Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ

Beloved author Lex Croucher's second queer historical YA romance, with all the swoons, laughs, and heart-pounding moments you'd expect from a story about the granddaughter of Robin Hood and the girl she's accidentally kidnapped.

‘You aren’t merry,� said Clem to her captor. ‘And you aren’t all men. So there’s been some marketing confusion somewhere along the line.�

Mariel, a newly blooded and perpetually grumpy captain of the Merry Men, is desperate to live up to the legacy of her grandfather, the legendary Robin Hood. Clem, a too-perky backwoods healer known for her new-fangled cures, just wants to help people.

When Mariel's ramshackle band of bandits kidnap Clem as retribution for her guardian helping the Sheriff of Nottingham, all seems to be going (sort of) to plan � until Jack Hartley, Mariel’s father and Commander of the Merry Men, is captured in a deadly ambush. Determined to prove herself, Mariel sets out to get him back � with her annoyingly cheerful kidnappee in tow.

But the wood is at war. Many believe the Merry Men are no longer on the right side of history. Watching Clem tend the party’s wounds and crack relentlessly terrible jokes, Mariel begins to doubt the noble cause to which she has devoted her life. As the two of them grow closer, forced by circumstances to share a single horse and bed, one thing is clear. They must prepare to fight for their lives and for those of everyone they’ve sworn to protect.

Lex Croucher's Not For the Faint of Heart is a thrilling adventure full of hijinks, found family, and romance destined to change the lives of the inhabitants of the Greenwood Forest forever.

I'm not going to be able to start for a couple of days. I have a library book I need to finish before it's due back on Thursday!

I’m going to start this one tomorrow.

I couldn’t do the audio book, so switching to the physical book

Still at chapter 6

Chapters 1-10 (view spoiler)[ Sp far I’m enjoying this book. I like that they went to get a healer but then took a different person than her dad wanted. Now with this ambush and them going to this makeshift camp, I wonder what will happen. (hide spoiler)]

Chapters 10-20 (view spoiler)[ I agree with Ula. They don’t seem to know what they are fighting for. Also I didn’t that they were actually dependents of Robin Hood.

Also I hate the audiobook. It is terrible. (hide spoiler)]

OMG, I just finally got around to starting this one this morning! I do have the audio and made it to Ch 6 just before work. Hoping to get a lot further tonight. I love Croucher's writing and how quickly they're able to develop characters that I love. I had forgotten this was a type of Robin Hood tale!

I made it to the 50% mark tonight. I'm loving how even though this is a magical and witty tale, Croucher has again managed to seamlessly weave in some heavier topics. We had the (view spoiler)[forced proximity scene with Clem and Mariel. I was swooning. So cute, how where accidentally spooning. What a moment! (hide spoiler)]

Ashlyn wrote: "Chapters 10-20"

Oh really? I'm loving the audio -- same narrators as Gwen & Art, I believe, because I listened to that one too. I have it at 2x speed and it sounds great to me. Sorry you didn't enjoy that format, Ashlyn!

I thought I listened to the audio of that one and liked it, but this one I just can’t seem to get into. I’m liking the story a lot more with just my physical copy. I listen at 3x speed and it just feels too slow and robotic sounding.

megs_bookrack wrote: "I made it to the 50% mark tonight. I'm loving how even though this is a magical and witty tale, Croucher has again managed to seamlessly weave in some heavier topics. We had the [spoilers removed]"

Yes! That part was adorable

Ashlyn wrote: "I thought I listened to the audio of that one and liked it, but this one I just can’t seem to get into. I’m liking the story a lot more with just my physical copy. I listen at 3x speed and it just ..."Huh, that's interesting. I will say I am not connecting with this one quite as much as I did Gwen & Art. I like it and I still love Croucher's writing, but IDK, it's just not at the same fun-level as the other. (view spoiler)[I also feel like I am not believing the chemistry for Clem and Mariel. I mean besides the fact that they are two attractive people of the same age with forced proximity...IDK, maybe I am just being grumpy. Besides the romance though, I do appreciate a lot of what the author is doing here. I'm excited to finish it up tomorrow! (hide spoiler)]

Finished. This was good. It was cute. I definitely didn't connect with it at the same level that I did Gwen & Art, which I got completely swept up into while listening to the audio. This one felt a little more boring, not as humorous and my mind did wander a lot. However, I do still really appreciate Croucher's writing and their characterization. I did really enjoy the journey Mariel was on. I'm happy to be checking this one off the list!

Chapters 21-28 (view spoiler)[I love how they all rescued big John and the voted to back and rescue others too.
That’s sad that Mariel had to find out that her dad had taken the leadership position when there shouldn’t have been one. I love learning about Robin and Will.
I’m surprised that her dad had a plan in place if he got captured to have people spying and sneaking around, but it makes sense to have something in place. This whole Fred thing will be interesting. (hide spoiler)]

Finished (view spoiler)[Im kind of surprised by her mom, but it makes sense if she was independent. And I’m so glad that Robin Hood came at the end! I wasn’t expecting that, but it was amazing. Also the whole thing where they put it to a vote was great. I loved how Robin really wanted to embrace the change for Mariel. (hide spoiler)]

megs_bookrack wrote: "Finished. This was good. It was cute. I definitely didn't connect with it at the same level that I did Gwen & Art, which I got completely swept up into while listening to the audio. This one felt a..."

I agree, I really like the writing. To me though, the audiobook was harder to focus on and I wasn’t into the story as much. It was a lot better to have read it with my eyes because I could get the chemistry between the characters and how they grew to like on another.