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3.44 AVERAGE
3.44 AVERAGE
medium-paced
I liked Robin Hood being a problematic girlboss but I didn’t like how horny Jane was for him and how everyone told her she was going to regret her choices and she ignored all of them. She felt dumb! And not in a fun way!
adventurous
dark
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Thank you Penguin Books and Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review The Traitor of Sherwood Forest!
Amy S. Kaufman's debut novel is a must read for historical fiction lovers and people who love the ballad Robin Hood! Kaufman's authoritative voice grounds the historical aspect, but her spin on this tale brings the fictionalizations to life!
Robin Hood is a folk hero far more complex than how he is portrayed in modern media. And when viewed through the eyes of one of his spies, particularly a woman, how does the perception of the "hero" change?
I loved reading Kaufman's debut, and I will be waiting for her next piece of historical fiction! It is a brilliant balance of historical realism and literary romance. I couldn't wait to see what choices our FMC would make or how she would figure out Robin's latest game.
Amy S. Kaufman's debut novel is a must read for historical fiction lovers and people who love the ballad Robin Hood! Kaufman's authoritative voice grounds the historical aspect, but her spin on this tale brings the fictionalizations to life!
Robin Hood is a folk hero far more complex than how he is portrayed in modern media. And when viewed through the eyes of one of his spies, particularly a woman, how does the perception of the "hero" change?
I loved reading Kaufman's debut, and I will be waiting for her next piece of historical fiction! It is a brilliant balance of historical realism and literary romance. I couldn't wait to see what choices our FMC would make or how she would figure out Robin's latest game.
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Books for the advanced digital copy in exchange for my honest review.
The Traitor of Sherwood Forest by Amy S. Kaufman is a retelling of Robin Hood based on the original medieval version of the story, not how we have come to know him in the modern day. This Robin is much more morally grey, with once good intentions now gone bad. In the center of this story is not Robin, however, it’s a young woman named Jane Crowe. Jane is dating Bran, who works for Robin, and through him she gains a job at the Kings Houses to spy for Robin. As she gets closer to Robin and his men, she begins to see that maybe they aren’t doing their acts for justice for the people, but rather as an act of revenge for themselves.
As someone who has only ever grown up with the modern day Fox Robin Hood story from Disney and the merry men from Shrek, this was a vastly different story than what I know. I did, however, like reading what is closer to the original story, and felt that the authors note about the historical accuracy was really helpful in understanding the story. I almost would suggest reading it before beginning, but it gives some plot points away. I think going into this book, you need to expect a more gruesome historical fiction and not a cozy, kind Robin Hood story.
All this being said, I actually enjoyed a lot of the novel. I found that Kaufman told the darker side of the story well, and we were given a taste of everything that would have been going on in this time with wars and robbers without going overboard with graphic detail. It was hard to read at times, but like I said, I feel that it was keeping in line with what would have been happening.
What I actually struggled to most with was our main character, Jane. She was very willfully ignorant despite being told numerous times that Robin wasn’t a good guy, and it was honestly really annoying about halfway in. I wish that there had been a bit more nuance with her character with that aspect. I did like that we had a main character to tell the tale who isn’t in any of the original stories. I just wished I had liked her a little more.
Overall, I think this was a good, historical fiction. It gives insight to the original tale of Robin Hood and what was going on in England around this time period. I found it interesting and engrossing at times, especially towards the end. If you cannot handle gruesome details about battles and fighting, then I would skip this one.
dark
informative
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I was excited to read this because, #nostalgia, I loved Robin Hood stories growing up. However, I am sad to report that the best part of the book was the historical note. The female main character had few redeeming qualities, and the "chemistry" between her and Robin was inert; "immersive, sultry, and heart-pounding" it was not. I did enjoy the retelling of Robin as something more vindictive, but the book dragged on for quite a bit before making a mad dash to a rushed ending. Wanted to love this, but I just couldn't.
Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Random House for this ARC in exchange for an honest review! Book is out now if you'd like to pick it up and tell me I'm wrong!
Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Random House for this ARC in exchange for an honest review! Book is out now if you'd like to pick it up and tell me I'm wrong!
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Very good novel. One that looks like a slow read, but the writing and main character make it flow well. The author puts us in Robin Hood times, years after the classic tale, but still very influential in guiding and manipulating politics. He has all sorts of help, informants placed in the right place at the right time. One is our main character, who starts infatuated with Robin and follows all his requests, but soon she starts to have an opinion of her own, and we get it from her perspective. This is the kind of book we look forward to reading at the end of a tiresome day when we just want to be in our book world.
I was intrigued by the synopsis of this, and as the author is a medieval scholar who’s written for academic journals and mainstream media, I was really looking forward to reading.
I was so impressed with this as I read (voraciously, might I add) - complex characters who are so humanized, side characters who truly add to the story, and history-rich fiction that was fantastic and kept me fully interested in the story.
Though I wish that there had been a little more self contemplation on Jane’s part, I couldn’t have asked for a more true-to-the time medieval observations and I loved that.
Issue aside, I really enjoyed this and would recommend to anyone who enjoys historical fiction accuracy, and is interested in the possible reality behind the tale of Robin Hood.
I look forward to reading Dr. Kaufman’s future titles.
Thank you to Penguin Books and NetGalley for the DRC
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
adventurous
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated