I received this book for free from Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

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.

Short and Sweet

After the death of her betrothed Robin, Marian doesn’t know how she’ll go on. The people in Locksley are doomed to live in poverty or hang if they don’t do what the Sheriff of Nottingham requires. Marian is also faced with the fact that Guy of Gisborne now wants her hand in marriage. Marian isn’t sure what to do, because everything around her seems to be falling apart but when Marian puts on Robin’s green cloak and takes his sword and bow it isn’t what she was expecting at all especially when people mistake her for Robin. Now Marian disguised as Robin will be the hero that the people of Nottingham need and give them hope.

Characters

Marian (Robin Hood): Marian is our main character and she’s been through a lot, from losing her love Robin, to being asked to marry Guy of Gisborne not soon after, and seeing the people of Nottingham suffer due to the Sheriff. Marian is a strong character despite everything that has happened and she uses this strength to become Robin Hood and become the peoples champion because she thinks this is what her Robin would  want. I do think that Marian is skilled with the Bow but not so much one on one combat, she also risks a lot by going out as Robin because he is seen as being a vigilante and is breaking the law so if she’s ever caught that would be the end for her. Marian is also a caring character and will try to do what is right and fight for what is right.

Guy of Gisborne: Sir Guy is Marians love interest in this book, he is also trying to become the new Lord of Locksley. Sir Guy does what he thinks and right which is following the law and he follows the sheriffs orders. I liked Sir Guy mainly because he’s so guarded that you want to dislike him but once you peel back the layers you realize he isn’t so bad.

Elena: Elena is Marian’s maid and throughout the book we learn that Elena has been hiding a few secrets from Marian but the further we read Elena and Marians friendship develops into obviously more of a friendship instead of just a lady and her maid. Elena is also shown to be very loyal to those she loves.

Merry Men: There are three merry men and I decided to put them all in this category instead of giving them their own section because their isn’t much to say about them. The merry men consist of Will (Elena’s brother), John, and Alan (Elena’s fiancé). These three are outlaws that Marian meets in the forest and they become loyal to Robin and his cause to help the people of Nottingham.

Romance

Marian and Robin: So we don’t really know what Marian and Robin’s relationship is like because Robin has already passed, but we do get short flashbacks from his point of view. From these flashbacks it seems as though Robin would allow Marian to truly be herself and didn’t confine her to feeling as if she must do certain things like most women were expected to do during that time. Robin and Marian met as children and as they grew their feelings for each other have grown and developed and they can be themselves around each other such as when these two learn to shoot using a bowl and how to sword fight.

Marian and Sir Guy: There’s not a lot of romance between these two they have a very complicated relationship. Marian spends a lot of her time trying to avoid Sir Guy while he likes to seek her out. Marian doesn’t like Sir Guy and she definitely feels like he’s trying to take Locksley when it in her mind is still Robin’s.

Quotes

~ “But one thing you have never been, my dear, is weak.”

~ “Then this time, we’ll fight,” she said. “One more mission. Robin Hood’s last ride.”

My Thoughts

~ I liked the short flashbacks that gave us a bit of insight into Robin’s life and what he was like.

~ I think Marian had a great support system especially her father who loved her and cared about her wellbeing and put that above anything else.

~ Marian’s stable master Much, was a great character I liked how he knew what was going on with Marian as Robin Hood but he didn’t let her know that he knew but he did give her help about how to be more carful.

~ I felt that Marian went into most situations as Robin without really having a plan which put her at risk every time which was the one thing I didn’t like.

~ I will say that when Marian was staying at Nottingham thats when most of the plans to help the people took place and she got help from her merry men of course.

~ For me I thought that most of my interest was held 60% of the way into the book I think a lot more was happening at that point.

~ I thought that this was a great retelling of Robin Hood and I liked that Marian was a strong character and her strength wasn’t weekend just because she was a girl. It was also shown that the men took orders from Robin more easily than if the orders were to have come from Marian.

~ The ending had a huge twist and I didn’t see it coming but I loved it and it ended perfectly.

Overall

In the end I throughly enjoyed Sherwood. Following Marian on her journey as Robin Hood and learning to become a hero and giving people hope was great. I loved the characters they’re really what makes the book shine. Sherwood is a great book all around from the plot to the characters I do think that it took me a while to really get into it but once I did I couldn’t put it down.