*4.5 Stars On My Instagram Account*

"I don’t know how to have purpose if it isn’t given to you. If there isn’t someone…waiting for you to fulfil your potential."

"So you can’t do any of this for them. You have to know that you might be the only person who ever truly sees everything you do, how hard you work, what you believe in – and just do it anyway.’‘

For all the uproarious silliness, the nail biting swashbuckling fights, and odes to Robin Hood, there are sincere beautiful moments like the one above between our main characters, that make the endearing medieval Not For The Faint Of Heart, by creative eclectic YA RomCom author Lex Croucher, a story for all ages.

Mariel, the granddaughter of the renowned Robin Hood, Captain of the Merry Men, is on a mission to prove herself worthy of her legacy. She mistakenly kidnaps Clem in a misguided revenge plot and finds her grumpy self out of sorts next to the sunshine filled natural healer. As Clem befriends and heals the Merry Men, and becomes a part of their dangerous missions to rescue Mariel's father, Mariel is thrown by her attraction to her "hostage."

Voice actresses Kat Griffiths and Olivia Dowd are the equivalent of a full cast performance. From the goofy Merry Men, to the solemn Baxter to two young women finding their way through the vast Sherwood Forest toward each other, these narrators revel in their performances.

Reading and listening to this latest reimagining from a writer that always makes queer romance accessible for everyone, I understood that the love story, the betrayals, the clashes, the deaths are not always for the faint of heart but the joy, laughter and acceptance are for everyone.

I received a free copy of this book/audiobook from the publishers for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.

Mariel, Robin Hood’s granddaughter, learns that the Merry Men, whom she proudly serves as captain, may not be as honorable as she thinks in this queer historical YA romance from Lex Croucher.

It starts when she kidnaps a healer per her father’s orders. The healer, Clem, resiliently bumbles along with her kidnappers, eagerly helping to heal anyone who needs her assistance.

Clem’s cheerful presence and outsider’s perspective cause a shift in Mariel’s worldview, and as the two spend more time together, a tenderness grows between them.

Read it for
- The grump-sunshine pairing
- The queer representation
- The fiercely loyal found family
- That coming-of-age moment when a protagonist learns that parents are fallible humans, too
- The quips and sense of humor

The narration by Kat Griffiths and Olivia Dowd captures Mariel’s and Clem’s personalities well. I enjoyed listening to them bring the younger Merry Men to life. Their distinctive voices and styles made it easy to differentiate Mariel’s chapters from Clem’s.

I received an advance copy of the audiobook from Macmillan Audio. All review opinions are my own.

Grumpy bandit captain Mariel and optimistic healer Clem plot to rescue Mariel’s father amid a brewing war. Their unlikely partnership blossoms as they fight for survival and question their loyalties.

This is fun and fast-paced adventure romance. Mariel and Clem are well-developed characters with complicated backstories. While they’re very different, they’re both strong and responsible, committed to helping those around them. I enjoyed the audiobook narration.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.

this book was such a fun ride! i really enjoyed lex’s previous historical romance of a similar vein, and this one i ended up liking even more, i think due to the focus on just one couple rather than two. the robin hood story was an excellent setting for this take on found family and finding yourself. even though it wasn’t a fantasy, there was an almost magical quality to the atmosphere woven throughout. a nice balance of character- and plot-driven. would absolutely rec.

audiobook specific: really well produced. i enjoyed both narrators and feel they suited their respective POV characters super well. made the reading experience that much more enjoyable.

⭐️4.5

Things I’m thankful for: Lex Croucher and their brain for coming up with this story, because it was SUCH a joy and I never knew I needed a historical sapphic, rom-com starring Robin hood’s granddaughter and her very chaotic and very queer group of comrades!

NFTFOH was filled intense action (lots of stabbing people with swords!), dialogue that made me laugh out loud, found family, romance, and lots of gays doing crime and fighting bad men in power (one of my favorite subtypes of gays), so there was rarely a dull moment in this story 

My favorite part of this book was the characters! The cast of characters are so fun and full of personality, and if I could join their little group — just with less action and worry over getting ambushed, and more sitting together by the fire and frolicking through the woods — I totally would. Also, I love Morgan with all my heart and to me, they have literally never done anything wrong, EVER 😭

If you’re big on plot-driven books, it’s possible that you may have a hard time getting into this one, BUT if you’re like me, and sometimes you’re just down for a book that’s all vibes and a fun time, I think you’ll enjoy this one

I’ll also say that yes this is a romcom, but the romance between Clem and Mariel ended up falling flat for me, and overall felt like more of a subplot. I think because of how much was going on in the story, their romantic relationship just didn’t get enough development to fully hit the “lovers” mark for me. That said, I still enjoyed this book and that didn’t take away from my overall experience, but just something to keep in mind if you’re someone who planned to pick it up mostly for the romance

If you can, I HIGHLY recommend the audiobook! The narrators did a great job bringing these characters to life, and I also think hearing the characters bicker made me feel more immersed into the story, which is what had me laughing as much as I did. I can’t recommend this one enough and I think it’s a fun, cozy read that’s perfect for the fall season!

I love a sapphic retelling and this was no different. This was a really fun book. I loved the cast of characters and since this was a retelling the world felt very familiar and comfortable. This was a solid read.

I sapphic robinhood retelling? Sign me up. This was a fun read. I liked the plot and I found the characters to be enjoyable. The narration was okay, it felt a little boring.

Thank you to @macmillan audio for the gifted audiobook

A brilliant YA, novel with a fantastic cast of secondary characters that really helped bring the plot to life

firstly, thank you to the publisher for an arc and an alc!

not for the faint of heart was another fun, queer spin on a classic from lex croucher, this time focusing on the granddaughter of robin hood

This was my second Lex Croucher book and it will not be my last! This book was very fun. It had a nice mix of humor, action and adventure. I loved the connection between Clem and Muriel! They are both strong characters on their own but they were so great together. This book also has a really great found family aspect. I would love to get more of this world in the future!

I really enjoyed Kat Griffiths narration on the audiobook.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the ALC in exchange for an honest review.

This was different than what I thought. I thought this would be along the vein of the My Lady Jane style humor and while it did have great humorous moments it's much more into the adventure, gritty, dramatic style of a story. There's lots of action, great romance, and devastating losses. It was an interesting way to look at the legacy of Robin Hood and I found I was really invested in it. Definitely recommend if you want an sapphic adventure with complicated characters and plot!

This is such a fun, queer, medieval, young adult romance!

The granddaughter of Robin Hood accidentally kidnaps the wrong person! I love this whole premise even more than the idea of a more direct Robin Hood retelling... it's adorable, the characters are sarcastic and banter-y, there are betrayals and political intrigue. . .I was just happily along for the ride in this one.

• Loveable characters from the start--even the more morally gray ones!
• grumpy x sunshine (grumpy is keeping sunshine captive)
• I adore a "healer" heroine!

🎧 Both narrators were lovely to listen to. Their different voices and styles made it easy to tell which perspective the reader is in. I highly recommend this audiobook!!

Loooooved this. I finished this so fast, I absolutely love this book! I’m going to read Gwen and Art are not in love next!!

This book was a very solid 4 stars!! I thought the writing and pacing were very strong. I loved the side characters, I just felt like we needed more time to sit with the main characters since this book is on the shorter side. The FF romance was cute, if a bit underdeveloped, but I still enjoyed reading this one. A great, diverse take on Robin Hood and the Merry Men, a few generations later!

I wasn’t really a fan of the narrators unfortunately, and switched to reading my ebook galley instead.

🌈Queer rep: Main FF couple. Secondary MM couples, nonbinary person, trans man, bi man.

I am beginning to realize Lex Croucher isn’t for me. But that being said, this book is fun, silly, diverse, queer, and adventurous. A Robinhood retelling of sorts, Lex takes the characters to the next level, the next generation, and gives the story new life.

1 sentence review: an extra cozy queer Robin Hood retelling full of found family, acceptance, and growth.

This was a coming of age story set in the back drop of the mystical Greenwood Forest. This had all of the cozy, familiar elements of Robin Hood, but with a queer, YA twist. This had plenty of humor and banter while also having perfectly contrasting shocking and emotional moments.

My only downfall was the romantic relationship in this. While this is NOT a romance book, the romantic storyline fell a bit flat for me and I didn’t feel the chemistry as much as I’d like to. What really stole the show for me was the found family and the themes of guilt, acceptance, and worthiness.

The audiobook for this was amazing and I 100% recommend! It brought such a cozy feel to the story and really made the characters come to life.

Read This if You Like:
🏹 Heartwarming found family tropes
🏰 Cozy medieval retellings
🪙 Queer and nonbinary rep

A really quick and fun read. Loved the Robin Hood-esque story. It was well written. The love story was sweet.

I enjoyed Lex’s other book, Gwen and Art Are Not in Love, and this one was good as well! I appreciated the world building here, with an entire society built around Robin Hood. Very cool!

I am such a fan of Lex Croucher, so I will happily read whatever they publish. It's even better when it's another fun, queer twist on a classic tale. This time around, Croucher reimagines the future of Robin Hood's Merry Men and focuses on Captain Mariel and her eccentric crew. When they are directed to kidnap a healer for providing treatment to the Sheriff of Nottingham, Mariel might have finally met her match in the sunny and capable Clem.

There's adventure, daring rescues, genuinely funny banter, hidden underground sanctuaries, found family, and romance. Fair warning that things do get a little dark along the way, and I unexpectedly ended up crying in my car at one point. Highly recommend this one on audio, as the narrators do a phenomenal job bringing Mariel, Clem, and all of the other colorful characters (and their varied accents) to life.

Thank you, Netgalley, the author, and MacMillan Audio for the gifted audiobook! ❤️ #gifted. My review is comprised of my honest thoughts.

Read this book if you like: Robin hood retelling, enemies to lovers, representation

I enjoyed this one. It was fun. I listened to it and liked the narration. Most of the book was a bit on the slow side. There was a lot of inner monologue. I wanted more action. I liked it still.