Book Review: Lady of the Forest - Jennifer Roberson

One thing I mentioned during my 100th story a few years ago was my blog, Crazy Nut Reviews. It focused on book reviews and has been a passion project of sorts for a while now. I've been struggling to find something new and interesting to write recently, so I thought it would be cool to go back through my blog's archive and share some book reviews.

The first one is Jennifer Roberson's Lady of the Forest.

The Story:

The story of Robin Hood and his Merry Men has been told and retold through the centuries, and Roberson gives it a slight twist. In her take on the story, Robert of Locksley has returned from the crusades, albeit with some severe physical and emotional scarring. Richard the Lionheart is still a captive, however, and when the Sheriff of Nottingham, William de Lacey, starts causing trouble, Robert becomes Robin Hood, assembling a group of men.

Here’s where the twist comes in: instead of giving to the poor, as many interpretations have them do, Robin and his band are stealing to pay the ransom demanded for Richard the Lionheart’s release from captivity.

Pros and Cons

• The story is great, and the characters are thoroughly three-dimensional!
• Roberson’s writing style makes it an incredibly easy read as well
• If I had to pick one specific problem it would be the villainous Sheriff of Nottingham. He starts out okay, but then ends up sounding like some belligerent fanboy when Marian refuses his frequent proposals.

Overall the book was an exciting read and I thoroughly enjoyed it.