Man. This book. I powered through it in one night because I just couldn't stand not knowing. And oh, the tension between Scarlet and Rob. Gaughen does an amazing job of making REAL characters. While it is terrible what Rob is going through, I find it utterly believable. I also enjoy that Gaughen honors the faith both Rob and Scarlet have, which leads them to make decisions based on their souls, not on their desires.

Also, Gaughen does an excellent job showing the plight of women during this time; their lack of power, their "weaknesses" all caused by their status as property. Our poor Scarlet is subjected to so much, but it is a wonder to see her keep her head up high, and her faith she will find a solution (with help from no one).

I don't want to say much more, because dammit read these books. I'm sorry I waited so long!

Lacey

Originally posted at Booklovers For Life

Oh. My. GOD! I honestly didn’t think Lady Thief could meet the high expectations I had after Scarlet, but Lady Thief blew me away! It’s a stunning, incredible sequel to Scarlet. I wholeheartedly loved Lady Thief, with its cast of unforgettable, lovable characters and unique writing. If you loved Scarlet, Lady Thief will not disappoint you! And if you haven’t read Scarlet, you really should–A.C. Gaughen’s Scarlet series is one of my favorite series ever! It’s an action-packed historical fiction, a refreshing fairytale retelling, and a heart-stopping romance all wrapped into one mind-blowing package.

“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.”

Lady Thief follows shortly after Scarlet’s ending (and can I just say how THANKFUL I am that A.C. Gaughen wrote a sequel to Scarlet? Because I am so, so happy she did). Scarlet’s true identity as a woman of high class, as Marian of Leaford, is finally out in the open, the love between Scarlet and Rob has blossomed, but things aren’t exactly going well right now. For one thing, Scarlet is married to Lord Gisbourne, who is an evil man. Scarlet had to marry Gisbourne in order to save Rob, who was tortured horribly. Rob is safe now, but he constantly has nightmares in which he harms Scarlet in his sleep. There’s tension brewing between Robin Hood and his Merry Men, but there’s no doubt that all of them, Rob, Scarlet, John, and Much, will stick by each other through thick and thin. I’d missed the four of them, and I loved revisiting the bonds and camaraderie between them again.

Scarlet is once again a total badass in Lady Thief. I adore Scarlet. She’s a fierce, strong, compassionate girl who loves with all her heart, and will protect those she loves with everything she has. In Lady Thief, she always puts those she loves above herself–she’d give her life for them, and she basically does when she agrees to be a proper wife for her husband. Even in the midst of political drama including a cruel, despicable prince, Scarlet never gives up and never goes down without a fight. She fights for the people of her town, and especially for Rob and for their love. I love her for her perseverance, for fighting to have the future she wants with Rob. It’s an incredibly difficult road getting to their happily ever after, but Scarlet doesn’t give up.

And do you know what A.C. Gaughen has done to me? She’s made me fall head over heels in love with Robin Hood. I never gave a crap about the fairy tale Robin Hood before, but then I read about Scarlet’s Rob and it was love at first page. In Lady Thief, he’s a little broken after his torture, and attacking Scarlet in his sleep isn’t helping him get better. Even though the book is in Scarlet’s POV, I could just feel his shame and agony over hurting Scarlet, even unintentionally, because he just loves her so much. He’s such a vivid character, someone I can conjure up in my mind so easily. He’s loyal, compassionate, loving, and he has such a kind heart. He’s a thoroughly good man, and he and Scarlet are absolutely perfect for each other.

“It’s strange,” he said low in my ear. “When night falls my chest is full of fear, but holding you like this, Scar, I can’t help but feel grateful. Joyous. By the light of day, I still cannot fathom that I’m the one you love.”
I turned a little to look at him. “I do love you. I always will.”

Oh my goodness, my heart flutters every single time Rob opens his mouth. He and Scarlet are so much more romantic in Lady Thief, and I was grinning so much! They fight so hard to find a way to annul Scarlet’s marriage to Gisbourne, and they won’t stop until they can finally be together out in the open. They have a captivating, passionate love that made me swoon and sigh. It’s sometimes painful too, because they just have so many obstacles in the way of their happily ever after.

“These schemes may benefit the people, Scarlet, but I fight for you.” His hands squeezed my waist a little bit, and it made my blood run fast. “I will always fight for you.”

The other characters in Lady Thief are just as compelling as Scarlet and Rob. They all have their distinctive personalities, even the evil characters, and they made Lady Thief such a great book to read. There’s never a dull moment, and especially in the second half of the book, I was at the edge of my seat, nearly biting my nails. Things get intense in this book, and I loved every second of it!

Lady Thief is an absolute must read–Scarlet fans, you don’t want to miss this one! This whole series is brilliant–the story is executed perfectly, and the characters are so consuming to read about. I highly, highly recommend the Scarlet series–it’s unputdownable and unforgettable!

Quotes are taken from the ARC and are subject to change in the final version.

Thanks to the publisher for generously providing me an ARC to review.

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madie anne 

holy fuck, Gaughen really knows how to twist your emotions. what a fucking page turner.

Lady Thief A Scarlet Novel

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