Sherwood

Meagan Spooner

Mar 2019 · Sold by HarperCollins

About this ebook

Fans of Danielle Paige, Marissa Meyer, and Alex Flinn will devour New York Times bestselling author Meagan Spooner’s next fierce fairy tale-inspired story, which Illuminae author Amie Kaufman calls “a kick-ass, gender-flipped feminist retelling.”

Robin of Locksley is dead.

Maid Marian doesn’t know how she’ll go on, but the people of Locksley town, persecuted by the Sheriff of Nottingham, need a protector. And the dreadful Guy of Gisborne, the Sheriff’s right hand, wishes to step into Robin’s shoes as Lord of Locksley and Marian’s fiancé.

Who is there to stop them?

Marian never meant to tread in Robin’s footsteps—never intended to stand as a beacon of hope to those awaiting his triumphant return. But with a sweep of his green cloak and the flash of her sword, Marian makes the choice to become her own hero: Robin Hood.

Ratings and reviews

When Marion receives the news that Robin of Locksley, the man she had intended to marry, was killed, she is thrown into grief and despair. Who is this Guy of Gisbourne who is to take over the estate she has loved and cared for in her betrothed's absence? To save the brother of her maid, Marion takes on an alternate persona and a legend is born. I am caught between three stars and four stars and am going with the more generous rating to be nice. Parts of this I enjoyed, and parts had me rolling my eyes. I've read and enjoyed female Robin Hood stories before. This one was interesting to see Marion as Robin (though I will confess I found it hilarious that no one-NO ONE!-ever realized that it was a woman). I honestly thought Robin being dead was a mislead and that Robin would reappear, wounded, but eager to retake his position. My mistake. This does not happen. He's dead. D.E.A.D. What did Gisbourne do that was so awful? Why did Marion hate him so much from the start? The book doesn't tell us. So the romance between Marion and Gisbourne was, quite frankly, the most unbelievable part of this book. My favorite scenes were the flashbacks told from Robin's POV of how he falls for Marion, but even those are shadowed by the realization that Marion didn't actually love him back. Not in the same way. It did keep my attention, even when I was rolling my eyes. So maybe if you're a reader looking for a female Robin Hood story, you'll enjoy this. Just be warned, the first half of the book is raw with Marion's grief and sadness. I guess she loved him a little?

Good

About the author

New York Times bestselling author Meagan Spooner grew up reading and writing every spare moment of the day while dreaming about life as an archaeologist, a marine biologist, or an astronaut. She graduated from Hamilton College in New York State with a degree in playwriting. She’s traveled all over the world, to places such as Egypt, Australia, South Africa, the Arctic, Greece, Antarctica, and the Galápagos Islands, and there’s a bit of every trip in every story she writes. She currently lives and writes in Asheville, North Carolina, but the siren call of travel is hard to resist, and there’s no telling how long she’ll stay there. She’s the coauthor of the award-winning Starbound Trilogy (These Broken Stars, This Shattered World, Their Fractured Light) and the Skylark Trilogy (Skylark, Shadowlark, Lark Ascending) as well as this “Beauty and the Beast” retelling. In her spare time she plays guitar, plays video games, plays with her cat, and reads. www.meaganspooner.com