⭐️ 3.75
This was such a fun story! Definitely more about the vibes than the plot for me, personally. Historical fiction, Robin Hood inspired, with LGBTQ+ rep?? Loved it. The humor was great, and this was just all around delightful!

It pains me to rate this so low, especially after how much I adored Gwen and Art. I have been loving all the Lex Croucher books I've been reading lately, and historically a Robin Hood retelling practically guarantees that I'll love it. But I came away from this one disappointed.

It tries to do what Emily Tesh does so well in Some Desperate Glory, but doesn't execute it well enough for it to really land. Mariel spends too long being absolutely unlikeable and untouchable and when she does shift perspective she does it too abruptly for it to feel authentic.

Clem goes through the book telling jokes that don't always land and trying to heal everyone around her at complete disregard of her own safety.

They don't really have any chemistry together and so their romance doesn't feel like it has any depth or reason.

The strangely military Merry Men are too jarring compared to Mariel's more lighthearted company. The story sort of ping-pongs between the two and it makes the sections feel very disconnected. Especially when Mariel herself is trying so hard to fit in with the military leaders and prove herself to her toxic father.

I did love Mariel's company of queer misfits. They were all wonderful and I would have been much happier if it had been one of their stories instead.

I also noticed the complete and utter lack of happy non-queer relationships in this book. The queer relationships were wonderful, but it was like no one in the book actually had lasting relationships. Even Robin and Marian split so Robin could be with Will Scarlet, although all that happens off-page.

The audiobook was good. I had a little trouble keeping some of the characters straight but I don't know if that was on the narrator or the author. I think overall the narrator performed it well and gave everyone recognizeable voices.

*Thanks to Wednesday Books and Macmillan Young Listeners for providing an early copy for review.

This book had great witty banter and fun characters! The banter occasionally felt out of place for a medieval setting, but it didn't bug me too much. My problem was that the plot didn't feel fully thought out, and I would've appreciated more action scenes. It started to pick up around 50% through, but it was a little boring up until that point. But, there is a cute sapphic romance, good conversations, and a medieval setting, so if you really are just looking for those aspects and don't care as much about the plot, this book will definitely fulfill your needs!

And, the narrators for the audiobook were super fun! I loved their voices, and they portrayed the characters well.

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press | Wednesday Books for this arc in exchange for an honest review.

I previously received this book as an eARC and truly loved it. This audiobook adaptation was literally perfect. I loved the narrators. I am really glad they went with two different narrators, they were both perfect for their roles.

Here’s my full review from the eARC:
4.75 stars, rounded up.

I have been obsessed with Lex Croucher since I received an ARC of their last novel, Trouble. That book was so much fun and the writing so very witty. I have been wanting to her some their other novels but have not had a chance so when I saw this available on NetGalley, I knew I had to request it! I'm so glad it was approved because this is definitely one of my top reads of the year.

This book was the perfect kick off to my fall reading! It gave all of the adventure romcom, chilly out in the woods by a campfire vibes that I have been yearning for. I love the concept of this story, a reimagining that follows the Merry Men post Robin Hood's leadership. The ensemble cast of characters was absolutely perfect. Clem is an absolute riot and I love the way her character is written. She is well rounded and I love her. The rest of the characters are equally as entertaining and compliment each other well, even the morally questionable villains. Croucher does a great job of changing POV between Clem and Mariel. It is pretty seamless. The first time it happened, I was a bit confused but after I wrapped my mind around it, I liked it! It was not choppy, like only changing POVs during new chapters.

There were only two things that I didn't fully enjoy in this book: Mariel and how quickly the ending wrapped up. It was very hard for me to like Mariel as the other main character/love interest. She is not very likable to me and I couldn't understand her rationalizations. The other thing that I didn't love is how quickly it ended. I wish it was like 20 pages longer.. I just wanted to sit in the world a bit more.

Tropes: found family, grumpy x sunshine, kidnapee/kidnaper romance (lmao)

Croucher's writing is always fast paced, witty, and entertaining. I have noticed that her romance is mostly banter and then closed door.
Thank you so much NetGalley and St. Martin's Press | Wednesday Books for this arc!

3.75 stars

This is going to be super similar to my review for Art & Gwen because I feel very similar about it.

This was good! This book is a lot of things, some expected and some very unexpected. The expected were the cute relationships, especially the main grumpy-sunshine one; the story is both cute, sweet, and a bit heart wrenching.

The story is a bit slow for the most part, but the last 80% went crazy! I was not entirely expecting the bloody action movie it turned into, and what each of our characters had to go through. I definitely didn’t expect a certain betrayal. The ending was ultimately hopeful and sweet. But we definitely go through some super emotional moments to get there. I really enjoyed this book and would recommend.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the preview. All opinions are my own.

The two narrators of this audiobook did a beautiful job of embodying the main characters in this story. There was a great counterpoint to their voices that signaled both the differences between the characters and also changes in the mood as the story was told.
I highly recommend this audiobook for readers of fantasy adventure with strong female leads.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the audio ARC!