What a Scoundrel Wants (Zebra Debut) [Mass Market Paperback]

One of my favorite heroes in literature is Robin Hood. My love for this character goes way back to when Errol Flynn played Robin Hood on the big screen. There was just something so dashing about the man who would fight for those who couldn't defend themselves, and sacrificed so much for those around him. His undying love for Maid Marian, and hers for Robin, is one of the best romances in literature.

The book I have reviewed here is not about Robin Hood directly, but one of Robin's fellow outlaws. Carrie Lofty has decided to write about Will Scarlett, who was a member of Robin's band of merry thieves. If you have seen the 1991 movie, Prince of Thieves with Kevin Costner playing Robin, then you remember Christian Slater as Will Scarlet. In that movie we find out Will is Robin's long lost half-brother. In Carrie's What a Scoundrel Wants, Robin is Will's uncle, and Will has turned his back on everything Robin believed in. Will works for a new evil Sheriff of Nottingham. What a Scoundrel Wants takes place a few years later, after Robin became an outlaw. He is now off fighting with King Richard, and his wife, Marian, and their young son are all alone at Locksley Manor, waiting for Robin's safe return. Will was supposed to stay and watch over Marian, but he left because he feels he did something so horrible, where he destroyed the trust Robin has placed in him.

Will needs to survive and he aligns himself with the Sheriff for reasons some readers may think is a very selfish one. But Will is all alone. He has no where else to turn to. He hates what he has to do, but sucks it up and makes the best of it, just like he always has. Will is responsible for arresting a young woman buy the name of Ada, who was trying to use some counterfeit emeralds while she was in Nottingham. She was placed in the dungeon where Peter Finch, the Sheriff, wants Ada to make him more. Finch has a way with a knife and gives Ada a taste of some torture to make her do what he wants. Ada has no choice but to agree, even though it is her sister, Meg, who is the one responsible in making these jewels.

Meg is on her way to rescue Ada. Her party is besieged by a representative of the Sheriff. Will happens to be included in this group of men, and before he knows it, both sides are fighting each other. Will doesn't notice Meg at first, until she is caught by one of the Sheriff's men who will probably rape and kill her. Will saves Meg and brings her safely away. But he then realizes by saving Meg, he may have made himself an outlaw once again. Will wants to lose Meg, but because he has a sense of chivalry, he will help her return home. Will is in for quite the surprise, because Meg is not some meek gentlewoman, but is rather waspish and stubborn. He feels the sting of her tongue and she never really does thank him for coming to her rescue. All Will wants to do is rest since he was hurt in the fray, but Meg complains to the point where he leaves her by the river to fend for herself. And he doesn't care that Meg is blind.

Meg's blindness wasn't from birth, but rather because of a horrible illness. The reason she is so rude and basically a bitch because she is out of her element. She hates everything about her life, from her lack of sight, to the death of her father, and even that of her Ada, who she felt betrayed her by lusting after her lover. If it were up to Meg, she would let her sister rot, but since Ada is her sister, and endangered herself by selling the counterfeit jewels, Meg has no choice, because of family honor, to save Ada.

Even though the forest may seem a pretty big place to get lost in, Will and Meg keeping coming in contact with one another. They actually need each other. Meg needs his eyes, and for Will to help her save Ada. Will can't turn away from Meg because he finds her to be very intriguing. She gives him a sense of honor and begrudging respect. Will feels he finally has a purpose when it comes to Meg, and as he learns who this particular woman is, he begins to fall in love with her.

Not only does Will have to work for Meg's respect and love, he has to face his own internal demons, such as the ones he has for Robin and Marian, and his guilt with working for the other side. He also has to stay alive and make sure Meg is safe because Will's former employer, the Sheriff of Nottingham, now wants Meg for his own evil plans and will kill anyone who gets in his way.

What a Scoundrel Wants has a lot of action, tension and many layers to the characters Carrie has written. This is a gritty story, where violence, torture and greed is a way of life. Meg suffers a great deal from the injustices against her. I can understand why she acts out the way she does, but it got to a point that I wanted someone to smack her and tell her to get over it, we all have problems you snotty brat. Yes, Meg reminded me a bratty little girl who would throw a temper tantrum to get what she wanted. At least Will wasn't a push over and wouldn't put up with her crap. When he left her by the river to fend for herself, I wondered if Meg had fallen into the river by accident and could have drowned, would I have been sympathetic? I don't think so.

My main peeve with What a Scoundrel Wants was the character of Meg. I did feel for her anguish because of her handicap and everything that has gone wrong in her life, but enough is enough. Because Meg is so bitter towards her sister Ada, for impeaching on a past lover, Meg feels that Ada should suffer like she has. So what if Ada is at the hands of some deranged psycho who likes to use his knife to cut Ada's tender flesh? Ada had the audacity to steal her blind sister's boyfriend at the time. I also found the way that Meg treated Will was very harsh. Again, I understand that she couldn't trust him right away, but her harpy like attitude towards him was a bit grating. And when horny Meg decides to literally mount Will, while he is under a fever induced sleep because he was hurt saving Meg, I was disgusted. I can't figure out at the moment why Meg would want Will, because you can practically see her seething with hate for Scarlet. And since Will is weak and Meg is straddling his naked bits with her own naked ones, he has no choice but to give Meg what she wants. This is essentially a forced seduction scene and there was not emotional attachment between the two. Meg needed a warm male body to quench her desires and Will had no other choice but to go along with it. That scene left me very unsatisfied.

I was more interested in Will and his inner turmoil, especially when he confronts those demons. As for his epiphany toward Meg, where he comes to the conclusion that he loves her, that doesn't ring true to me. I never saw anything between these two that would make me think that they are perfect for one another. If Will had saved the day and left Meg to look for brighter pastures, I wouldn't have been surprised.

Other than my issues with the love story between Meg and Will, I found Carrie's writing to be almost lyrical in her telling. I felt like I was reading a ballad, a medieval poetry about knights whose armor is less than shining. The action scenes were great, and I could taste the blood and desperation in the air. I was also very intrigued by Ada and the relationship she had with Peter Finch, the Sheriff. I think there was more than meets the eye between these two and not just the one introductory scene of torture Finch inflicts on Ada. I am not sure if Carrie meant to keep this a mystery, or if something was left out because I feel that a few interactions were missing between these two. The final scene between Ada and Finch was somewhat confusing, mainly because the way Ada overreacts to Finch when he tells her he will never let her go.

I have been on the fence as to what grade to give What a Scoundrel Wants. I did find Carrie's writing excellent and the atmosphere of the novel to be incredible, but I couldn't get over my dislike with Meg and the lack of chemistry between her and Will. Their romance just didn't do anything for me.

I have to hand it to Carrie for finally giving a most beloved character his own story. I just wish his mate would have been more worthy of his love.

Katiebabs

Carrie Lofty is an author that I will be watching in the future. Her debut novel What A Scoundrel Wants is a delightfully unique Robin Hood tale that really keeps you on your toes. This book was adventurous and intriguing, a real page turner. The way she wrote her characters made the story seem so real. I found this delightful story to be very engrossing. This is a very exciting book. I recommend it highly if you like a great romantic adventure story.

Haunted by thoughts of Sherwood Forest, Will Scarlett journeys through Charnwood Forest. Separated from Robin Hood and Marian, the forest is a reminder of happier days and the longtime rift between Robin Hood and his nephew. When a battle between Lord Whitstowe and Roger Carlisle, representative of the Sheriff of Nottingham and Will's superior, breaks out, Will hardly knows which way to turn until he hears the screams of a woman in the background. Protecting her by instinct from Carlisle's men's plans, Will knows not where to go amidst all the plots and double crosses. Will Scarlet turns to the woman as the only witness to the truth, the only witness who might stand in the way of his hanging. For Meg of Kentworth, the lie is easy. She needs protection and if Will Scarlett can help her get there faster, all the better. Blind from an illness, she is determined to save her imprisoned sister Ada. Arrested by Will Scarlett himself, Meg has every reason to hate Will but the closeness brought on by their uneasy pairing sets off sparks of desire in both Meg and Scarlett. Can Will and Meg's growing passion for one another be enough to see them through the dangers of their journeys and even more, set the past aright?

Carrie Lofty's debut medieval romance WHAT A SCOUNDREL WANTS blazes onto the scene with a new chapter of the Robin Hood tale, a tale that makes this classic come alive like never before with emotion, passionate romance, and suspenseful adventure. With a hero and heroine at cross purposes, the tension between them is palpable in priceless dialogue as the two banter, each standing up to the other. Despite her blindness, Meg is a defiant and brave woman, just the woman to tame the man known as a scoundrel, the man who betrayed Robin Hood. Clever and creative, Meg has the power to heal not only physical wounds but deeper injuries. Torn between families and their love, the passion between them has the power to heal or divide.

Carrie Lofty has a gift for both the action scenes and also vivid descriptive detail that makes one feel the passions and thoughts of her characters. The physical landscape captures the imagination not only by placing the reader right there but also as part of the inner lives of her characters as can be seen in Will Scarlet's relationship to the forest and Meg's relationship to fire. WHAT A SCOUNDREL WANTS is a sensuous romance, with a passionate, emotional romance as well as sensuous in the action scenes. The sights, the smells, the touch come alive in vivid detail.

One scene in particular towards the end, blew me away with a riveting tension-filled moment, a moment so close to heart-breaking. Carrie Lofty takes the reader right to the edge and then, at just the right moment, with the perfect twist, the romance expands into such a passionate, joyous moment. In the midst of that dynamic edge moment, the author reaches deeper with such insight into her characters and love itself that I fell in love with both Will Scarlet and Meg. WHAT A SCOUNDREL WANTS is a fine mix of intrigue, action and emotional depth. The transformation in the hero and the heroine as they love one another is just beautiful. Carrie Lofty captures in fiction and precise imagery the essence of a good man. Even though Will Scarlet is very much a scoundrel bad boy, in some ways, in love, he has a self-presence to put Meg's interest above what is expedient, to trust her and protect her without diminishing her. Although set in distant times, WHAT A SCOUNDREL WANTS captures in imagery, psychological depth and imagination, a timeless truth in the way only fiction can. WHAT A SCOUNDREL WANTS is an exciting book --- a book to read slowly in order to savor in all its details. Keep a hanky for the ending --- not for tears of pain but joyful tears.