Not for the Faint of Heart

Featured
 
4.8 (2)
 
0.0 (0)
55 0
71hG4iZcIAL
Author(s)
Age Range
14+
Release Date
November 26, 2024
ISBN
978-1250847232
Buy This Book
      
From New York Times bestselling author Lex Croucher comes a queer historical YA romance, with all the swoons, laughs, and heart-pounding moments you'd expect from a story about the granddaughter of Robin Hood and the girl she's accidentally kidnapped.

‘You aren’t merry,’ Clem said to her captor. ‘And you aren’t all men. So there’s been some marketing confusion somewhere along the line.’

Mariel, a newly blooded and perpetually grumpy captain of the Merry Men, is desperate to live up to the legacy of her grandfather, the legendary Robin Hood. Clem, a too-perky backwoods healer known for her new-fangled cures, just wants to help people.

When Mariel's ramshackle band of bandits kidnap Clem as retribution for her guardian helping the Sheriff of Nottingham, all seems to be going (sort of) to plan … until Jack Hartley, Mariel’s father and Commander of the Merry Men, is captured in a deadly ambush. Determined to prove herself, Mariel sets out to get him back – with her annoyingly cheerful kidnappee in tow.

But the wood is at war. Many believe the Merry Men are no longer on the right side of history. Watching Clem tend the party’s wounds and crack relentlessly terrible jokes, Mariel begins to doubt the noble cause to which she has devoted her life. As the two of them grow closer, forced by circumstances to share a single horse and bed, one thing is clear. They must prepare to fight for their lives and for those of everyone they’ve sworn to protect.

Lex Croucher's Not for the Faint of Heart is a thrilling adventure full of hijinks, found family, and romance destined to change the lives of the inhabitants of the Greenwood Forest forever.

Editor reviews

2 reviews
A Fun Fantasy Read
Overall rating
 
4.7
Plot
 
5.0
Characters
 
5.0
Writing Style
 
4.0
Illustrations/Photos (if applicable)
 
N/A
Geared towards a Young Adult audience, NOT FOR THE FAINT OF HEART is a fantasy novel following the granddaughter of Robin Hood and the girl she accidentally kidnaps as they go on an adventure. Clem and Mariel are the main characters of the book. Clem is a healer and Mariel is the leader of a ragtag band of bandits.

What I Loved:
The bonds between these characters were realistic and the author gave them time to build and form. From the main characters’ burgeoning romance to the bond between Mariel and her group. There was time given to allow the characters to talk and grow closer to each other. I appreciated the time given to these characters and bonds. They were fun to interact with and hear about, they would swing from serious conversations to humorous ones and it flowed smoothly.

The worldbuilding in this book was fantastic. The author gave appropriate amounts of attention to the backstories of the characters but also to the world that they were surrounded by. Descriptions of towns and forests were given with enough details to allow the reader to visualize them but not too many that the story felt dragged down by them. A queernormative fantasy world is always a win too!

The action! When there was action on the scene, it was amazing! I really enjoyed the descriptions of the fight and action scenes. The sword fights were fun to read! I’m a sucker for a good fight scene and Lex Croucher did an amazing job writing her scenes.

I also really enjoyed the commentary that went along with this book. It’s based loosely off Robin Hood, so there’s the conversations you would expect from a book in that setting (“steal from the rich and give to the poor”). But there was also a commentary on the new turn that the Merry Men have taken under different leadership. It was fun to see the way that the group would change as times change and Robin Hood became less involved in the group.

What Left Me Wanting More:
I found that the pacing of the book was sporadic and it didn’t always work in the book’s favor. Sometimes it worked perfectly and allowed for a good buildup and execution. Other times the story seemed to drag or race. It’s not always bad, but it’s not always engaging either. Some readers will find that they really like the pacing of the book, others might find that they don’t.

Final Verdict:
NOT FOR THE FAINT OF HEART hit the bullseye. The characters were well-developed and their bonds with one another felt authentic, both good and bad. The action scenes were exciting and the adventure was a lot of fun to read! Descriptions of the world and actions made it feel like the reader was being pulled along for the rider too! At times the pacing could be a bit off, but otherwise the book was a fun ride.

A thrilling story with sometimes inconsistent pacing, NOT FOR THE FAINT OF HEART is definitely a good read for anyone who enjoyed the original Robin Hood stories. Readers will be delighted by the new take on the Merry Men and the new characters that are introduced in this book.
Report this review Comments (0) | Was this review helpful? 0 0
delightful YA fantasy
Overall rating
 
5.0
Plot
 
5.0
Characters
 
5.0
Writing Style
 
5.0
Illustrations/Photos (if applicable)
 
N/A
NOT FOR THE FAINT OF HEART was a delightful YA fantasy that stretches the world of Robin Hood. Clemence is a healer working with the talented Rosie in a small town under the protection of the Merry Men. When the Merry Men show up to capture Rosie, Clem is surprised and offers to take her place. Though they knock her out and have her tied up, Clem soon finds herself engaged in everything this small troop has going on. Led by Mariel Hartley-Hood, the granddaughter of Robin and daughter of the current commander, they have a lot of heart and skill - so when her father is captured by the Sheriff after a terrible ambush, Mariel and her group set out to save him.

Clem finds herself not really a prisoner and helps to heal them along the way wherever she can. This game they are playing can be deadly and dangerous and not all of them will make it out alive.

What I loved: I was completely caught up in the story right from the start, and while there are some dark and very sad scenes (major character death later in the story), there is also a lot of levity, hope, and heart. I adored the characters, particularly Clem and Mariel, but also the rest of the their troop (Josey, Morgan, Kip, and Baxter). The story is told from the third person limited perspectives of Clem and sometimes Mariel, which works very well throughout.

Clem is a beacon of hope, keeping things light and positive despite the tragedy around them. She experiments with healing and seeks to help everyone - what got her into trouble in the first place. She had a terrible tragedy in the past that has given her a form of PTSD that she seeks to understand during the course of the story. Mariel also has had a complicated life with her parents using her and the Merry Men as pawns in some way. She admires her father deeply, but she is only just beginning to see him for who he is and understand what that means. She has a bit of a personal crisis and coming-of-age as she decides who she wants to be and what that means about her father (and her mother, who is mostly absent).

They have great chemistry that only grows as the story continues, despite the complications of their circumstances. Josey is a character whose book I would love to read- she seems impossibly skilled at everything and quite clever. I loved the scenes with her in them and learning about who she is along the way. The others in the group were equally as endearing, teens caught in something bigger but still being true to themselves and their deep friendships/found family.

Themes around power, right/wrong and defining morality, complicated family, grief/loss, love, and change were all really strong throughout. I found this to be quite endearing, entertaining, and emotional, and I loved the journey - I would definitely want to read more from this world and characters.

Final verdict: NOT FOR THE FAINT OF HEART is a consuming YA fantasy with plenty of humor, heart, and fantastic characters. Highly recommend picking this one up!
Report this review Comments (0) | Was this review helpful? 0 0

User reviews

There are no user reviews for this listing.
Already have an account? or Create an account