I love Lex Croucher and their work and was excited to review this book because I loved the last one, however, I will be withholding a review due to the #SpeakupSMP boycott occurring. This is not a reflection of my feelings for the author or their work and I will release my review when SMP speaks up and is held accountable to their actions.

This has everything you would expect from a new release from Lex Croucher: Good humour, snappy writing and good characters. There is a lot to love in this Robin Hood setting: sapphic annoyances to lovers, found family and a big sprinkle of grumpy vs sunshine.
I love Lex Croucher more than life itself.

A big thank you to NetGalley and Lex Croucher for this eArc!

In this book, Croucher transforms the classic Merry Men/Robin Hood tales into a young adult diverse and queer story filled with both laugh-out-loud moments and deep moments of self-realization and growth. This book follows Clem, a quirky and upbeat healer, and the Merry Men (though many are not merry nor men) that kidnap her as they travel through the Greenwood Forest in a quest for revenge. Clem quickly gets sucked into the escapades of this subsect of the Merry Men to the chagrin of their leader, Captain Mariel Hartley-Hood, who feels the pressure to live up to both of her surnames. Additionally, Mariel must figure out what it really means to be a member of the Merry Men given how the group has changed since the time of Robin Hood. Craziness ensues.

While the setting of the Greenwood with Merry Men on one side against the Sheriff on the other may not appear to be relatable, Croucher infuses all that happens with real characters and situations that easily translate to real life. The goals, decisions, and regrets that all characters make are relatable. Because of this and the diversity of the characters, everyone will be able to see themselves in this book. Although this book has its deep moments, it is also lighthearted and romantic, balancing the hardships of growing up.

Overall, the vibes of this book are immaculate and I only wish that there was more action or perhaps the inclusion of the perspective from the other Merry Men. Because all the characters are so well-rounded, I wanted more of them! If you love found family, adventure, and a touch of romance then please read this book!

This book got me out of a reading slump. I read it over the course of a day (maybe two?) and I was hooked. Lex Croucher has done it again! They make historical romances accessible for not only teens, but adults who struggle when older language is used. I did want the romance to be a bit more developed rather than being a sub sub plot, but I was still totally obsessed.

It was a fun adventure, entertaining throughout. Each character, even the background characters were highlighted and likeable. I do wish there was a little but more tension built up between Mariel and Clem, maybe an almost kiss for the first encounter, not just get right into it without much build up. I like waiting for the love interests to get together until much closer to the end especially in an enemy to lovers type trope. If you take out all romance there is still a really solid plot and good story. I enjoyed how the story didn't rely on romance.

sapphic granddaughter of robin hood x the healer she kidnapped.

SO. MUCH. FUN.

i loved this <<3 of the thirteen arcs i’ve read so far this year, not for the faint of heart is only the second i’ve given five stars to because how could i not? this was funny and wonderful and featured a found family (my favourite trope), so what’s not to love?

the humour in this book was my fave, and the slowburn romance was so cUTE! i really loved clem as a main character and seeing her breaking into the rest of the group and then breaking down mariel’s walls was everything.

i laughed loads and i cried as well and i cannot wait to own this physically when it comes out <<3

“Not for the Faint of Heart” by Lex Croucher is a historical YA romance. This historical romance contains a lot of tropes such as: grumpy x sunshine, slow burn, found family, dislike-to-lovers, and one bed.

This book is based in the world of Robin Hood and follows his granddaughter, Mariel. She kidnaps a healer, Clemence, and they end up working together to find Mariels recently captured father. They travel together with a group of merry men and Mariel works to prove herself to her father, as Clemence begins to become a part of the team.

This is a fast paced story with themes of loyalty, and honestly, and will keep you engaged the entire time. The cast of the story is widely diverse and it is a sapphic romance! This story kept me engaged the entire time I was reading it!

This review is left voluntarily, and thank you to Wednesday Books and netgalley for an ARC of this book.

This has everything you would expect from a new release from Lex Croucher: Good humour, snappy writing and good characters. There is a lot to love in this Robin Hood setting: sapphic annoyances to lovers, found family and a big sprinkle of grumpy vs sunshine.

Despite all those clear wins, there is a distinct pacing problem in the 1st half of the novel. You meet many characters in quick succession and I had to push myself to reach the half point (where things pick up and the pacing improves).

I will admit that the Camelot/Arthurian setting interests me a lot more than Robin Hood but overall, Gwen & Art Are Not in Love felt like a much tighter book than this one. I would still recommend this one for any fan of Sapphic romance (remember that the 1st half is worth pushing through).

An immensely enjoyable YA sapphic dislike-to-lovers romcom adventure, complete with found family, multiple queer side characters, and exciting action scenes. The language is very modern and the novel has A Knight's Tale feel, much like Gwen and Art Are Not In Love, so don't expect historical accuracy (ex: the Merry Men is a giant queernormative band of families and friends, which is way more fun to read about than a more historically likely homophobic militia group). This novel is more of a lighthearted historical fiction fantasy, although there are touching moments and scenes of loss as well. It's thankfully still full of the classic Lex Croucher entertaining banter and I found myself giggling through most of this. Clem in particular had some great lines. I love it when the comic relief is one of the main POV characters!

I do love the found family trope, but I think there were a bit too many side characters here to fully flesh out (I thought we'd get more about Morgan's past, or Kit's family, or at least meet Josey's sisters). The plot did get a little dark at times, but nothing like the mood switch to WAR AND DEATH that Gwen and Art Are Not In Love had in the climactic scene. There is Character Death though, as a semi spoiler, and it did make me sad.

This novel didn’t capture quite the same magic as Lex's previous YA outing, but it was close, and I'm happy to report that no parents are murdered at the end of this one. I just love happy gay historical fantasy

An immensely enjoyable YA sapphic dislike-to-lovers romcom adventure, complete with found family, multiple queer side characters, and exciting action scenes. The language is very modern and the novel has A Knight's Tale feel, much like Gwen and Art Are Not In Love, so don't expect historical accuracy (ex: the Merry Men is a giant queernormative band of families and friends, which is way more fun to read about than a more historically likely homophobic militia group). This novel is more of a lighthearted historical fiction fantasy, although there are touching moments and scenes of loss as well. It's thankfully still full of the classic Lex Croucher entertaining banter and I found myself giggling through most of this. Clem in particular had some great lines. I love it when the comic relief is one of the main POV characters!

I do love the found family trope, but I think there were a bit too many side characters here to fully flesh out (I thought we'd get more about Morgan's past, or Kit's family, or at least meet Josey's sisters). The plot did get a little dark at times, but nothing like the mood switch to WAR AND DEATH that Gwen and Art Are Not In Love had in the climactic scene. There is Character Death though, as a semi spoiler, and it did make me sad.

This novel didn’t capture quite the same magic as Lex's previous YA outing, but it was close, and I'm happy to report that no parents are murdered at the end of this one. I just love happy gay historical fantasy!

This was very fun! I liked the writing voice the best, especially in Clem's POV (it fit her personality well) - it's matter of fact, clever, and a little bit silly. Clem was also my favorite of the two POVs, probably in part because of the enjoyable writing style. I wasn't super convinced by Clem and Mariel's romance. However, I loved their little crew and am so mad about Baxter (I understand why it happened, but I'm cross about it because I love the group as a group). I do think platonic relationships are Lex Croucher's strength (above the romances), just going off this book and Gwen and Art Are Not in Love (which I adore).

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC!
I love love love Croucher’s work and this latest work does not miss. The same winning combination of humor and heart had me sucked in from the get go.

Lex Croucher does not miss. Ever. With each release, they reaffirm why they deserve a large readership and all of the recognition they've received. Fun, emotional, romantic without being suffocating. This ripped my heart out and remade me. Croucher does so well at weaving together heavy emotions and humor, and it's such a delight to see that here.

⭐️ 4.5

Once again Lex Croucher knocks it out of the park with an exciting, heartfelt, and hilarious adventure that’s impossible not to love. Their writing is so immersive, I was immediately sucked in and couldn’t put the book down.

I love this beautifully queer group of kids, and following them through the forest as they worked through some tough emotional situations was amazing. This is a great diverse read that I can see so many teenagers getting lost in.

I don’t think I can ever forgive the heartache this gave me, and I know it’ll hurt for a good while 🥲

Thank you to Netgalley For the ARC!

This was fun! It didn't feel as tight as Croucher's other work, in the sense that the characters got very confused in the beginning, though I think that was partially due to pre release formatting. I wanted a little bit more depth to their backgrounds, maybe more exploring the connection. All in all, a fun story!

An unforgettable romance with deep emotional resonance. The characters’ journey is beautifully portrayed, making this a truly inspiring love story. I loved every moment!

One of my favourite reads of the year so far, I loved this from start to finish. This is equally funny and deeply endearing especially romance. Lex Croucher's has written another excellent LGBTQ story.

A special thank you to NetGalley and Wednesday Books for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.