Robin: Lady of Legend

by R.M. ArceJaeger

What if Robin Hood wasn't the man you thought him to be—what if he wasn't a man at all?

Robin of Locksley is young, headstrong, and about to receive the worst birthday present of her life. Still struggling to define herself in a society that believes women are fit for little more than governing a household and bearing children, she balks at her father's plans for her future, but the consequences of her rebellion prove deadly. Hunted by both her father and the Sheriff, Robin is forced to hide her identity and seek refuge as an outlaw in Sherwood Forest.

Disguised as a lad for protection, Robin maintains a careful isolation from the world around her...until she chances upon a young boy being beaten to death by the Sheriff's soldiers. Her rescue of the youth marks the beginning of her leadership in Sherwood forest and of the unfortunates who seek refuge therein. Robin's endeavors to provide a life of honor and purpose for her people while aiding the land's downtrodden win her high esteem, but enrage the Sheriff of Nottingham, who plots a deadly fate for her and her band.

As the Sheriff's traps close in around her and assassins seek to bring her down, Robin must risk losing love, leadership, and life if she is to save her people and fulfill her destiny as one of history's greatest heroes.

Alive with adventure and danger, sword fights and heists, hatred and love, Lady of Legend is the never-before-told tale of the girl who became Robin Hood.

Genres: Fantasy, Historical Fiction, Young Adult, Romance, Retellings, Historical, Fiction

382 pages, ebook

First published January 1, 2012

About the author

R.M. ArceJaeger is a multi-genre author whose specialties include:
Fantasy, Historical Fiction, and Non-Fiction works.

Her particular passion is making readers rethink classic tales in new and exciting ways.

Reviews

[Erika · Rating 4 out of 5]

Popcorn book. Clever re-telling of the Robin Hood story. But can you really read any Robin Hood story without still thinking of foxes, a bear, a rooster, a tiger?

[Teno Q. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hmm...there's something very amusing about watching a girl pretend to be a boy, isn't there? Although, I've never seen anyone attempt the inverse; heaven help a male who disgraces himself by wanting to be a girl, right? I mean, who would ever want to be female? What a silly thought.

I've recently come off reading another Robin Hood retelling - Scarlet by A.C. Gaughen - in which Will Scarlet is actually a girl, disguised as a boy, in love with Robin, and secretly the fiancé of Gisborne! And her real name is Marian, as in the Maid Marian from the original legend - so I was doubly amused when I got into this story to find that Robin had now become the girl, Marian was now her sister, and her love interest was now Little John . It's ironic because in Scarlet, his affections towards the heroine were unrequited. The flexibility of retellings is really something; it starts to seem like a mix-and-match game in which you can arrange all the pieces to your liking, doesn't it?

Between the two, I have to say I liked this one less. The trope of a tomboyish noblewoman who rebels against femininity and all that represents it is getting to be a tired and overused one, and the Robin of Locksley in this book adds nothing new to the cliché. I guarantee you that 99.9% of all women in arranged marriages during those times had no other choice but to acquiecse and marry their grooms, whether or not they actually liked them. It's just wishful thinking of the modern feminist that wants women like Robin to have existed; and besides, putting a bow and sword in a girl's hands does not automatically make her a champion of Survivor, nor does it make her a strong and believable female character. Although this is not fantasy, feminism seems to be most prevalent in fantasy, but not always effectively, and any aficionado who's familiar with fantasy tropes will tell you the same. I'm a realist and I have very little regard for wishful thinking, even within that genre.

Also, despite this being a feminist trope, it's actually a contradiction of what true feminism stands for. It implies that to be strong, a woman must be masculine, which is not true. I would like to see more female characters a la Jane Eyre - Jane was ladylike and plain, a veritable paragon of feminine propriety as the society of her time dictated, but she was intelligent, thought for herself, had an indomitable sense of integrity. She was strong without ever having to even touch a weapon or wear breeches.

I think it's time for everyone, not just authors, to understand that strength and self-worth comes from your character, not from your skills, or what clothes you wear, or the shape of your body, or your income.

Philosophical mumbojumbo aside: maybe I'm a little cynical, but everything in this book is too happy. Like a children's show that never manages to rack up any real tension because the experienced viewer knows that everything will end well, with no casualties, no quandary that the heroes in this book encountered ever had me worrying. Once, twice, three times something bad happened without any consequences, and suddenly I become very bored. And there's no overarching plotline to propel you to the ending, either. This book focuses on the adventures of Robin and company while living in their forest abode, and each time they shrug off whatever bit of trouble they've encountered, they're back to dallying happily in the forest, unmolested.

And I can't forget the cheesy avowals of love that sprung out of nowhere near the ending. After a long period with no mention of the "romance," out of the blue Robin's love interest confesses love to her, and then proposes to her, all in less than a minute. Oh my god. Maybe a seasoned actor could pull that off believably, but coming out of anyone else's mouth, it's just cringe-worthy. I don't even want to talk about it.

2.5 stars.

[Misfit]

Hmmm. Free on Kindle today.

[Ginger · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love retellings. It is like you get to re-read a story that you enjoyed, but it is new again. It just makes me happy.

So, what if Robin Hood was a woman?
It's got everything that makes a story enjoyable: sword fights, survival, friendships that span even the greatest divides, betrayal, a bitter sweet love story and a perfect HEA.

Robin could not go through an arranged marriage with the dreaded Sherrif of Nottingham. She 'borrows' her cousin's (Will Scarlet's) clothing and heads out on her own. In self defense she ends up killing a man and becomes an outlaw. Soon she starts to attract others like herself. Their outlaw status, earned when doing what was needed to survive, has taken away their lives so they decide to take something back.

Through some trial and error, Robin gets a handle on her band of 'merry' men. She does not want them to steal just for the sake of beeing bullies or having riches but to better the world around them. So begins the legend.

I love Robin's bravery, honesty and her sense of humor. She is in no way perfect and she has troubles staying up on the pedistal that her friends have put her on.

A great book to take with you camping. Or, if you are more of an indoor type, you can feel like you are camping while you read it in your comfy chair at home ;)

Thank you to my good friend Deb that loaned this book to me because she knew I would enjoy it.

[Zoe and the Edge · Rating 4 out of 5]

Robin is a confident and determined girl. She’s fierce and capable and doesn’t have much room for sentimentality. Her leadership is strong and her values are etched in stone. She wants to be known as as gallant highwayman not just any old robber so she exhibits plenty of charm to the people she steals from.
She has many fun successes and I really enjoyed seeing her flourish as Robin Hood of the Sherwood Forest.
I liked this alternate version of Robin and his Merry Men. Robin is very reluctant to take on people into her forest home. But her compassion gets the better of her. It’s really a book about growth. Robin faces new challenges all the time but she’s brave enough to face them head on. She finds that obstacles aren’t so bad when you actually get to fighting them.

I don't want to give away anything so I won't say much. There are several moments that link back to Robin Hood folklore but the author puts a unique twist to each one.
There isn't really one driving plot, but little adventures that happen from day to day.
The ending is a weak wrap up and I wouldn't quite call this a romance. At least not my kind. I didn't find the hero attractive at all. Still, a good read that I enjoyed.

[Lanie · Rating 2 out of 5]

So . . . . . this took me WAY longer to get through than i thought it would. :( and i waited EVER so patiently for it to come out in paperback so i could order it from amazon.com and it could joined ranks with my other 50 something Fictional Robin Hood books. (i'm only slightly obsessed. but i just can't help myself. there's just something wonderfully appealing a handsome outlaw stealing from corrupt rich and give his loot to the poor.) This one just didn't do it for me.

Not to say it was horribly bad book. i just didn't think it was great. :(

I love the ballads and the classic stories as much as the next fan. they have this certain old-timiness that i adore. the original stories, like Howard Pyle's "The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood", are pretty much the building block of the whole deal. like the "Lord of the Rings" is the foundation of epic fantasy. but when i'm reading a book written 2013, i sort of expect a little more than a rewritten copy of those stories. i'm serious, like 80% of the plot was stolen from Pyle's pages. and while i can appreciate the call back to the classics, and can understand the author was influenced by Pyle's work, there's a point were it boarders on plagiarism.

another thing i found off-putting was the dialog. half the time it seemed modern, the other times it seemed to be trying to hard to copy the olden day speech, and it gotten kind of confusing. Not to mention the character development. it was just . . . .meh. there really wasn't any. Robin never really grew over the course of the story. it never felt like she matured. :( honestly, she's sort of an idiot. being vain about your long, pretty hair is not a good enough reason to risk having you secret exposed! she just doesn't think about things, she just runs of with these dangerous half-plans. luck can only get one so far. having such a rash and careless leader is a much bigger issue than having said leader be a girl disguised as a man. (that's another issue! we don't get to actually see her telling her men that she's a woman. we just get to see her remembering it!) the other characters were all just these boring, flat cardboard cutout of characters. almost all of them were all either perfectly good or cartoonishly evil with no clear motivations beyond the standard greediness of nobles. the few side characters who's stories could have been really interesting - like the sheriff, lord loxesly, gisbourne, and johnny - were all just glossed over because the story was so focused on Robin trying not to make doe eyes at John and running off to random adventures that us die hard hoodies have all seen before.

the ending was also just. . . . .meh. the climatic part of the story seemed to short and the BIG FIGHT/ESCAPE just wasn't that exciting. what little romance was also there in the end story just seemed forced. (i REALLY don't think men talk the way he was talking there. "i need you like the stars need the sky?" please. that just sounds like a bad pick up line.)

now, there were some good parts to "Robin: Lady of Legend", which why my official rating is actually 2.5 stars. i liked the writing style. it was pretty. and i loved the beginning part of the book where Robin's still at home, then plans to run away, then gets outlawed. (it only started getting REALLY copy-catish after that point.) i liked Will Stutely, despite him being a flat character. :) he's adorable. and, or course, i love the idea of Robin Hood being a girl. Most Hood stories today have a girl dressing up as a boy and joining the Merry Men. extra points for choosing it to be Robin Hood. i'm a modern girl, and i totally agree with girls being able to fight just as well as men. i just think a lot more could have been done with this idea. "Robin: Lady of legend" sort of reminds me of "twilight". the story's a great IDEA in theory, but when it's actually been executed it just falls flat.
i think a more original plot line would have been the most helpful. sure, we can have the classic elements sprinkled in for fun, just not the whole damn thing!

[Matt Schiariti · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm glad I came across this book a day or two ago because it's a delightfully clever and fresh twist on an old classic tale.

Take everything you know about Robin Hood and his Merry Men and turn it on its ear. What if Robin weren't a young man, but an 18 year old girl?

In order to maintain and strengthen his position in the land, Lord Robert Locksley arranges a marriage between his eldest daughter Robin Ann to one Phillip Darniel, the sheriff of Nottingham! Robin, who's always been headstrong and much more interested in male pursuits such as going out into the woods and archery, will have none of it and would rather leave everything she knows and loves, including her younger sister maid Marian, behind and fend for herself in the woods. Slowly but surely her sense of honor and natural leadership has outlaws and the downtrodden of Nottingham flocking to her like moths to flame. They don't know Robin is a young girl though, as she's disguised her voice and is never seen without her hood.

This is such an interesting twist on the old tale, and told in such a great way that it's like being introduced to these classic characters for the first time. Twists on Will Scarlet and Little John as well as Robin herself makes this a fun and exciting read from the first word to the last. It also introduced a world of possibilities and problems for the characters. Will Robin ever reveal her secret, her true identity? Will she ever see her family again? When she starts developing feelings for one of her Merry Men who still thinks she's a boy, how will she handle this? These are the types of clever alterations that make this novel fresh and new even though most people are already pretty familiar with the legend of Robin Hood whether it be from the literature or the score of films that have been made over the years.

The only complaint I have is that it has to end! Getting into the characters that ArceJeager has breathed new life into, I would love to see what other adventures they get into as they get older and get into more hijinks.

A great and fun work that's exciting, entertaining and heartfelt, I would love for this to be a series but if not, I'm still glad I got a chance to read this fantastic new take on well established characters. This author is now on my radar!
Comment Comment | Permalink

[Madelyn- The Squeaky Clean Reader · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic retelling with an awesome love story!

This book was so fabulously done! I loved the backstories, the real life of living in a forest, the angst of Robin's secrets, and the blooming romance. This book is amazing. Such a fantastic Robin Hood retelling! I have read this several times and never get tired of the amazing story the author wove around the legend of Robin Hood.

💋Kisses only
⚠️Fantasy violence

[Duckie · Rating 2 out of 5]

“Robin: Lady of Legend” is an entertaining, textually well-crafted novel unfortunately undermined by weaknesses in narration and other literary elements. To begin with, the narration spends most of the time in third-person limited but there are sudden, frequent shifts to third-person omniscient that bump the reader out of the flow, as in the following example:

“Ducking into an alleyway, Robin pulled out a dress from her waist sack and donned her woman’s disguise, too intent on her mission to register the irony that she now thought of women’s garb as the guise, and not men’s. If she had considered it, the thought would have disturbed her, but all her attention was focused on Nottingham Castle.” Highlight Location (2205-9)

The narration also sometimes jumps between characters in the same scene, as when Robin meets Little John; this is especially distracting when Robin thinks of herself as “she” and then in the next paragraph another character thinks of her as “he.” This is going to be an issue in any novel dealing with concealed gender roles, but it can be managed - Scott Westerfeld, for example, handles it with particular deftness in his “Leviathan” series, and with a little work it could have been handled better here.

The narration and interspersed use of song are both faithful imitations of those in Howard Pyle’s classic version. However, their use here serves to mimic rather than evoke - there aren’t any new insights gained from their inclusion. This is the equivalent of remaking a classic Hollywood film by just reshooting it shot for shot. It might have been more effective to evoke Pyle’s writing style as a nod to earlier works, and then to update it for modern readers. For example, keep the same writing style but shorten the sentence length during action or comedy scenes, as these in particular seem a bit slow. Or use Pyle’s flowery prose as a contrast to describe a bloody battle scene.

There’s also a noticeable lack of character arcs, which means plot elements are strung together like individual episodes but there is little overall cohesion. Robin herself does not appear to change much throughout the novel; there are references at the beginning to her behavior being “selfish” and toward the end there are mentions of her accepting her leadership role and caring for others, but we are told this rather than allowed to watch her develop over the course of the story. Her adventures in Sherwood are related with an engaging sense of fun and whimsy, but without a character arc to underpin them the novel as a whole wavers in its sense of purpose.

Perhaps the biggest issue with the novel is its lack of depth. There’s little weaving of plot, symbolism and other literary elements to create a rich tapestry of a novel - there’s only one thread here (the plot), and everything takes places on the surface. Interestingly, this seems to be common to authors with a strong STEM background; Naomi Novik does it, and to an extent so does Neal Stephenson. There is some symbolism, as in the references to a red hart in the forest that no one can catch, but this is spliced in rather than woven seamlessly into the story fabric; in the second reference to the red hart the author explicitly states that the hart represents Robin’s sense of freedom, instead of trusting to her readers’ perspicacity and leaving that in the background for them to find. The main issue is that these elements are logically sequential but are all hit with exactly the same force, which is distracting with the use of such a rich writing style - it’s like expecting to see the London Symphony Orchestra and instead watching a talented soloist play bass guitar (edited because I'm not a great writer and I never liked how I originally phrased that). Regardless of how good the soloist is (and there should be no question, the author really can write), there is still only one stream of music instead of many interweaving melodies. Relying predominantly on plot rather than incorporating multiple literary elements means the novel begins to buckle under the weight of such ornate prose.

In spite of this, ArceJaeger is a more than capable author, and I was more satisfied spending $2.99 for this than I was spending upwards of $10 for other Robin Hood novels. Unlike many professional authors she shows a solid understanding of the main elements of story construction, even if her execution is bit imperfect, and she has an obvious passion for her subject. The novel could have used some professional editing assistance, true, but for a self-published work it’s not bad, and I look forward to seeing if the author continues this story in a sequel.

[jodie louise · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really do love re-tellings, from fairy tales to different twists on the story of King Arthur and Robin Hood and his or in this case her Merry Men. So when I realized that I'd had this little gem sat on my Kindle for months I decided to give it a bash. Luckily for me I liked it, it pulled my sorry ass out of a four month long reading slump gave me a kick up the arse to get my nose back in a book.

Robin: Lady of Legend is a retelling of Robin Hood where in this case Robin is an eighteen year old girl of noble birth, it tells the tale of how Robin became the outlaw and leader of a band of Merry Men living in the depths of Sherwood forest. The adventures and all the troubles she and her men went through, their battles with the Sheriff and more in-between.

Generally these retelling have the same basic plot line, well obviously it is a re-telling but the thing that always draws me back to these kinds of books is each authors own personal twists and which relationships they choose to develop between well known and well loved characters, so any opportunity to read a retelling I'm more than likely going to take it.

This was a good book, it was enjoyable and an easy read not my favourite Robin Hood re-telling I've ever read but for fans of the Hood, or someone just looking for a likeable heroine or the chance to see some familiar characters in a different light this book is an enjoyable read, though I only gave this book three stars I did enjoy it there's just a lot of competition where re-tellings of the Hood are concerned, Scarlet by A.C. Gaughen is possibly my favourite book of all time and earlier in the year I read K.M Shea's version of the Hood in her duology Robyn Hood both of which I enjoyed immensely.

So if your a fan of the Hood or feel like giving retellings a go this is a sound place to start, it's light and enjoyable and will give you a taste for more tales of Robin hood and his (or her) band of Merry Men.

[Robin · Rating 1 out of 5]

I found the dialogue was often painfully fake or modern feeling, some scenes were rather hokey, and the characters very one dimensional and unrealistic. For example, Robin's attempt to reason with her father that Phillip was not a good marriage match for her because he has a daughter about the same age as her was moot - in that day and age, such a union was commonplace and not even the bride would think it unusual. Even if Robin found the idea repugnant, she should have been smart enough to realize that no one else would consider it a reason not to marry him.

I realise that in order to fill this role, Robin had to be an extraordinarily strong and wilful woman but instead, she came across to me as too modern, not very bright, and immature. More examples occurred further into the book as well - such as when Robin sounds her bugle, forgetting that her Merry Men would assume it’s a call of distress. Or when she doesn’t stop to think at first that information provided by a guard could be false. I just don’t see how such lack of forethought can be characteristic of a successful leader like Robin Hood.

So not surprisingly, I really struggled to get into it and only finished it because it was so short.

[Hollie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really sweet retelling of Robin Hood.

This was defiantly a unique spin on a classic fairytale. I loved that Robin Hood was a girl. I also enjoyed the fast moving plot and characters. It was a sweet young adult (easily PG rating) read. No profanity, sex, etc. A charming but fast paced read to be adored by readers of all ages. It was also offered as a kindleunlimited. This was the first time I have read any of this writers work but I will be checking out more in the future.

[Caz · Rating 2 out of 5]

This has really good ratings but I got a quarter of the way through and just had no interest in it.

[Wine Country · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I started Robin: Lady of Legend I was skeptical but excited. I LOVE Robin Hood stories and I was excited to read a version with a female Robin Hood but this was the author's first book and I wasn't sure of this was going to be kind of a stepping stone for the author. But I was pleasantly surprised because this was a fantastic story, a little slow moving near the end but overall a very fun adventure.

Robin was a fun character to follow through her growth and adventures. The eldest of Lord Locksley's two daughters, the younger one being Marian, she is betrothed to the Sheriff of Nottingham at the age of 18, which is fairly old for that time period. An adventurous and head strong girl, Robin wants nothing to do with the evil sheriff and a few nights before her wedding she finally makes her escape, with the help of her cousin, Will Gamwell who becomes Will Scarlett :-). As she ventures to London to seek an audience with the King and beg to be released from her marriage to the sheriff she ends up in Sherwood Forest. On her second night alone a traveler passes by, after striking up a conversation with this handsome John Little, the two decide to travel together. But along the way they are ambushed in the forest by some of the Sheriffs men and after a fight and a horrible accident, Robin flees into the woods to escape the deed she committed. And thus truly begins her journey as she develops her talent as a master archer, teaches herself to survive on her own and her inner talent as a born leader. As more and more outlaws turn to her for help Robin becomes the legend we have all grown up on and finds a love she never thought possible.

This was an absolutely all out fun story for me. Robin was infectious with her huge heart and her wild sense of adventure you just can't help but smile right along with her. Little John (who he is "christened" as later in the story) was fantastic as her right hand man and love interest and Will Stutley was downright hilarious as her first outlaw follower and dear friend who just couldn't stop himself from getting in trouble with the sheriff by chasing after his daughter. I thought ArceJaeger did a fantastic job of weaving together all the characters we loved from the Classic Robin Hood but with a different twist. It was fun seeing these characters through a female Robin's eyes.

The adventures were so much fun and the underlying message of freedom and class segregation was perfectly weaved throughout the story. I only had two real complaints that kept this from being a 5 star read for me. First, ArceJaeger would sometimes switch between character's POV's mid paragraph and it was sometimes hard to figure out exactly who you were following. There was rarely a distinction in the structure of the writing that would indicate you had suddenly changed to Little John or Lord Locksley's POV. But after a while you kind of get into the rhythm of the writing and can figure out who your following. Granted 90% of the book is from Robin's POV so it's not a constant change but still a little jarring once you realize it has happened.

My second issue, and it was not a big deal, was that about 2/3 of the way through the story I felt it started to drag a little and could have been cut down a little bit more. I felt it could have been wrapped up a little sooner than it was and I did find myself skimming some of the chapters hoping to get to the big climax and of course the romance.

But overall this was still a fun and extremely adventurous story and I miss my little Merry Men and of course Robin and Little John. Definitely a read I recommend for anyone who is a fan of Robin Hood and looking for a fun and uplifting read.

[Katelyn (Lost as Alice, Mad as the Hatter) · Rating 2 out of 5]

BLAND

In a word.

A young woman dodges a terrible arranged marriage by running away and accidently becoming the leader of a band of thieves who just happend to hassle the evil tyrrant she was supposed to marry and ultimately finding true love...

If she did not have to pretend to be a man and end up also destroying her family in her act of rebellion, well I would say the entire affair was quite serendipitous. In fact, how it all comes together in the end is nothing short of engineered. As I said... BLAND

So on the one hand we have our heroine Robin Lockely. She is the daughter of a grief stricken father, sister to maid Marian, cousin to Will Scarlet, and overall tomboy. In an effort to secure her future (being tall, a straight shot with a long bow, and opinionated are apparently not good for a girl's prospects), her father decides to arrange a marriage between her and the only man who will have her: the vile Sheriff of Nottingham *que the abject "hissing" and "booing"*.

To escape she decides to run away leaving her father in debt,her sister with the controlling houskeeper, and her cousin holding the guilt bag. She runs into John Little whilst faking being a man. From here a series of events cause her to become an outlaw and leader.

The problems? Her sister is now the next in line to marry the Sheriff. Her Merry Men and community believe she is a man. She has humiliated a series of dangerous men. Her father will lose the manor for her deeds. And she is also falling in love with her second in command.

But no worries because she works it all out by constantly questioning her decisions and making a series of pride driven mistakes. Her father even realizes the error of selling his daughters after meeting the outlaw with more honor than his daughter's would be husband.

I would go into details, but they are predictible and dues ex freaking machina time and again. The high points have been hit. You do not even need to worry about her criminal behaviors because dues ex machina will come to her rescue again right at the end...to the last sentence...JOY!

All sarcasm aside, my disappointment is astounding. I enjoy a good retelling and was interested to see how a female Robin Hood turned out. In the end our Robin gave up everything for a man and was rescued by royalty. How droll.

I would skip this one if you are interested staying engaged. You cannot even get angry because the boredom will prevent any strong emotion. On the bright side, everyone had the Disney happy ending complete with marriages and the smiting of evil.

[Greg · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a thoroughly enjoyable re-imagining of the Robin Hood tale! I'm a lifelong fan of Robin Hood, and have enjoyed most incarnations, from children's versions, to Howard Pyle's venerable stories, to Errol Flynn in the movies. There is just something about the liner who flees to the woods, makes a life for himself (or in the present case, herself), and then becomes a social do-gooder. As a child, I can recall going out to the big field and woods behind our house and spending hours every summer imagining myself as Robin Hood.

Now, in this new version, like-minded people of the opposite gender have their own Robin Hood to emulate. On the surface, it's simply a rousing good tale, but there is more to it than meets the eye. Serious issues of gender equality, social responsibility, personal ethics, leadership, and so forth are simultaneously brought to light for those of a mind to consider them. If a parent and child were to read it together, it would make an interesting vehicle for discussion. For most, though, it will simply be a wonderful re-telling of a familiar tale, with some interesting twists. If I had any complaints about it at all, it is only that some of my favorites sub-plots of the Robin Hood story have been given little or no attention...Friar Tuck, Allan-a-Dale, etc. Perhaps the author will give us a sequel...

[Kat · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't know why i have been into some of these Robin Hood books, but i have been. Although i liked this one i think ScarletScarlet is my favorite out of the two. While this book was told as Robin being a girl and having to hide it, Scarlet was told as Will Scarlet being a girl. I liked the way this told. I thought all the characters were great and I loved how strong and kindhearted Robin was. I also loved how Robin was such a great leader. She lead a whole town and the whole town trusted and respected her. Little John was also a great character. Actually I loved all of the Merry Men. The plot was interesting as well. Although with the plot it wasn't always very suprising and there weren't many secrets that you didn't know. There were plenty of secrets Robin was keeping from people, but you knew the secrets. That is one of the reasons i like Scarlet better. Scarlet was suprising and you never really knew what was going to happen next. Eventhough this wasn't my favorite Robin Hood retelling, i really did like it a lot. It was a quick read and it was also enjoyable.

And if you haven't read Scarlet by A.C. Gaughen then you really need to.

[Carolyn C · Rating 3 out of 5]

Solid reinterpretation of a classic tale. It's not the fist time Robin Hood has been reimagined as a woman and all the pieces do fit together to make it a convincing adaptation.

It felt a little forced to make all those details fit; there weren't many moments when you, as the reader, could just be delightfully surprised at the clever, seamless meshing of familiar details and this new retelling. There were moments that were very well done, and they kept me reading- like the moment at the end when Darah exclaims that Robin and Marian are finally married! As in they are each married to other men, but it sounds like they are married to each other, and that's how the legend gets changed from the reality. It was nicely played, but there aren't enough of these.

And I think it's just me and my style preferences, but I really dislike the third person omniscient perspective. Pick a POV and stick with it! Or at least alert me when you are changing POVs. I find it very jarring to know what's running through Robin's head and then in the very next paragraph get an in depth look at her father's motivations and thought process. It confuses each character's individual voice for me.

[John Purvis · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Robin: Lady of Legend” was written by R. M. ArceJaeger (http://rmarcejaeger.com/). This is Ms. ArceJaeger’s first book.

I was alerted to this eBook being available for free during a promotion by http://eBooksHabit.com. This is a fantasy for Young Adults, particularly for young women, with a strong young female character. I would rate this book ‘PG’ only because of some fighting that goes on. The story is told first person and is a retelling of the familiar tale of Robin Hood. Only in Ms. ArceJaeger’s version, Robin is a young girl. When the story begins Robin is just 18 and she finds that her father has promised her hand in marriage to Phillip Daniel the Sheriff of Nottingham.

Robin runs away as the only way to avoid the marriage and her father’s wrath. She is bound for London, but gets sidetracked while passing through Sherwood forrest. The results is the story we are used to hearing of Robin’s many adventures, though there are one or two twists to the story.

I enjoyed the eight hours I spent reading this story. This Robin was different enough to be interesting. I thought that the story was well developed, and the characters had depth to them. I score this book as a 4 out of 5.

Other book reviews I have written can be found at http://johnpurvis.wordpress.com/blog/.

[Cheryl Carpinello · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had no clue what to expect from this book. The author was unknown to me. To be honest, I didn't even remember what the book was about. It sat in my to-read folder on my computer for months before the author contacted me to see how I was coming!

Now nearly finished, I have to say that I am impressed with the story telling and the unique twist put on the Legend of Robin Hood. The writing flows although sometimes I found myself skimming through the lengthly description. However, that is how I read if I am interested in a story and want to move quickly on to the next chapter. It was interesting to see how ArceJaeger handled each element of the legend.

The author's interpretation of the Robin Hood legend is one that I, as a writer, wish I had thought of, and I, the tomboy, would have relished growing up!

Fantastic retelling of the Robin Hood myth.

I would recommend this for ages 13 and up, based on the length of the book.

[Gabs · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is about a girl named Robin who ran away to avoid marrying the awful sheriff of Nottingham. She soon becomes the legendary Robin Hood. All right-- I was completely taken by this book. It was not some crappy retelling like some of the books I've read, it was a good twist on the original tale. I read the original book a couple of years ago, so while I was reading this, I could remember some of the scenes--but in this book the had the added element that Robin was secretly a girl. I was reading this book before bed, and I was going "just one more minute!" Thirty minutes in a row. The writing was excellent with no errors, which pleasantly surprised me since I got this for free on the kindle store. In short, this book was freaking AWESOME and I would highly recommend it.

[Cheree Alsop · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the best Robin book I've read in a long time. I love the legend, and have been in love with it since I was a little girl reading about the adventures of Robin and his Merry Men. To read this version of the tale was delightful. I really liked the take of Robin being a girl, and R.M. ArceJaeger added many little snippets that tipped the hat to the original stories of Robin Hood, which I also enjoyed. Her imagery is detailed and beautiful. I felt like I was in Sherwood Forest and experiencing the dangers and joys of being in Robin Hood's band. I also enjoyed her portrayal of Robin herself. She was strong, but still feminine, and though she held her own against the men, she was also torn inside over her façade. This is a very well written book and I would highly recommend it. Enjoy!

[Sheila · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun re-telling of the Robin Hood legend, with the interesting twist that Robin is a ....GIRL! I read this aloud to my daughter, and we both enjoyed the story and the adventures of Robin, her sister Marian, her cousin Will, Little John, and all the other Merry Men (and women) who joined her band and lived in the greenwood of Sherwood Forest, stealing from the rich (but only the "bad" rich) and giving to the poor.

Of course, the story does have to end with a plot line left hanging, so I imagine there can be (and will be) a sequel to the story.

[Rachel John · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed the way the author played with the classic Robin Hood tale. In this version, Robin is actually Robin of Locksley, an 18-year-old girl who finds herself suddenly betrothed to the horrible Sheriff of Nottingham. She runs off disguised as a man, and the rest is history. The book held my attention throughout, but I thought that sometimes Robin got away with making really rash decisions with little consequence. 2.99 for Kindle or Free to borrow. Recommended.

[Megan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love the story of Robin Hood and his merry men but this book was just alright. I feel like the ending was kind of rushed and like Robin should have told her secret earlier in the book. The story wasn't so great that I stayed up all night reading it.

[Lauren · Rating 2 out of 5]

Robin

This was an interesting portrayal of the overall story. I liked the characters and how inventive they were.

Note: I received this book free from Amazon.

[Jacob · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm a fan of Robin Hood stories, in addition to King Arthur stories. I appreciate when someone does something fresh with it, which is a tough thing to do. Make it too similar and it's boring. Make it too different and then it loses what drew people to the legend in the first place.

The basic premise of this one is that Robin Hood is actually a girl, Marian's sister in fact (so, um, yeah, they're no longer lovers). She manages to successfully keep her gender secret once she makes Sherwood Forest her home, and the other characters are pretty close to exactly what you would expect. And they're all here! Part of the fun was waiting for them to show up and see what they did here. To that end, I have to admit my disappointment over Friar Tuck's last-minute appearance at the end. Dude's had some serious comedic and religious potential you don't get from other characters! And I have to admit, I don't remember there being a merry man called Arthur a Bland. Was he one of the originals? Huh, guess he is. I have to admit, I didn't remember Will Stutely very well either.

This one gets the thumbs up from me. ArceJaeger dives into the action pretty quickly and sets up what's different about her version effectively in the first few scenes. And not only does it start different, but the differences (both Robin's gender and how the plot starts differently) continue to affect the plot throughout the book. In fact, the story is pretty good about wrapping itself around the change in starting premise and explore what would change simply from that difference.

ArceJaeger uses some old speaking forms when writing dialogue for her characters, but the story is otherwise written in a fairly modern, straightforward and easy-to-read manner which I found I enjoyed. I felt she dealt well with the opinions of the time (that a girl couldn't possibly do something like this) without being *too* revisionist. She explored how the prevailing prejudice against women could be both a curse and a blessing (for example, Robin changes into a dress and nobody has any idea who she is).

[NaTaya Hastings · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a GREAT read.

I will be honest. I did not have much hope for it. It is one of those dirt cheap kindle books that no one has ever heard of which was, incidentally, written by an author no one has ever heard of, that you buy just BECAUSE they are free or dirt cheap, but go into it knowing that at best, it will be mildly entertaining and at worst, completely unreadable.

I buy those types of books all of the time, usually because they are listed as 'FREE!' in my BookBub daily email of free and reduced priced books. And nine times out of ten, I don't even ever read them. They just sit there, taking up space on my nook.

Because to me, 99% of those books are kind of like hard candy. You read them out of habit when you have nothing better to do, but they are just empty calories that don't satisfy you at all. -That- was my expectation going into this book. The only reason I even actually cracked this one open (instead of just letting it sit there) was because it was an interesting spin on the Robin Hood mythos, and as an avid consumer of all things fairytale and folklore related, I feel like I have to read every retelling of a fairytale ever written.

So that is why I picked this one up and actually started reading it.

And it was really, truly, amazingly good. There were a few places in the book where it was a bit choppy where the book could have benefited from some good editing, but on the whole, the book read really well, and the story was incredibly engrossing.

I found myself not wanting to put the book down until I saw what was going to happen to Robin next. Okay. So. A brief synopsis: (Warning: May contain spoilers. Read on at your peril.)

Robin of Locksley is the tall, gangly, tom-boyish eldest daughter of a nobleman who, for political and alliances reasons, decides to marry her to the Sheriff of Nottingham, despite the fact that she is adamantly opposed to the idea. Horrified by the prospect of having to marry a man she not only does not love, but actually actively detests because of the stories she has heard about the way he treats the poor, Robin decides to run away from home rather than marry him. Knowing she will never get far as herself -- a wealthy young lady trying to escape her betrothal -- she dresses in the clothes of her male cousin, Will, including a hood, that covers her hair and keeps her face hidden in shadows. Thus clothed, she runs off with nothing but her bow and arrow and Will's sword.

Her plan is to head to London, but before she can get there, she takes a detour into Sherwood Forest, where she meets a man named John Little who assumes she is a young man. Robin does not dissuade him of the notion. During the course of their interactions, something happens that causes Robin to have to kill a young man to save John's life. The knowledge of what she has done is too much for Robin to bear, so she flees deeper into the forest, where she falls into quite a deep depression and becomes somewhat of a recluse.

Then one day, a young man who shares her beloved cousin Will's name shows up and makes himself at home near Robin's makeshift cabin. He has fled to the forest to escape the evil Sheriff of Nottingham. He, too, believes Robin to be a young lad. At first, she is irritated and angered by his presence, but he begins to grow on her. Then, just as she is getting comfortable having the boy Will in her life, he begins bringing in strays... other people who are fleeing the Sheriff or who have been kicked out of their homes and lands because they could not pay the Sheriff's exorbitant taxes.

Robin is furious with Will for bringing all of these people into her sanctuary, and she is terrified that one of them might recognize her from the Sheriff's wanted posters (because of the man she killed) or, even worse, that one of them might realize she is a woman. But no one does. Eventually, the forest glade becomes more of a camp or refuge for those who can't afford to live in Sheriff Darniel's Nottingham, and Robin learns to deal with being around people once again. Then, one day, she sees Will and some of the younger boys bringing in "supplies" from the camp that she knows that could not possibly have paid for. Irate, she gathers the campmates around her and tells them that they are not going to be the type of people who still from people in need. True, they may have to steal to survive, but if they want to live in Sherwood Forest with her, they are going to be thieves with honor. They will only steal from the rich and corrupt, and they will give part of their spoils to the poor people who still live under the Sheriff's rule. After some argument and debate, the people agree to follow her, and thus, Robin of the Hood becomes their de facto leader and Robin Hood is born.

The synopsis that I have just given you is only the first small bit of the book.... MAYBE the first quarter of it? The rest is dedicated to the story of Robin Hood, and this author - ArceJaeger? -- does such a fantastic job of telling a totally unique story while also staying true to the canonical Robin Hood stories. The lightness and mirth that the original Robin has always had -- the mischievousness trickster Robin -- is very evident in ArceJaeger's story. There is a fantastic scene where Robin buys a butcher's meat, cart, and horse and sets up shop in town as a butcher, where she sells meat for a day. 3 pennies worth of meat for 3 pennies to a man. 3 pennies worth of meet for 1 penny to a goodwife. And 3 pennies worth of meat in exchange for a kiss from comely maids. (She has them kiss young Will, of course, not her.) It is one of the best scenes in the book.

ArceJaegar truly did an amazing job with the story of Robin Hood, and I would be incredibly happy to read more of her (his?) work in the future. If you like Robin Hood -- or just fairytales and folklore in general -- give this book a try. I do not think that you will be disappointed. It truly was a pleasure to read.

[Dorri · Rating 4 out of 5]

Robin: Lady of Legend was not the book that I thought it was going to be. It was better. I've read many Robin Hood tales of varying ilk. R.M. ArceJaeger's version is by far one of the better ones. I was often thrilled, worried, and excited for Robin as she journeyed from young girl to man of legend.

Robin didn't set out to be a hero. All she wanted was a life that didn't involve the chains of marriage and fancy dress. So she did what any rational woman would do when presented with the trap of marriage, she ran. Instead of running to another city, Robin uses her woodland and fighting skills to create a safe space for herself in the forest. Surviving and thriving on her own, Robin makes a critical mistake when she saves a child. One child, becomes a few children, becomes a handful of adults, until she's running a small village. The catch? When she saved the boy, she did it dressed as a man. Can she stay true to herself, while hiding who she is, in the only safe space she knows? Read it to find out.

[Ren · Rating 5 out of 5]

The historical world-building here is incredible. I felt as if I really were in King Richard III’s England while reading this novel. The original legend of Robin Hood is also closely held to, and even the question of how the legend formed is briefly answered.
The representation of the difficulties a woman would face in this time period, disguised as a man, even, felt realistic, and strengthened the book.
Robin is likable, if grumpy at times, and seeing how she forms relationships and eventually becomes leader of the Merry Men is satisfying to read.
Both villains and more secondary characters have distinct personalities, and solid development. The eventual romance is also poignant without taking over the story.
This is one of my all-time favorite books, and I believe I’ve re-read it at least 5 times at this point.