Review: Lion Heart

Lion Heart by A.C. Gaughen
Grade: A-
Release date: May 19th, 2015
This ARC was provided by Bloomsbury USA Childrens in exchange for an honest review.
Summary: Scarlet has captured the hearts of readers as well as the heart of Robin Hood, and after ceaseless obstacles and countless threats, readers will finally find out the fate of the Lady Thief.

Imprisoned by Prince John for months, Scarlet finds herself a long way from Nottinghamshire. After a daring escape from the Prince's clutches, she learns that King Richard’s life is in jeopardy, and Eleanor of Aquitaine demands a service Scarlet can’t refuse: spy for her and help bring Richard home safe. But fate—and her heart—won’t allow her to stay away from Nottinghamshire for long, and together, Scarlet and Rob must stop Prince John from going through with his dark plans for England. They can not rest until he’s stopped, but will their love be enough to save them once and for all?

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly: It took me forever to crack open my ARC of Lion Heart. I definitely wasn't ready for the trilogy to end, and I was scared of what A.C. Gaughen would have in store, after the pain that Lady Thief caused. And speaking of the second book in the trilogy, I found it to be stronger than Lion Heart. But this final book is still good and it wrapped up all the plots nicely. Scarlet is a character with depth and a fully-formed personality. She's extremely loyal and protective and clever. Queen Eleanor is still awesome. I love how bratty John is. My one character complaint is that King Richard never actually makes an on-page appearance and I desperately wanted to see him interact with Scarlet. There's a part on about page 77 of my ARC that was great character interaction. Scarlet is surrounded by strong women and they're all tending to each other and I loved it. Scarlet and Rob still have emotional wounds (and some physical) and none of these were shoved under the rug. I appreciate it when characters realistically suffer from things they've experienced. (Side note: that's why I like Mockingjay so much.) The plot is well-formed and revolves mainly around "defeating" Prince John and keeping the ransom money for King Richard safe. I liked how everything played out.
Romance is fairly clean. (There is talk of sleeping together, but the couple in question is married.) Violence and language aren't too bad.

The Verdict: If you haven't read this trilogy, get on that right now.

"I will sacrifice anything to protect these people from your pain," I told him, fierce and loud. "But if you swing that whip, it's not for the people. It's so you can hurt me. I am not where you get to vent your childish anger. I am not weak, and I am not broken, and I will not be hurt by you."

Buy: Read Between the Lynes  Barnes & Noble

Will I be adding this book to my library?: I hope so!