Jenny Elder Moke

You have the blood of kings and rebels within you, love. Let it rise to meet the call. 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? In Hood, author Jenny Elder Moke reimagines the world of Robin Hood in lush, historical detail and imbues her story with more breathless action than has ever come out of Sherwood Forest before. This novel is a must-read for historical-fiction fans, adventure lovers, and reluctant readers alike!

Hood

Christine

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Sheena

“Hood” was better a retelling than I was originally expecting and despite some elements being changed around to draw in more of a YA audience with the focus of the story primarily on Robin Hood’s daughter Isabelle instead, this whirlwind adventure about the great legendary heroic outlaw left me wanting more. 

If you haven’t already know, this novel based on the world renowned English Folklore that takes readers through a journey of epic proportions as we follow Isabelle, the newly discovered daughter of the notorious outlaw, find the father she's never known while dealing with wild thieves and mercenaries, handsome young outlaws (and possible romance), new enemies with old grudges, and a king who wants her entire family dead.

It has all the elements you would want in a story like this and would highly recommend it if you’re a fan of the childhood series or want to further explore what made Robin Hood so infamous.

Paige Green

Disclaimer: I received this e-arc from the publisher. Thanks! All opinions are my own.

Book: Hood

Author: Jenny Elder Moke

Book Series: Standalone

Rating: 3.5/5

Recommended For...: Robin Hood retellings

Publication Date: June 9, 2020

Publisher: Disney Hyperion

Pages: 320

Recommended Age: 15+ (violence, slight gore) 

Synopsis: 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?

Review: For the most part this was a good book. I liked the world building and the plot was very interesting to me. I loved this take on Robin Hood and it was a fairly good read.

However, I feel like the pacing was too fast paced and sometimes it was hard to keep up with what was going on in the book. Also the character development wasn't there in my opinion.

Verdict: It was a good read.

Karolina

I’m very disappointed that this book is standalone. This book definitely deserves to be a book one of the series! I had a high expectation when I started reading this book and this book gave me everything I needed.

Hood is a retelling of the legend of Robin Hood. It’s about Isabelle, the daughter of Marien, a prioress of Kirklees and Robin Hood, a leader of Merry Men. Isabel is living her quiet life on the side of her mom, not knowing her father. After she offended the royal soldiers she is forced to run. However, it turns out that it’s not because of what she did. It’s because she is a target of the Wolf, a long-time enemy of Robin Hood. I wouldn’t even say that they are enemies because Robin doesn’t even care much about him as long as his family is safe. On the other side, Wolf dedicates his whole life to find Robin and hung him. I don’t want to spoil too much, but I was impressed by how obsessed he was with him and his family. He waited 16 years for any sign of him or his family. I felt so bad for Robin and Marien that because of him they had to go separate ways to keep Isabelle safe.

Isabelle finds a safe place to hide from the Wolf with Merry Men, a community of outlaws who as you probably know were stealing from the nobility and serve the poor. I honestly like all the presented members, especially Adam. He is adorable and from the beginning keeps Isabelle safe. I love the chemistry between these two. I wish this book would have a sequel to show some more of their story because we didn’t get enough in this book. I know this book wasn’t based on a love plot, but they are so adorable. I need more.

My favorite part of the book is when Isabelle meets her father for the first time. All the moments when they get to know each other, and bond is making me smile. Robin was described in the book just as I always imagine him, a free, caring soul who’s going through a life full of adventures with a smile on his face. He’s finding a way out of every situation and no one can stop him from doing what he wants to do. I admire how he treats Isabelle, even if he didn’t see her for many years. Moreover, even if he couldn’t be in her life, he still found his ways to be a small part of it. He’s a remarkable person for his family, but also the poor. He doesn’t want anything for himself, he’s doing everything for others.

Isabelle inherits a lot of his features. She’s very clever and caring as her father. She makes a few mistakes throughout the book, but it happened just because she wanted to save her beloved mother. She was ready to lie to keep her safe and I understand it. Most people would do the same. She never plays the victim and even if she is very talented in bringing troubles on herself, and she cannot defend herself. She’s a fighter and she’s working hard to change it.

When I look back at this story, I see it as a tragedy. I wasn’t expecting what will happen at the end and it crushed me. I was in shock and couldn’t believe it happened. I’ve mixed feelings about it. On one side, I’m crushed and want to think it never happened. On the other side, I think it’s just the way it was supposed to end and it’s a tragic but beautiful ending. After ending like this I need a powerful sequel.

I would like to thank NetGalley, FFBC, Disney-Hyperion and Jenny Elder Moke for including me on this tour and for providing me with a copy of this amazing book!

Meg K

There was so much about this retelling that I loved. Marian is a strong and skilled fighter in her own right, Robin is as clever and merry an imp as could be hoped for, and the tale is full of action, tragedy, mirth, adventure and romance, just as any good Robin Hood story should be. The only pitfall I found with this retelling was with Isabelle, our main character and daughter to Robin and Marian. At times her character was rather frustrating to read. She constantly flip flops between being brazen and cunning like her father and mother, and then completely meek and fearful... That really didn’t change as the story progressed as I had hoped. I wanted to see Isabelle grow, but overall, she really never changed all that much. Other than that, this is a very enjoyable retelling!

FishStick 

You have the blood of kings and rebels within you, love. Let it rise to meet the call. 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, the ruthless right hand of the corrupt King John. To keep her daughter safe, Marien helps Isabelle escape and sends her on a mission to find the only person who can save them now: the infamous outlaw Robin Hood. Who also happens to be Isabelle's father. Isabelle races to stay out of the Wolf's clutches and find the father she's never known, thrusting her into a world of thieves and mercenaries, roguish young outlaws, new enemies with old grudges, and a king who wants her entire family dead. As she fights for her rightful place among the Merry Men in a desperate bid to stop the Wolf's merciless plans, can Isabelle find the strength to defy the crown and save the lives of everyone she holds dear? In Hood, author Jenny Elder Moke reimagines the world of Robin Hood in lush, historical detail and imbues her story with more breathless action than has ever come out of Sherwood Forest before.

Hood

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