Not For the Faint of Heart / Lex Croucher / Book Review
NOT FOR THE FAINT OF HEART
When apprentice healer Clem is kidnapped by the Merry Men, she thinks this is a start to a grand adventure. She was raised on stories of the Merry Men, after all, and all the work they've done to keep the inhabitants of the Greenwood safe.
But the Merry Men have changed since the legendary Robin Hood's days. Their reputation has soured. And Mariel, granddaughter of Robin Hood and a new captain of the Merry Men, is desperate to live up to her father's expectations, whatever the cost. Kidnapping an apprentice healer and holding her hostage is just one such cost.
When Mariel's band of bandits runs afoul of the Sheriff of Nottingham, however, everything goes awry. As the dust settles after battle, Mariel finds her father, the Commander of the Merry Men, has been captured. Mariel spots the perfect opportunity to prove herself... even if it means dragging a perpetually cheerful captive along with her.
But the Merry Men have changed since the legendary Robin Hood's days. Their reputation has soured. And Mariel, granddaughter of Robin Hood and a new captain of the Merry Men, is desperate to live up to her father's expectations, whatever the cost. Kidnapping an apprentice healer and holding her hostage is just one such cost.
When Mariel's band of bandits runs afoul of the Sheriff of Nottingham, however, everything goes awry. As the dust settles after battle, Mariel finds her father, the Commander of the Merry Men, has been captured. Mariel spots the perfect opportunity to prove herself... even if it means dragging a perpetually cheerful captive along with her.
THOUGHTS
This book is tongue-in-cheek silly and fun, which is exactly what you'd expect in a Lex Croucher book. Definitely not for a history buff, this book doesn't take itself too seriously. I enjoyed the read, though I will say that the tropey goofiness didn't work quite as well here as it did in Gwen and Art are Not in Love. I found this book more silly than charming, but that might just be a matter of taste.
This book is tongue-in-cheek silly and fun, which is exactly what you'd expect in a Lex Croucher book. Definitely not for a history buff, this book doesn't take itself too seriously. I enjoyed the read, though I will say that the tropey goofiness didn't work quite as well here as it did in Gwen and Art are Not in Love. I found this book more silly than charming, but that might just be a matter of taste.
PROS
| Tropey Romance | It wouldn't be a Lex Croucher book if it didn't play with some fun tropes, dealing out a romance that would have 2010s tumblr swooning. This book embraces a grumpy-sunshine pairing with a touch of enemies-to-lovers, and there just aren't enough beds to go around. And that's just fun. |
| Casual Queerness | It's really nice to have a piece of escapist literature that doesn't put any sort of pressure on queer characters. Even in a fluff piece, authors can dig into the harsher realities of queer life, but that's just not the case here. People are allowed to be whatever they want, and there aren't any hard or probing questions asked in this book. And that makes for a fun little fantasy world to escape into, where everyone can, you know, just be. |
| Real Consequences | This is an adventure story at its core, and it is also a fluffy romance. And combining those two things can be hard, because an author might not want to tarnish the fluff with real bloodshed. But people get hurt in this book. There are ramifications when terrible choices are made. People die. And I can appreciate that, because it holds true to the nature of the adventure (while also not really diminishing the fluff). There's a good balance between soft romance and real consequence. |
CONS
| This book isn't for the history buff. I get it. And somebody just looking for a fluffy sapphic romance probably won't mind. But some of the little anachronisms did rankle me. Describing the Merry Men as "the most popular kids at a dance" doesn't feel right with the setting, and that's just the start of all the questions I had. Why does this Nottinghamshire girl know about octopi? How are there already potatoes in England? And why are we using the term "fascists," even if appropriate? It's not serious, but I don't think I was enjoying this book enough for me to forgive these little sins like I did in Gwen and Art. I just don't do silly that well. | Weird Anachronisms |
| Some of what made this book harder for me to enjoy is that Robin Hood isn't as interesting to me as the King Arthur myth, and I think this might extend to other readers simply based on the fact that more people will be familiar with the intricacies of Arthurian legend than the side characters of Robin Hood. I wasn't as excited about getting to know the descendants of the original Merry Men because the name drops just weren't as meaningful, at least to me. Someone who adores Robin Hood more than me might equally adore this book more. It just wasn't quite the right fit. | Content Mismatch |
| I loved the sass in Gwen and Art, and this book has equal sass... with less developed characters. There are just more characters, so they all feel a little underdeveloped. This makes the sass come off more one-dimensional than in Croucher's previous YA work, and that meant the silly tone didn't work quite as well. Everyone felt more like a character archetype than an actual character, and that was a definite detractor. | Tonal Confusion |
Rating
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
7/10
Fans of Lex Croucher's Gwen and Art are Not in Love will adore this tongue-in-cheek dive into another bit of legendary English "history." Those who enjoy The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood by Howard Pyle will like entering a world inspired by those Merry Men and what comes next.
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Details
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Note: I was provided with an ARC by the publisher through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions here are my own. |
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