FOODFIC: Scarlet - A.C. Gaughen

This was my pick for the 2012 debut author event over at Midnight Reads, so I’m double-dipping here a bit by now taking a FoodFic look at it as well.

Now, even though this is an entirely new review, I have to start it the same way: 

I loved this book.

I loved the heroine (Scarlet): the knife-throwing, branch-hopping, foxy right hand of Robin Hood that the people don’t know is actually a she. I loved Rob with his rakish smile and English-Channel gray-blue eyes, as well as the rest of the merry band of thieves. I loved that Gaughen covered all the bases: action, mystery, romance.

And yes, I even liked the food scenes, not necessarily because of what is served but for how it is used to reveal facets of Scarlet herself. The band takes most of their meals at Friar Tuck’s, where the menu consists of items like “some kind of slop with barley and carrots in it and a hunk of stale bread.” 

Of course, that’s only Scarlet’s immediate cynical assessment of the supper placed before her; bandmate Much is quick to inform her that it’s rabbit stew and it’s actually quite good. Unfortunately, “good” hasn’t come around much in Scarlet’s life, so it’s hard for her to recognize even when it’s right in front of her and impossible for her to ever expect. But over the course of the story, thanks to Rob and the others, that begins to change – she changes – and we start to believe she might finally get a taste happiness. :)