Does anyone remember the movie The Princess of Thieves? This book reminds me of a reboot of this movie. But more of what if she did not start with the Merry Men. I love what-if stories and alternate scenarios. This one I enjoyed. I am hoping for a sequel but will be happy with what we got.
Isabelle of Kirklees is the main character of this story. Isabelle could be rounded a little more, but it is not enough to call her a flat character. You see her flaws and how they related to her time growing up in the quiet life inside the sheltered walls of the convent where she lives with her mother, Marien, and her growth when she is with the “new-gen” of Merry Men. What I liked about her is, you can tell whose daughter she is by her personality, and she is still her own self. Isabelle is an interesting character and loved how you see who she is throughout the book.
There was a part of this book where it reminded me of The Prince of Thieves movie. The part where we see the Merry Men’s village in Sherwood Forest. I could relate to most of this part from the movie how it was the first time Marien saw the village to how it was when Isabelle first saw it. The gathering of the families at the tables, the homes up in trees, and various other things. The way the Merry Men interact with each other and how everyone seems to not care what the backgrounds are as long as you are loyal to Robin and prove your place amongst them.
Adam, Patrick, Little, and Helena are who I like to call the “new-gen” of the Merry Men. I fell in love with these characters. Each one is different, and yet they fight like siblings. I enjoyed learning about them throughout the novel. They were well flushed. The small rivalry between Isabelle and Helena was great to see. How accepted Isabelle into the group was great to see after she proved herself to be amongst them. I would love to see more of these characters.
I enjoyed this book and would recommend this to those who love fun reading and what-if books.
*I received an ARC, and this is my honest opinion.
I give this book a 5/5
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