I received an ARC from NetGalley. I am not nor will receive money for this review.
I really liked this book.. The title, the cover, and the summary really pulled me in. Recommended this book to a friend who did buy it.

This book was really fantastic to read! It was a really fantastic retelling of Robin Hood, having Robin be female, and yeah, Ellie was a really great character to read about. I mean, right before she went to the past, she noted that besides the shoes, that she and Robin Hood had a similar style. And of course, she's iconic with the bow and arrow!

So the thing about time travel books, is there's not interfering with the past, and getting home. Those are usually the two main goals, and Ellie shares them. And it was really interesting to see her slide into the role of Robin Hood, that the legends were based of off her. That was fun to read!

I really enjoyed her adventures. Like her initial meeting with Will Scarlet and Little John was pretty unexpected, and yeah, they definitely got off on the wrong foot. But I enjoyed how she adapted to the times, learning how to sword fight (though hardly to the level of skill she has with the bow and arrow) and dodging the sheriff of Nottingham!

That ending, while the time travel isn't actually explained, it doesn't matter too much. I would've liked more of an explanation of what Ellie came back to, since it was only a couple of pages, and a few more details would've been nice, but overall a pretty great ending!

This was a really great book, and I enjoyed reading it a lot!

I tried reading this book but sadly I didn't make it very far while reading this book. I think that the different point of views made it a bit difficult to understand . I usually love this author's books and I hoped that this one would work out for me.

No Good Deed is a different take on the tale of Robin Hood which includes the element of Time Travel. Think Outlander, but… less sex and less Scottish. Oh, and it’s also YA. It’s a nice, quick read that is enjoyable however there are some aspects which can be annoying which I’ll talk about later.

I did like that it was a Robin Hood retelling as I don’t think you see these as often. As with most retellings, you know the main plot of what’s going to happen, but No Good Deed did alter and change expectations. First up is that Robin Hood is a female and that she really shouldn’t be in Nottingham Forest.

Our main character, Ellie Hudson, is a competitive archer and just happens upon a time travel hole. The time travel bit isn’t really explained but it happens. Luckily Ellie runs into multiple people who want to help her stay alive, as well unluckily some people who want to put her in prison as she arrived in the middle of a secure castle. Overall, Ellie isn’t the strongest character and seems to be very similar to other YA female protagonists – a lot of things happen to her, not because of her.

You can’t have a tale of Robin Hood without Little John, Will Scarlett and Friar Tuck as well as Maid Marian and this book delivers. They’re not exactly how they were portrayed in the classic tale, but a key theme from this book is that stories can change and be exaggerated over time. Whilst the tale of Robin Hood is supposed to based in fact, a lot of facts have been altered to create a different story.

There’s a sub-plot about Ellie’s brother which I guess is a nice addition to her motivations and what guides her as a person. However, I found it was focused on so much as a present part of the story that I’m surprised it wasn’t more attached to the main story. It was basically a very expanded backstory to Ellie that we get reminded of over and over.

The main story was fast paced, Ellie and her Merry Men always seemed to be up to something. Even in sections where it’s slowed down – you can see the thought process around what they’ll do next. This pacing helped it be such a quick read.

For me, the most annoying part is that despite taking place in the UK, near Nottingham (which I don’t believe is a big tourist place anyway? At least it wasn’t somewhere I wanted to visit when I lived near there) – the main character just had to be American. Being American didn’t do anything to the story, so the character could have been English! But it’s odd that the author just had to make a very English story, with an English protagonist into an American… just because.

The world building was also not the best. Whilst this is set in a real place and we’ve read and watched the story multiple times before, the world specifically in this book just didn’t feel alive enough. The focus was very character driven, which is a shame as Nottingham Forest has always been a key part of the Robin Hood story.

The ending of the book wraps everything up into a very neat package. As with most classic tails, Robin Hood finds a happy ending – however it’s not quite what you expected.

Positives of No Good Deed
Robin Hood retelling
Merry Men characters
Negatives of No Good Deed
Lacks depth in some areas

This was a unique and entertaining book! I enjoyed the retelling of Robin Hood through a female. I also enjoyed the time travel aspect of everything!

I loved this book! The full review will be posted soon at kaitgoodwin.com/books! Thank you very much for this wonderful opportunity to connect books to their readers!

Such a great book. Definitely one of my favourite reads of the year. Full review to come.

This book follows Eleanor Hudson, a skilled archer on the US Olympic team. Eleanor (Ellie) miraculously finds herself in medieval England after following a man through a dark tunnel. From there I fell in love with Ellie and all of her adventures. This is a fun and exciting take on the Robin Hood story we all know and love. Ellie is strong and independent, she’s wreckless at times but has a huge heart. I just thought this book was well written and very entertaining. I highly recommend it!

I got my fair share of retellings, so much that the genre kinda get stalled for me. But once in a while, I pick one up. So it better be a good one. I also not a fan of time-travelling. That been said, when things are well done, they are worth it.

And No Good Deed was worth it. Good pacing. Good plot. Likeable main character. I am quite pleased with the choice to read it.

Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for allowing me to.

Review will be posted week of 11/27/17

Ellie Hudson is an experienced archer who is hoping to qualify for the Olympics. She is currently competing in Nottingham, England. While competing, she sees a strange man wearing all white walking around during her competition. This distracts her; thus, impacting her performance. Later on while exploring England, she sees him again and ends up following him into a cave. Boom... she ends up in the Middle Ages. Nottingham during the Middle Ages is in trouble for a variety of reasons; plus, the sheriff is on her tail. Will her archery skills get her out of this mess and can she make it back to her own time? Kara Connelly's No Good Deed is a fun tale with a kick-butt heroine, but it's not without its issues.

I really liked the character of Ellie. She's everything I could want in strong heroine. She was constantly escaping bad situations and to top it off, she is an incredible archer. I love how she sort of assumes the role of Robin Hood in this modern retelling. In fact, if you are a fan of Robin Hood, you'll enjoy some of the familiar characters, like Prince John, Much, and Will Scarlet who also play a role in No Good Deed.

My issue with No Good Deed is the pacing. At times, it felt really uneven and while I love a time travel book, I really wasn't fully sold on how Ellie got into the Middle Ages. Connelly definitely needs to explain her time travel theory a bit more as it wasn't really believable. In fact, there were many events in No Good Deed that required too much supsension of disbelief.

Nonetheless, if you enjoy the mythology surrounding Robin Hood, give this book a try. It's definitely fun to re-imagine Robin Hood as a strong female.

I received a free advance reader copy of this book from the publisher on netgalley.

super fun alterna take on Robin Hood. I enjoyed the anachronisms of Ellie in Sherwood Forest a lot.

things which could have been way better were also numerous. to name a few:
1. the romance(s). pick one. stick to it. flesh it out more. don't cop out on the ending.
2. the science. so lacking.
3. the actual forest and robbing life was totally glossed over!

but overall it had some really fun moments and was pretty enjoyable.

This book is really special to me because I read it when there was no electricity and running water at my house because of Hurricane María. I felt transported to the past in a literal way, so I felt for the character.

This book is so surprisingly easy to read. At first, I thought it wasn't going to be good, but as I kept reading, I was totally into th story. It is so appropriate and funny and surprising, I loved it.
The three main characters, YAY.
I was pinning for the "bad" guy because. Well. He is sooo interesting.

I absolutely loved it and recommend it to everyone.

“No Good Deed” is a fairy-tale/legend retelling that served as a good palate cleanser for me in the middle of quite a few heavier reads. The plot is fast-paced and the characters are just the right amount of snarky and developed for a light read. The content is mild, and the writing easy enough to read, that even the youngest of the ya group should find it enjoyable. Recommended!

An interesting retelling, that's for sure. While the writing was just "meh", the plot had action and it was pretty much the only thing that kept me reading. Not much else stood out to me, sadly.

Not too deep, and full of holes, but all in all a fun, modern re-imaging on Robin Hood.

Time travel and Robin Hood! I loved the main character and that she competes as an archer. All the characters were awesome. I only wish they were a tiny bit more developed.

A step above a typical time travel story. Staple elements of a time travel romance/adevture are present, but with enough of a twist that it doesn't read as cliche. The romance is light and tween friendly. This would be perfect for those very conservative parents who want absolutely clean books for their tween or younger teen.

No Good Deed is the retelling, of a story most of us probably know and love, the Robin Hood story.

Ellie, the main character, is a 21st century professional archer who went to Nottingham with her parents to take part in qualifying for the Olympics.

After the race she decides to go for a walk in the castle, and there, walking in the underground, in dark tunnels, full of rats, is transported back in time, during the reign of king Richard lion's heart.

She does not understand what happened to her, she think it is simply a representation for tourists, but soon she realizes that it's not her age and her goal is to go home.

During this trip me will meet all the members of Robin Hood's real guild. First she will meet Much and Friar Tuck who will save her life; Then Little John and Will Scarlett and finally Alan-a-Dale who will ask them a great favor.

All together, after taking part in this mission, are forced to take part in another one. They have to find a murderer who has tried to kill prince John. Ellie, at this point, tell everybody to call her Robin Hood.
But when the affair becomes intriguing, after they've found the killer, she realize it's time to go back home, so after greeting everyone, leaving the fascinating James / Friar Tuck last, she returns in her time where her brother is waiting for her along with a charming friend who reminds her so much of James.

I love retelling, and this has made me enjoy Robin Hood's story from the perspective of a woman and not a man. Kara's writing forces you to keep reading the story at all costs without stopping.
This reading was a breath of fresh air for which I gave 5 stars on goodreads.

Re-tellings. The latest fad.
While they can be successfully pulled off, so long as the world is drastically different (ie: Lunar Chronicles), it's awfully hard to do well. This re-telling of Robin Hood has some great little anecdotes and moments; but for the most part it feels like recycled scenes, characters and concepts. Right down to the time travelling aspect.

While there is action, intrigue, teeny bit of romance and all the things that generally make up a good story; I just couldn't help but feel like I'd read this book before or at the very least seen the movie.
Now I know the scene of Robin Hood having a battle with staffs over the river is a classic moment in lots of Robin Hood lore and/or stories. However, the reality is that all I could imagine during this scenes description was the scene from Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves. Now maybe it's not fair as I've seen that movie almost 100 times in my life (it was my Mom's favourite movie when I was a kid; and while we couldn't watch Simpsons or other shows on TV apparently violent movies were okay...). I suppose I'm bound to imagine similar moments in any Robin Hood story to scenes from the movie... even still it would have been nice for something interesting and different to have been thrown in the mix.

As with any retellings Kara Connolly choses to focus on a couple of things and drop out other things. There is no Maid Marion (but is a Templar knight that our main gal is blown away by every time he dons his armour) or damsels in distress (unless our lead gal counts). Given that our gal is Robin Hood I suppose it was too much to hope for a lesbian romance. But we do get Little John, Will Scarlett, Alan Dale and (sort of) Friar Tuck. The characters themselves are not well fleshed out, but most of us don't need them to be as we know the players. The most disappointing character of all for me was the Sheriff of Nottingham. I adore this character usually but here it felt like he was far less important that others in Nottingham. It's almost like Connolly's story was too vanilla for the sheriff's black and morbid personality.

The basic plot
Like any good time travel story, girl is plunged into medieval times (luckily she's an amazing archer), screws a bunch of stuff up, concerns herself with trying to survive and get home; whilst not changing history... there's really not a lot else to say here except that I am really tired of reading time travel books where the character has to "fulfill" some task or event in order for the door to open back home. Let's not kid ourselves, this is a cheap, easy way for the author to write their way into a perfect ending at the perfect moment. I'd rather it be elaborate, magical or scientific. Pretty much anything but convenient would have been better.

So are you wondering why I gave this three stars yet, given that I seem to have rolled my eyes at a lot of it and didn't really enjoy it? (lol)
The ending. In any 'fairy tale' I'm a sucker for a good ending (not necessarily happy I'd like to point out). No Good Deed ends in a way I was not really expecting. Connolly takes what could have been a super mushy, annoying and overly romantic ending and makes it just... well perfect. It's plausible, cute and lovely all at once.

So, is the ending worth the read?
Not really. If you love Robin Hood then maybe. Perhaps a tween or pre-teen would love this but it's not even really a teen book (even though it's classified as young adult). In my opinion, you could read this to an 8 year old and honestly it would be less violent and offensive than most saturday morning cartoons.

Overall you're not missing anything if you skip this one. I'm sure there will be dozens more re-tellings just like it tomorrow.

This review comes in two parts. Part one was posted on July 31 for the blog tour. Part two was posted on August 8 when I finished the book.

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Original Review: July 31, 2017
I’m REALLY loving this book!!! Unfortunately, life has been a little hectic lately and I haven’t been able to finish reading it yet. That said, I’ve read 50% and feel confident I can write a partial review that will honestly reflect my thoughts and do the book justice. Once I finish the book, I’ll update my review.

I’m getting a lot of different vibes from this book: Robin Hood: Men in Tights vibes. Xena/Hercules vibes. The Witch Hunter vibes. I think these comparisons come from the similar time periods and settings, rather than plot – except for the Robin Hood vibe, the reason for that is obvious!

I really love the characters in this so far. Ellie reminds me of Emily from Make It or Break It – mostly because of the short hair and “Olympic hopeful” thing. James seems swoony so far! The Will Scarlet and Little John characters have me cracking up! I have a feeling I shouldn’t like Guilbert, but I kind of do really like him because I have a feeling there’s more to him than meets the eye!

So far, the plot is incredibly intriguing and I can’t wait to see what happens next! The writing is epic, too – I’m really getting sucked into the story because of it and the plot. I think Kara Connolly is going to be an author to watch and I’m already excited to see what else she does!

So far – and assuming this book continues being epic – I definitely do recommend it to those who love retellings! Also, I was told it has a similar vibe to Scarlet by A.C. Gaughen, so if you’re a fan of that book, I recommend checking this one out!

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UPDATE (8/8/17):
So I FINALLY finished the book. I’ll admit, I struggled with it a little – the middle dragged a bit. But I’m not sure if it was the book or because of life being hectic and my reading slump, so I’m not going to blame the book. It really picked up at the end and I ended up really enjoying it. My favorite parts were the ones with Eleanor of Aquitaine, especially the part that took place at 76% (in the US eARC version – I think it was chapter twenty-one). I also REALLY LOVED Will Scarlet. He was hilarious and I loved his friendship with Ellie.

The ending was a bit rushed, but adorable and fun. It wrapped up nicely, but it left room for my mind to wander and imagine what happened AFTER. In my opinion, the best standalones are the ones that end in such a way – nicely and with no loose strings, but with enough leeway to picture the “after” however I like.

I still highly recommend this to anyone who loves Robin Hood and retellings.