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ashleykhoffman 's review for:
The Traitor of Sherwood Forest
by Amy S. Kaufman
adventurous
dark
slow-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
I received an e-ARC copy of thus book from the publishers on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I had no idea the historical context of the character Robin Hood and it was interesting seeing him portrayed as so morally gray. I think the historical note at the back of the book should basically be required reading for this because it added a lot of context and clarity for some of the plot and character choices.
Our main character, Jane, is a peasant girl who gets roped into helping notorious rogue Robin Hood. He is charming and charismatic and alluring to Jane in almost an unexplainable way. As the story progresses, Jane sees him less and less as a hero, and more and more as the deeply flawed and hurt outlaw that he is. Jane ends up acting as a double agent that will leave all readers guessing as to who she is actually fighting for.
The first half of this book was fairly slow and a tad boring if I'm honest, but once I started second-guessing Jane's motives and trying to figure out who she was playing for I got re-invested. I feel like I still don't really know Jane's character after all of this, and I would have loved a little more internal conflict from her as opposed to just her actions being laid out as they happened. I also found the resolution of the story incredibly vague and lacking. I wanted more at the end from Little John because I'd grown to like his stances as a character and I feel like he got left in the lurch a little.
Overall I found the characters all to be flawed and I had no idea who I liked or didn't, even at the end, and I think that was partially the point. For fans of historical fiction that is highly researched and intentional, this will be a great read upon its April release.
I had no idea the historical context of the character Robin Hood and it was interesting seeing him portrayed as so morally gray. I think the historical note at the back of the book should basically be required reading for this because it added a lot of context and clarity for some of the plot and character choices.
Our main character, Jane, is a peasant girl who gets roped into helping notorious rogue Robin Hood. He is charming and charismatic and alluring to Jane in almost an unexplainable way. As the story progresses, Jane sees him less and less as a hero, and more and more as the deeply flawed and hurt outlaw that he is. Jane ends up acting as a double agent that will leave all readers guessing as to who she is actually fighting for.
The first half of this book was fairly slow and a tad boring if I'm honest, but once I started second-guessing Jane's motives and trying to figure out who she was playing for I got re-invested. I feel like I still don't really know Jane's character after all of this, and I would have loved a little more internal conflict from her as opposed to just her actions being laid out as they happened. I also found the resolution of the story incredibly vague and lacking. I wanted more at the end from Little John because I'd grown to like his stances as a character and I feel like he got left in the lurch a little.
Overall I found the characters all to be flawed and I had no idea who I liked or didn't, even at the end, and I think that was partially the point. For fans of historical fiction that is highly researched and intentional, this will be a great read upon its April release.