Happy Tuesday and welcome back to The Bibliophagist!! I have been beyond excited for this post for a while now. Before that…we opened our store!! Friday we finally opened the doors to our metaphysical store!!!!! I was beyond excited and we had a great first day open. I won’t get carried away in this post, but I will be making a post about our store soon. I have another reason for posting today.
I’m sure you can tell by the title of this post that I am a part of yet another blog tour hosted by Fantastic Flying Book Club! I have to thank them again because they are the most amazing tour group I’ve worked with. They also don’t charge authors for tours which are, let’s be honest, amazing!! I am so comfortable working with them and I think I will forever remain on the review team. They truly are a blessing in the book community.
So…the book I am talking about today is one that I have been anticipating for a long time now…Hood! Let’s face it, I love retellings and this was obviously one I needed to read! A new spin on Robin Hood…count me in!
Don’t forget to check out all the other great posts for the tour here.
Hood 
Author: Jenny Elder Moke
Published: June 9th 2020
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Book Length: 320 Pages
Genre: Fantasy (YA), Retelling
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Buy the book: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Book Depository (Use my referral ID: TheBibliophagist)
Disclaimer: I received an e-copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for my honest opinion and review.
Isabelle of Kirklees has only ever known a quiet life inside the sheltered walls of the convent, where she lives with her mother, Marien. But after she is arrested by royal soldiers for defending innocent villagers, Isabelle becomes the target of the Wolf, King John’s ruthless right hand. Desperate to keep her daughter safe, Marien helps Isabelle escape and sends her on a mission to find the one person who can help: Isabelle’s father, Robin Hood.
As Isabelle races to stay out of the Wolf’s clutches and find the father she’s never known, she is thrust into a world of thieves and mercenaries, handsome young outlaws, new enemies with old grudges, and a king who wants her entire family dead. As she joins forces with Robin and his Merry Men in a final battle against the Wolf, will Isabelle find the strength to defy the crown and save the lives of everyone she holds dear?
About the Authors
Jenny Elder Moke writes young adult fiction in an attempt to recapture the shining infinity of youth. She was a finalist in the 2017 Austin Film Festival Podcast Competition, and studied children’s writing with Liz Garton Scanlon.
When she is not writing, she’s gathering story ideas from her daily adventures with her two irredeemable rapscallions and honing her ninja skills as a black belt in Tae Kwon Do. Jenny lives in Austin, TX with her husband and two children.
Her debut novel, HOOD, about the daughter of Robin Hood and Maid Marien, will release from Disney/Hyperion in Spring 2020. She is represented by Elizabeth Bewley of Sterling Lord Literistic.
Review
Now, I’ve read many retellings but never a reimagining of Robin Hood. Of course, that meant that I needed to get my hands on this one. The biggest difference is that this story’s main character is in fact the daughter of Robin Hood. That may be the case but we do see some others that anyone who knows the tale of Robin Hood would recognize, such as Little John and Marien.
Isabelle is hit hard with the sudden news that her father is the famous Robin Hood and now she must find him. I know I would be hit hard with just knowing my father was Robin Hood, let alone knowing I must journey to find him to save my mother and keep her safe. That is a lot of pressure on someone’s shoulders but she doesn’t let it stop her. It took me a little while to really enjoy Isabelle as a character. I think as the story progressed, I grew to really enjoy her. She has a fiery spirit and I think that might be part of the reason I liked her in the end, her will and passion. I will say that as far as characters went, I was really hoping for better villains. They fell a little flat. The characters I think I loved most were the merry men. They were probably my favorite because of their interactions with one another…that and the fact that they accepted Isabelle without even knowing who she was, that says a lot about who they are. I was really happy that the romance was not a major focus in the book, that can be refreshing. The romance that was in this story was completely predictable with little build-up and all too much instalove.
The first thing I noticed about this novel was how the author wasted no time throwing you into the middle of the story. I don’t mind that because it leaves me to discover information as the characters do…however, some might not. It felt like readers were truly thrown into a story where they had no idea what was happening. In the first chapter we see Isabelle thrown in prison and then she’s out again…again, with no true explanation. A lot happens at the start, really fast and with little to no back story.
Overall, this was a beautifully written world with a fast-paced plot and well-developed characters that bring with them some nostalgia with stories of our childhood. A solid story and characters you tend to enjoy later on…this book was an enjoyable read. I’m not sure it was high on my list of books I’d love to re-read anytime soon but it was something that I enjoyed as I turned the pages. Looking for a read that will be quick and entertaining? Why not give this new retelling of Robin Hood a chance?
Giveaway
Prize: Win (1) of (2) copies of HOOD by Jenny Elder Moke (US Only)
Starts: 3rd June 2020
Ends: 17th June 2020
Rafflecopter giveaway
What do you think? Is this book something you’d enjoy to read? Have you read it, what did you think?
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