The Forestwife by Theresa Tomlinson

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            The Forestwife is a retelling of Robin Hood told from Marian's perspective. It's not quite what you expect though. Marian isn't exactly royalty in this case.

          Mary runs away to escape an unpleasant marriage. She's impulsive, spoiled, and naive. Her nurse, Agnes, finds her in the forest alone and with no place to go. They search for the Forestwife, a legendary witch who lives deep in the forest. Mary is terrified, but Agnes seems to think there will be relief there. Maybe there's more to Agnes than Mary first thought? Maybe there is more to herself than she thought.

            It is a Robin Hood retelling, but it focuses more on Marian's side of the story. You get to see her grow stronger, more mature, more independent. Well, she was independent before, but before she didn't have the knowledge to truly be independent. I love watching characters grow. It was great watching how Marian realizes that people are more than what their appearance would show.

          Robin comes much later in the story. And he's not exactly a hero in the beginning either. He grows along the way also. The romance part is subtle and simple.

           It was fun meeting new characters and seeing their role. "He's Friar Tuck!" "Oh, that must be Little John." The author also wove another folk tale into the story. I thought that was really neat. A legend within a legend. There is nothing really complicated about this book. It's a fun easy read. I read it in day, and I don't often do that. I love any Robin Hood story, and I especially like the way they depicted Marian here.

          Theresa Tomlinson's website.