A review by nicolepeck
Scarlet by Jen Geigle Johnson

3.0

My rating is probably more accurately 3.5 stars, but I rounded down, unfortunately, on this one because I struggled to keep my interest in the book the whole time, especially for such a short book (around 250 pages). There were really great moments and then it would come to a screeching halt, in the action, the flow and continuity of the story, so I got confused at times on what was going on and the timeline of events, with the narrative bouncing back and forth between Scarlet's and Matteo's perspectives and not always seamlessly. I really was intrigued by the premise, a retelling of the classic Scarlet Pimpernel story (the movie of which I absolutely love and having read the first book by Baroness Orczy and enjoyed it), with the twist of the Pimpernel being a woman and I enjoyed the unique elements that added to the mystery surrounding the Pimpernel and Scarlet's interactions with the League, Matteo, etc. Again, though, I struggled with some gaps left in the story-telling as far as time line and sometimes even the flow of conversation and action. Despite my struggles, the descriptions were well done and I could picture the action, the hidden messages and weapons that Scarlet devised, her costumes, the setting, the balls, etc. There were a few footnotes throughout the book and some author's notes at the end of the book that reinforced to me how extensive the author was with her research. Looking at other reviews, I do seem to be in the minority. I will have to re-read this one down the road to see if it works better for me the second time around.

***I received a copy of this book from a blog tour in exchange for my honest review.***