Book Review: Lady Thief by A.C. Gaughen

Lady Thief by A.C. Gaughen
Publisher: Walker Children's
Publication date: February 2014
Pages: 320
Source: E-book from NetGalley
For: Review
Series: Scarlet, Book 2

Summary from goodreads: *Spoilers are inevitable for the first book*

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.

Things I Liked:
I enjoyed seeing how Scarlet manages to still be tough and fight back even when injured and in a very restricted position.  I think she's an interesting and unique person, one with many very apparent flaws that I still seem to like.  The story was a little bit thin and slow, but I wanted to know the outcome all the same.  It seemed very much a battle they were unable to win.  The author manages to make the ending both happy and horrifying at the same time.  Win but still lose.

Things I Didn't Like:
I have to admit, I spent much of this book not being interested at all.  It felt like nothing ever happened, Scarlet was doing and saying the same things over and over.  The ending was quite fast and exciting, but pretty much everything before was dull, slow, and very thin on plot as I mentioned above.  It was a drag to read it, even if I liked hearing about Scarlet and the way she could fight back despite her situation.  I'll probably continue to read the series, but with less enthusiasm.

Read-alikes:
The Outlaws of Sherwood by Robin McKinley (which I still haven't read!  ACH!)

BOOK CONTENT RATINGS:
s-factor: !
some

mrg-factor: X
mostly kissing

v-factor: ->->
some rather brutal scenes

Overall rating: ***

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