Not for the Faint of Heart

Geared towards a Young Adult audience, NOT FOR THE FAINT OF HEART is a fantasy novel following the granddaughter of Robin Hood and the girl she accidentally kidnaps as they go on an adventure. Clem and Mariel are the main characters of the book. Clem is a healer and Mariel is the leader of a ragtag band of bandits.

What I Loved:
The bonds between these characters were realistic and the author gave them time to build and form. From the main characters’ burgeoning romance to the bond between Mariel and her group. There was time given to allow the characters to talk and grow closer to each other. I appreciated the time given to these characters and bonds. They were fun to interact with and hear about, they would swing from serious conversations to humorous ones and it flowed smoothly.

The worldbuilding in this book was fantastic. The author gave appropriate amounts of attention to the backstories of the characters but also to the world that they were surrounded by. Descriptions of towns and forests were given with enough details to allow the reader to visualize them but not too many that the story felt dragged down by them. A queernormative fantasy world is always a win too!

The action! When there was action on the scene, it was amazing! I really enjoyed the descriptions of the fight and action scenes. The sword fights were fun to read! I’m a sucker for a good fight scene and Lex Croucher did an amazing job writing her scenes.

I also really enjoyed the commentary that went along with this book. It’s based loosely off Robin Hood, so there’s the conversations you would expect from a book in that setting (“steal from the rich and give to the poor”). But there was also a commentary on the new turn that the Merry Men have taken under different leadership. It was fun to see the way that the group would change as times change and Robin Hood became less involved in the group.

What Left Me Wanting More:
I found that the pacing of the book was sporadic and it didn’t always work in the book’s favor. Sometimes it worked perfectly and allowed for a good buildup and execution. Other times the story seemed to drag or race. It’s not always bad, but it’s not always engaging either. Some readers will find that they really like the pacing of the book, others might find that they don’t.

Final Verdict:
NOT FOR THE FAINT OF HEART hit the bullseye. The characters were well-developed and their bonds with one another felt authentic, both good and bad. The action scenes were exciting and the adventure was a lot of fun to read! Descriptions of the world and actions made it feel like the reader was being pulled along for the rider too! At times the pacing could be a bit off, but otherwise the book was a fun ride.

A thrilling story with sometimes inconsistent pacing, NOT FOR THE FAINT OF HEART is definitely a good read for anyone who enjoyed the original Robin Hood stories. Readers will be delighted by the new take on the Merry Men and the new characters that are introduced in this book.

NOT FOR THE FAINT OF HEART was a delightful YA fantasy that stretches the world of Robin Hood. Clemence is a healer working with the talented Rosie in a small town under the protection of the Merry Men. When the Merry Men show up to capture Rosie, Clem is surprised and offers to take her place. Though they knock her out and have her tied up, Clem soon finds herself engaged in everything this small troop has going on. Led by Mariel Hartley-Hood, the granddaughter of Robin and daughter of the current commander, they have a lot of heart and skill - so when her father is captured by the Sheriff after a terrible ambush, Mariel and her group set out to save him.

Clem finds herself not really a prisoner and helps to heal them along the way wherever she can. This game they are playing can be deadly and dangerous and not all of them will make it out alive.

What I loved: I was completely caught up in the story right from the start, and while there are some dark and very sad scenes (major character death later in the story), there is also a lot of levity, hope, and heart. I adored the characters, particularly Clem and Mariel, but also the rest of the their troop (Josey, Morgan, Kip, and Baxter). The story is told from the third person limited perspectives of Clem and sometimes Mariel, which works very well throughout.

Clem is a beacon of hope, keeping things light and positive despite the tragedy around them. She experiments with healing and seeks to help everyone - what got her into trouble in the first place. She had a terrible tragedy in the past that has given her a form of PTSD that she seeks to understand during the course of the story. Mariel also has had a complicated life with her parents using her and the Merry Men as pawns in some way. She admires her father deeply, but she is only just beginning to see him for who he is and understand what that means. She has a bit of a personal crisis and coming-of-age as she decides who she wants to be and what that means about her father (and her mother, who is mostly absent).

They have great chemistry that only grows as the story continues, despite the complications of their circumstances. Josey is a character whose book I would love to read- she seems impossibly skilled at everything and quite clever. I loved the scenes with her in them and learning about who she is along the way. The others in the group were equally as endearing, teens caught in something bigger but still being true to themselves and their deep friendships/found family.

Themes around power, right/wrong and defining morality, complicated family, grief/loss, love, and change were all really strong throughout. I found this to be quite endearing, entertaining, and emotional, and I loved the journey - I would definitely want to read more from this world and characters.

Final verdict: NOT FOR THE FAINT OF HEART is a consuming YA fantasy with plenty of humor, heart, and fantastic characters. Highly recommend picking this one up!