Hi! Welcome! We are all new here on this post. Today I want to talk about Robin Hood – Shadows of Sherwood Forest by Tilman Roehrig.
To start, my tea of choice while finishing the book was Pumpkin Chia by David’s Tea (which is a seasonal tea), which fit perfectly with the fall weather Indiana was having last week.
eARC provided via Netgalley for an unbiased review. I am a huge fan of Robin Hood, my favorite adaptation is the BBC show starring Jonas Armstrong. It was the perfect mix of serious but light hearted Robin. When I saw this cover it reminded me of that show, which is why I picked it up. Once you get used to the writing style it’s your semi traditional retelling of Robin Hood, you have Robin, Much, Little John, Friar Tuck, and Marian. However, they are not all as you probably remember them (thinking Disney’s Robin Hood). Little John is the perspective that we getting the story from which was great! And Marian was only a little girl, same spunk and fire that you expect from Marian in all of the different versions and retellings. This version of Robin however, took me a long time to get used to, and honestly even by the end of the book I still wasn’t a huge fan of him. He was weirdly both to serious and not nearly serious enough. Think of the goofiest puppy you have ever seen either in person or a video of and that’s what Robin reminded me of, without the benefit of being adorable. Little John was a good narrator and you see him as a giant lovable teddy bear most of the time, he had become the guardian to Marian after her mother and brother were killed by agents of Prince John.
We continue to follow Little John as he grows into fatherhood, and as he becomes Robin Hood’s right hand man. You get all of the usual Robin Hood lovable antics that you expect from this story. But you also get Marian being allowed to be her own person and not stifled by either Little John and Robin or the village ladies that end up helping Little John care for her while he is out robbing the rich to give to the poor. The thing that I loved the most is Spoiler at the end of the book, the mantle of Robin Hood is passed down to another young man as Robert of Loxley is aging and about to be killed. This is the Robin Hood that ends up catching Marian’s eye, which to be honest was a relief! I was very worried the majority of the book at this very young Marian was going to end up with the Robin who was 4-6 times her age at least.
In conclusion, this was an enjoyable book. Definitely targeted towards readers that enjoy retellings of legends and myths. It is suitable for both YA and Adult audiences with the biggest thing happening (outside of the robbing and occasional killing) was the Merry Men of Sherwood Forest would frequently drink and get drink. I look forward to what Tilman Roehrig puts out next!
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