Sherwood

By: Meagan Spooner

Narrated by: Fiona Hardingham

Length: 13 hrs and 20 mins

Publisher's Summary

Fans of Danielle Paige, Marissa Meyer, and Alex Flinn will devour New York Times best-selling author Meagan Spooner’s next fierce fairy-tale-inspired story, which Illuminae author Amie Kaufman calls “a kick-ass, gender-flipped feminist retelling”.

Robin of Locksley is dead. 

Maid Marian doesn’t know how she’ll go on, but the people of Locksley town, persecuted by the sheriff of Nottingham, need a protector. And the dreadful Guy of Gisborne, the sheriff’s right hand, wishes to step into Robin’s shoes as lord of Locksley and Marian’s fiancé. 

Who is there to stop them? 

Marian never meant to tread in Robin’s footsteps - never intended to stand as a beacon of hope to those awaiting his triumphant return. But with a sweep of his green cloak and the flash of her sword, Marian makes the choice to become her own hero: Robin Hood. 

©2019 Meagan Spooner (P)2019 HarperCollins Publishers

Dissapointing ending

Thought overall it was a good story, but I hated the ending. I hated that Marian went from a character who had agency to one that had so much doubt and had to be saved by literally everyone. And that they were like “oh well I guess he’s dead.” *shrug*

Worth the credit

again I thought not another Sherwood. But the twist was great. I would have like this to turn a little to the bad ass female role, and in a way it is and then its not.

Would recommend at a ‘meh’ on a scale of 1-10.

It’s not bad exactly... a little slow, but full of intrigue - I seriously had no idea how it was going to end! A lot of unexpected decisions were made and it’s more sad than I would have guessed. Still, worth the credit I spent on it for sure!

A hard book for me to get into, though maybe, as has happened before, I’ll reread it at some other time and experience it in a wholly different way, loving every minute!

At least the narration was good! Part of the reason I finally succumbed to my curiosity and bought this book was because I like Fiona Hardingham.

one of those books you can't put down. can't wait

can't wait for the next book.one of those books you can't put down. three cheers for Megan spooner

Great book!

Great twist to a timeless story. I love it. Definitely a story I want to reread again and again.

Good Story, Awkward Vocals

Sherwood is one of those stories that takes the reader through a rollercoaster of emotions. Initially, I wanted to DNF because Robin and Marian are one of my OTP, but Spooner did a great job reimagining the story. In this audiobook, though, the vocals for Guisburn we're distracting because there was no emotional/vocal change to match the characterization.

Loved it!

A twist to Robin Hood & it was so so good! Fiona is amazing as well..

Solid story, but weak ending

I enjoyed this retelling of the Robin Hood legend, for the most part. Marian as a character was well developed with skills and shortcomings that made following her through this story very interesting. She is very much a warrior woman with a strong ability in archery. Despite these skills, she doesn't dominate her way through the story. She struggles, succeeds, makes mistakes, and corrects them where she can.

I also appreciate how the "not like the other girls" idea is addressed and thrown out the window with Marian having two female friends with very different personalities and skillsets than her who are sympathetic and competent as well. They both help in Marian's missions and one even saves her life.

The only reason this isn't a five star is the ending, particularly with the romance. Spoilers ahead! The romance was an enemies to lovers scenario with a slow burn. The trouble is that the burn was too slow for the length of the novel. Marian consistently hated this man through the course of novel while his interest in her was centered on gaining her father's lands. That's an OK start, but we never really got a journey away from that until they had an abrupt make out session and he professed his love. Then in the end, the story just ends with them agreeing that they'll face no consequences for everything that happened bc.... the author needed to end the book with no intention of a sequel and everything needed to be tied up neatly.

I liked this enough to wish it was more open ended and there were more books to come to fully tell this story.

A New Turn in Every Chapter

I can usually predict the story before I read it, but this book kept me guessing. I love how the author teases the reader with little hints of possible directions the story is going. What a surprise ending.
This is the 2nd book I have read by Megan Spooner and I am going onto Audible to find my next book by the author.
Don't miss out on this book, you will be pleasantly surprised!

I couldn't listen to this.

I couldn't finish. The reader was fine, but it didn't peak my interest at all.

Historical feminist role reversal

Role reversal, feminist historical rewriting of myth/history. Worked for me.

An idea I can't believe hasn't been thought of before, now I've read it! 'What if' Robin wasn't really Robin, but was really... Marian?

One of the most famous heroes/criminals of all time, Robin Hood, dead before he could become the legend. In Spooner's world, Robin of Loxley has died overseas in the Crusades. His fianceé, she can't quite believe it, but the common people need a protector, a hero, someone to look after their interests against the ruling lords.

Marian finds herself taking on the identity of her dead childhood friend, and herself an accomplished archer, might be able to serve her people AND protect her own interests as Guy of Gisborne attempts to woo her.

A very interesting take on the story, and the questions you would ask yourself about a woman taking on a man's role all come up. The way she feels about fulfilling the job, how she keeps herself both hidden and seen as a male, how it changes her perception of other women in a medieval world, how her own confidence and expectations alter.

Personally, my favourite aspect of the story was Guy of Gisborne. I just loved how he begins as the definite bad guy, but gradually both Marian and the reader sees some of his backstory nad you can't help but feel that he might not be wholly someone you should loathe.

A good feel for the period, and a great exploration of a woman's perspective of the legend. Some light sexual content and references, so one I'd recommend to ages 14 and above.

A good Audible choice, the voice of Marian is well-conveyed, with a younger-sounding voice for the younger Marian in flashbacks, and an easy story to follow along with the narrator.

With thanks to Nudge Books for providing a sample Audible copy.