I'm a sucker for a good Robin Hood retelling, but I didn't love this one. I never really connected with the main character, Isabelle, who is Robin and Marien's daughter, and found myself wishing to be reading about Robin and Marien themselves most of the time.

I loved this different take on Robin Hood from his daughters point of view. It was fast paced with a good plot, and I really enjoyed the slow burn romance .

This has to be my favorite retelling of Robin Hood. I was intrigued by the description and am so glad I took a chance. I love this book from beginning to end. Sister/Isabelle is an amazing girl with typical qualities of insecurities, questions, and the desire to be independent.

Isabelle was born in a convent and it is the only life she has known for her sixteen years. She has been sent by her mother to find Robin Hood and warn him the Wolf is back. Not knowing who the Wolf is, why her mother sent her out on her own to find Robin Hood, and who she can trust as she begins an adventure. Therefore, she is forced to lie to the first group of friends she finds, and then is thrust into feeling miserable knowing she is hurting people who really seem to care about her but knows she has to to do something that will turn them against her when they find out the real truth of her plans. I was hooked, I couldn't stop reading and when the book ended I was devastated. There has to be more!

I am definitely recommending my students read this book. I think it will be an exciting read for both girls and boys. I am sure they will love the characters and their relationships to the Merry Men we all know from the traditional Robin Hood lore.

I hope there is another chapter or two with further adventures of Isabelle, Marion, and the Merry Men.

I was given the opportunity to read this book from Net-Galley, in exchange for an honest review

This is a decent story, though some knowledge of Robin Hood stories would be very helpful. The beginning is full of action, though a bit confusing since you do not know anything about the main character. This made it super difficult for me to get into the story and I simply didn’t really care much what happened to her.

"Isabelle was raised by her mother, Marien, in the quiet priory of Kirklees. She is shocked when her mother tells her she is the daughter of the infamous Robin Hood. Armed with only this knowledge and her bow, she sets off with the Merry Men (and women) to find her father while eluding “the Wolf,” the king’s second hand man. The journey is unlike anything she’s ever known."

I loved the characters, humor, and adventure of this story. Students will enjoy it, too! I only have a vague memory of the true Robin Hood story, which made for an exciting and slightly nostalgic read. Those who are more critical of this retelling seem to be very well versed in the original story and frustrated that this doesn’t perfectly echo it. I enjoyed this from start to finish!

"Hood" is a an exciting, adventurous story told from the perspective of Isabella, Robin and Marien's daughter. When Isabella is arrested for shooting a soldier, her mother helps her make a daring escape and sends her into the woods towards safety, and eventually Isabella finds herself among the Merry Men. From there, action abounds as she and the Merry Men evade capture on their journey to deliver a message to Robin Hood.

The characters are fun and entertaining, the story is humorous with plenty of twists and turns to keep the reader interested, and this revisiting of "Robin Hood" is a highly recommendable, quick read.

Great adventure story featuring the daughter of Robin Hood. Tag along as our heroine heads into one dangerous situation after another. Does she have what it takes to be a member of the Merry Men?

Hood both is and is not your typical Robin Hood retelling, and that's not a bad thing. Instead of retelling the story of Robin Hood, the Sheriff of Nottingham, and Maid Marian, Hood tells the story of Isabelle. Isabelle is the daughter of Robin and Marien and she is the main character in this book along with the next generation of Merry Men. This book is what happened after the credits rolled in the story we already know.

I loved getting a chance to see the next generation and how Robin hood's ideals are fostered into a movement. Seeing the children of the original Merry Men was fun, but seeing the orphans or other kids to "ran away to the circus" was just as much of a treat.

Isabelle herself was a compelling character that I want to spend so much more time with. Growing up in a priory, she had no skills beyond learning to shoot a bow (obviously), and throughout the book, we see her terrified and not sure what to do and she fights anyway. She repeats something her mother said as she sent her to Robin, "Be braver than you feel." I thought this was such a great message for girls. Not teaching them to be reckless but to be brave.

Overall, I enjoyed hanging out with this crew and would like more stories now!

Now this was the Robin Hood retelling that I was waiting for!

A standalone filled with all the things I love about a YA book. Adventure, romance, emotion and fun. I am definitely adding this to my YA rec list. Part of me hopes there’s a second book because of the open ending. Plus, who doesn’t wanna keep reading about Robin Hood and his merry men‽‽

At first, I was excited about this retelling of Robin Hood. Robin Hood's daughter? Sign me up. I loved the world-building here. Moke does a great job of really letting you into the world that Isabelle lives in. The relationships were lifelike, and I loved getting to know the funnier characters. I enjoyed understanding the problem upfront and seeing the characters try to work it out (like wow, okay, no pressure... huge decisions to make). Overall, I would recommend this for anyone who enjoys world-building more than anything and like less contemporary reads.

I need a Robin Hood retelling to fall in love with because Jenny Elder Moke's <em>Hood</em> was not it. What breaks my heart the most is that it <em>almost</em> could have been. Ironically, even with some of the monumentally annoying--and unnecessary--changes that were made, Moke's retelling had a lot of potential. Featuring Robin and Marian's (spelled Marien in this novel for some reason) daughter as our protagonist, <em>Hood</em> exists as a coming of age story for a young girl who grew up in a priory but doesn't quite belong there.

Right from the start, <em>Hood </em>asks me to suspend some emotional attachments I have to the story of Robin Hood. The first, and most prominent, is that Marian plays an almost non-existent role in Robin's life as an outlaw. As a <em>massive</em> fan of the BBC Robin Hood, this was kind of a problem for me. However, since both Robin and Marian are supporting roles in this novel I was able to let it go.

Then there's the fact that Robin and Marian's backstory is <em>entirely</em> changed. A few smaller ones exist as well, primarily as character names, from Isabelle--which just doesn't fit Robin's daughter in my mind--to Little, who somehow is the son of Alan-a-Dale rather than the more obvious, Little John.

Overall, I began my read genuinely enjoying <em>Hood</em>.

When <em>The Wolf, </em>a man who has had it out for Robin from the beginning, learns of Isabelle's existence he sets out to use her as a way to trap Robin. It is here that our young teenager's journey begins. Her world is flipped upside down as her mother sends her from the priory she has known all her life in search of Robin without even bothering to tell Isabelle who this man really is to her.

I loved so much about this book in the beginning. From the general plot, to the writing, to the characters. Adam was utterly endearing, as were Patrick, Helena, and Little. The tale Moke weaves is excellent and engaging. And then we meet Robin.

I <em>almost</em> liked Moke's Robin.

When we first met Robin, I was actually rather enamored with him. I found myself giggling at several of his comments and antics. He was definitely somewhat like himself. As the story progressed, though, I found myself increasingly disgruntled with the way he was written. Nostalgia took over and this Robin just didn't match the Robin I knew.

Which, ultimately, is understandable. Everyone who rewrites a Robin Hood story is going to have a different take. This is why there are some Robin Hood films I love and some I absolutely cannot stand. To this day, my favorite Robin remains Jonas Armstrong's from the BBC series.

So, Robin wasn't realistic to me. It wasn't the worst thing and certainly didn't destroy the story for me. But then it got <em>worse</em>. Robin let Isabelle put herself in danger without having him along for assistance. And then suddenly Marian, who was absent for a portion of the novel, didn't match the character I've loved for a large portion of my life.

The ending was <em>awful</em>.

At the end of the day, this is more opinion than anything else, but I hated the ending. I read an entire novel, most of it good and some of it kind of bad only to leave it with <em>that</em>. And I hated it. I can't see myself ever reading this book again nor would it be one I would point anyone to, let alone read to a child, in the future to fall in love with and adore the story of Robin Hood.

And I suppose that's where my disappointment truly lies. Moke wasn't able to capture the two most titular characters of the entire story, Robin and Marian. While her own characters were brilliant (and I loved Little John, too), what she did to them couldn't be ignored in favor of that for me.

<em>I was provided a free copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.</em>

Hood was such a fun read. It was jam-packed with action scenes and witty lines. I loved getting to see a legend brought to life in new way, and it's a great way to bring the Robin Hood legend into the YA world. I think a lot of teenagers will get to enjoy reading about outlaws and kick-butt young women.

There were moments in the book where I think the author didn't know what she wanted Isabelle to be. Was she an outlaw, was she naive? Her motivations wavered a little bit, which made the ending not quite as fulfilling as it might have been. I also didn't like that the author killed off Robin Hood at the end. I understand why that choice was made, but it was hard seeing a legend killed off, especially one we (and the main character) were just getting to know in the universe of the book.

Retellings are one of my favorite reads as I love to see how authors can take childhood tales and give them life. Hood does this and then some. As a child, we heard about how great Robin Hood is. We now we have a tale with a strong female lead!

I recommend you read this for yourself!!

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC!

Can my tears stop falling? Ohhhhh, this was such a great story! I love it when the author pulls me in and I feel everything the characters feel! I laugh with them, and I cried with them! I've read many stories using Robin Hood and this felt like a fresh story! Hood has all the action, all the adventure, all the Sherwood Forest AND has the real Robin Hood! Without missing a beat, the book wastes no time and throws the reader into the world where Robin Hood exists! Highly recommend!

I enjoyed this different take on the Robin Hood story. Hood's daughter is grown and in danger. She is sent on a quest by her mother to find Hood, not knowing he's her father. When she finds his Merry Men she must prove herself while keeping her secret. "Hood" is full of danger, adventure, fun characters, with just enough romance thrown in. Great book to recommend for younger teen readers who may not be ready for some of the heavier YA titles.

HOOD is an adventurous re-telling of the Robin Hood legend. I appreciated the new take on this famous story and I enjoyed the characters SO much. I hope there is a second one because I need it right now. If this is your first Robin Hood book or your 4th, I recommend HOOD highly. I am pre-ordering now for the release date later this year!

Thank you Melissa at Disney Publishing Worldwide for letting me read an ARC. Much appreciated!

Hood is a very readable story, the main character’s voice and the beats flow very naturally making the story a quick read. The other great parts about this book outside of the adventure is the portrayal of family dynamics. Robin’s love for her is completely selfless. He is quirky and goofy and Marian is loving while being stern, and a lot of her strength comes from her beliefs and devotion to helping anyone. This is exactly how I imagined they would be.

Now, Isabelle on the other hand I’m not too thrilled with. I don’t hate her and I don’t love her. I found her to be predictable. She’s a natural born great shot and she blushes excessively. There are other physical ways to show embarrassment, anger, etc other than blushing. It became distracting.
And there was unnecessary drama with the secret keeping. There wasn’t any real deep wounds where I could support why a secret was being kept. And then everything was quickly forgiven. The romance was also not appealing. You can easily figure out who it will be from the first second they meet. There was no push/pull that was internal where you were rooting for them. Everything that got in the way was trivial. And the instant attraction felt forced because the chemistry wasn’t there, as if the author was putting a relationship into the story because they felt it needed to be there.

Overall, I was hoping for better especially since Robin Hood is one of my all-time favorite stories. But Hood just didn’t deliver.

ARC provided by Netgalley.

**ARC through NetGalley**
This book was a fun continuation of the Robin Hood tale through the eyes of his daughter. She grows up in a priory with her mother (Marien, of course). She's good with a bow and is just a little rebellious. An incident occurs and her mother sends her on the run with a message that she soon finds out is for the then-mythical Robin Hood. She learns that he's her father and she wants to become one of the Merry Men. Setting off on an adventure through the countryside to find Robin with a team of teens, she learns about herself and what she's able to do. Lovely book from start to finish.

Had I started the book an hour earlier I could have said I devoured it in a single day, instead of staying up just past midnight to glimpse the ending of Isabelle's story. We can only hope that there will be more story to tell. Characters that will steal hearts and sear imprints that last long after the final page are waiting in the forests of Sherwood.