As someone who’s always been drawn to Robin Hood retellings—I grew up watching Kevin Costner and Christian Slater bring the legend to life, with Bryan Adams belting out that unforgettable theme—I was all in for this book from the start. The premise, the cover, the promise of adventure… I was ready.

But I have to admit, it didn’t quite sweep me away like I’d hoped. I struggled to connect with the FMC, and while I can appreciate a character being unaware or naive as part of their growth arc, it didn’t land as endearing for me here. That said, the historical grounding really stood out—I could tell the author did their research, and that added authenticity I appreciated.

The side characters were a highlight and brought color and energy to the story. The pacing picked up significantly in the second half, and by the end, I felt satisfied overall. Maybe my expectations were too high, but I was hoping for an epic journey and only found sparks of it. Still, there were bright spots, and I’m glad I stuck with it.

“Jane is not a noblewoman born to greatness. And she’s no hero either. But she still matters.” 🏰🤍

a special thank you to Net Galley, Penguin Books & Viking Books for allowing me access to an Advanced Reader’s Copy of The Traitor of Sherwood Forest by Amy S. Kaufman!! it’s an absolute privilege to receive an ARC & i’m so honored to be able to share a honest review in exchange.

🏹 publication date: april 15th, 2025
review: ★ ★ ★ ★.25 (04/17/25)
a bloody, brilliant novel with tricks & games that make it difficult to predict what’s next!

the histrionical elements are so well done, as expected from an author with a PhD in medieval literature (which is unbelievably cool). definitely recommend her newsletter if you’re interested in learning more!

as someone who doesn’t read much histrionic fiction & not super familiar with robin hood, i was worried about being confused or disconnected but this book is so approachable & such a interesting way to reimagine robin hood.

i love watching jane’s character develop, especially at a time where women were heavily undervalued. i adore strong, complex female characters & this book delivers. i do support women’s wrongs but some choices were a bit questionable.

which leads me to my final point of how this book was full of moral & societal discussion (much about war and what a hero is) and I LOVED IT. especially in the last few chapters (which were packed with plot twists & deception), it was such a great way to end the book.

I was excited to read this because, #nostalgia, I loved Robin Hood stories growing up. However, I am sad to report that the best part of the book was the historical note. The female main character had few redeeming qualities, and the "chemistry" between her and Robin was inert; "immersive, sultry, and heart-pounding" it was not. I did enjoy the retelling of Robin as something more vindictive, but the book dragged on for quite a bit before making a mad dash to a rushed ending. Wanted to love this, but I just couldn't.

Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Random House for this ARC in exchange for an honest review! Book is out now if you'd like to pick it up and tell me I'm wrong!

What if the Robin Hood you learned about as a child wasn’t the hero you thought he was?

First off… Thank you to the publisher, Penguin Group Viking Penguins, for gifting me a copy of The Traitor of Sherwood Forest via Netgalley so I may read and write a review.

If you are lover of retellings like me, you’ll enjoy this book as much as I did. I really liked this take on Robin Hood. He may be charming and the type of vigilante you’d support, but what if it’s all a facade?
Also, what about the women in this story?

The Traitor of Sherwood Forest follows protagonist Jane. She is clever and finally learning to be her own person. Yet, always being in the shadow of her three brothers, she meets Robin Hood and his brotherhood who welcome her and are impressed with her people skills. With her ability to read people and play in the background, they use her as their spy.
Unfortunately, like most women in the tales of Robin Hood, Jane is naive and falls for Robins “heroic act.”

I loved Jane. I found her very interesting despite being frustrated with some of her flaws. Robin Hood is a character you can’t help but love and hate. The side characters are all delightful and make the adventure in this book that much more fun.

4 Stars!⭐️


Check out my review on my Book account on Instagram and Goodreads!

The Traitor of Sherwood Forest by Amy S Kaufman ⭐️⭐️⭐️

This retelling gave all the comfort vibes, and I thought it would be perfect for a cool, fall day. Also, this cover is gorgeous! 😍

Written by a medieval scholar, this was a retelling of medieval’s literature Robin Hood, characterized by his alternating personas (charming and bullying/heroic and brutal) which the author explained in the Historical Note. (Highly recommend reading this note - so fascinating!)

I found the book to be slow-paced and well-written. The medieval time period and setting was well-established. The characters were well-done, but I always wanted just a bit more from them. I felt like I experienced this retelling from above instead of being immersed in it.

Fans of Robin Hood, medieval time periods, and slow-paced, well-written reads will enjoy this one.

If you like web-of-lies and espionage stories, stories of corruption and knight's tales.

The Traitor of Sherwood Forest is a true dive into how power corrupts, and once men get a taste for it, they will do anything to maintain it. Told from the perspective of a woman who gets tangled up in Robin Hood's schemes, only to realize too late what she has gotten herself into. Suddenly Robin Hood is not the upstanding man she thought he was, and now the ripple effects of her actions will come to haunt her.

I didn't love this novel, but only because the genre is not my favorite. Too much time talking about who owes what debt around the table of a noble, or whispering to each other in the kitchens, or worrying about what actions are going to pull you out of the good graces of god and end you up in hell.

A wonderful read!
This novel drew me in from the very first page and kept me hooked until the end. The characters were vibrant and relatable, the writing was engaging, and the story had just the right balance of heart and humor. Highly recommend!
Many thanks to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for my ARC. All opinions are my own.

The Traitor of Sherwood Forest is a different take on the Robin Hood legend by Amy S. Kaufman. It is an interesting version where the lines are blurred as to what exactly are Hood’s motives and how far he will go to achieve them. In the middle is not Maid Marian but a common peasant girl who is at first in awe of the famous outlaw but before the end, disillusionment has come. Still is it her own naïve at fault or something more like trickier. One must read on one’s own to decide.

This was such an exciting and heart-wrenching Robin Hood tale! We follow Jane Crowe, a mere servant girl turned informant for The Lord of the Greenwood, the legendary Robin Hood. Throughout her work in the King's Houses and her adventures with Robin and his men, Jane learns more about the man and the myth that has taken hold of her heart. In the end she must choose between loyalty and freedom.

Amy S. Kaufman's writing style is absolutely phenomenal - it's clear that time, devotion, and research into Robin Hood's mythology has gone into this writing, and the prose is charming and emotional.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and highly recommend to any readers who enjoy retellings, political intrigue, and chivalrous romance!

Thank you Netgalley & Penguin Books for an eARC❤️❤️❤️

The Traitor of Sherwood Forest isn’t just another Robin Hood retelling—it’s a dagger to the ribs of the myth, twisting until something far more interesting bleeds out.💔
Forget noble outlaws and merry men. This book hands you a rusted knife and asks, "What would you do to survive?" Jane—no lady, no noble, just a peasant girl with dirt under her nails and fire in her veins—becomes the bruised, beating heart of Sherwood’s legend. And oh, how it hurts to watch her learn that heroism is just villainy with better songs.
The genius here isn’t just in flipping perspectives, but in dissecting the entire idea of heroism with the precision of a fletcher carving arrows. Robin Hood? Charismatic, yes, but also calculating, manipulative—a man who trades in lives as deftly as gold. The Merry Men? A band of desperate souls clinging to a cause that might not deserve them. Every character is a wound waiting to be prodded, and the story doesn’t shy away from the pus.
What wrecks me (in the best way) is how the book weaponizes medieval realism like a mace to the skull* No Hollywood sheen here—just the stink of unwashed bodies, the terror of arbitrary justice, and the crushing weight of hunger. Jane’s voice cracks with exhaustion and fury, her idealism hardening into something sharper and far more dangerous. You don’t just root for her; you feel every splinter in her hands, every betrayal in her ribs.
The story forces you to kneel in the mud and grapple with impossible questions: Is theft righteous when the alternative is starvation? Can rebellion stay clean when survival demands blood? There are no easy answers—only the haunting realization that history’s heroes are often just the ones who lived long enough to lie about it.
Read this if you want a retelling that doesn’t just **recycle a legend, but sets it on fire** and watches what crawls from the ashes. Brutal, brilliant, and uncomfortably human—this is the Robin Hood story we’ve been starving for.

The Traitor of Sherwood Forest had all the makings of a thrilling reimagining, secrets, betrayals, and the legendary pull of Robin Hood’s world, but unfortunately, it ended up feeling too dry to fully capture the magic. The author's background in medieval literature is clear, with careful attention to period detail and realism, but it often comes at the expense of pacing, emotion, and energy. The characters, while believable, felt a bit distant, and the plot, though grounded and plausible, lacked the spark and urgency that could have made it truly gripping. It's a solid read for those who love rich historical accuracy, but if you're looking for adventure, heart, and sweeping rebellion, you might find yourself wishing for a little more fire in these woods.

This was a darker take on the Robin Hood legend and canon. Jane, the female MC, is recruited by Robin Hood by her sometimes lover, Bran, and she finds herself being used as a spy in the Kings’ House. Robin Hood is known as a legend who steals to return the wealth to the poor, but in this version he is known as being magnanimous, but his actions prove more manipulative and self-serving to the point that Jane must decide who and what she cares about the most. I was entertained by the nonstop political machinations and plots as Jane is swept up in the intriguing conflict between Robin, “the Sheriff of Nottingham” and the throne- this was a thoroughly well done historical fiction drama and though the darkest version I’ve ever read of this story, it was completely entertaining and riveting. It’s Robin Hood as you’ve never seen him, a dark knight, in the midst of Sherwood Forest- I’d read another retelling by this author in a heartbeat. I liked the female forward plot and new characterization of this folk “hero”.

You know the Charli XCX song “party 4 u”? Where she throws a party for someone who never shows up. That’s the song I listened to after finishing this book.
The Traitor of Sherwood Forest is about limerence, men manipulating women for their own gain, greed disguised as altruism, and decentralizing male heroism to bring reality into the chat.
I was mad at every character at some point during this story. Then I related to every character and understood their flaws, and forgave them in the end.
This is an incredibly important story that I think everyone should read at some point, especially teenage girls. Amy S. Kaufman was able to take the infamous story of the hero Robin Hood and show it from a totally different angle, but still make it interesting. She was able to show what it felt like to want a love that doesn’t really exist, to put someone on a pedestal who should actually be burned at the stake.
Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin for the ARC.

The Traitor of Sherwood Forest is a dark retelling of an imperfect Robin Hood, with roots in the medieval lore rather than the glorified Victorian stories. He is a man of wit and cruelty and vengeance, rather than philanthropy and justice. If you know that going into the story, it’s an enjoyable alternate take on the storybook Robin Hood we all know and love.

The prose was easy to read, and the pacing moved at a medium speed in four parts, each based on a different ballad of Robin Hood’s antics. The “merry men” were not so merry at all, but each stood out with different personalities, strengths and (of course) weaknesses. My favorite of the merry men was Mooch, but maybe that was because we saw so little of him, and also probably because he was the pioneer of the doggie bag of poop on fire on your enemy’s doorstep.

Positive things notwithstanding, I really felt the reason this book didn’t work as well as I’d hoped was because of the choice of protagonist. Jane tells us straight off the bat that she isn’t clever, and how jokes and jibes often go straight over her head. She’s learned to read people, but only in the context of domestic abuse, and so she doesn’t have the wit and verve to match Robin Hood, therefore everything she does feels like it was forced upon her and she loses agency. Each new task of espionage or trickery is something she just goes along with, even when it goes too far.

On top of that, she develops an inexplicable, overly romanticized and lusty view of Robin Hood. He really does nothing to win her, especially with the scenes at the Shire Reeve’s house. When he is in danger, she thinks of him with a single minded determination and damn the consequences attitude that you’d expect from a deeply intimate or married couple. Mind you, they’ve barely spoken a hundred words at this point. I simply was not sold on their romance or, perhaps more pointedly, her infatuation.

I did love the prioress as a character. If you’ve read A Sorceress Comes to Call by T Kingfisher, Ibota is very reminiscent of Hester. Strong, middle aged, and with a deeply devoted man named Roger at her beck and call. Absolutely love the prioress I really think she saves the book for me.

Many people were squeamish about the brutality of Robin Hood, but I suppose after decades of reading fantasy and romantasy, I wasn’t bothered by the gruesome descriptions. I think the scariest part of Robin was his own ability to convince himself of his righteousness. He had all the red flags of gaslighting and isolation that go into DV. As a sane woman, you would not want a man like that in your life. So how frustrating, then, that Jane felt the need to enter into a love triangle for this man. Ehhhh.

I do wish we at least had some closure with Jane. I mean her whole life is in flames by the end🔥. I needed a solid answer, and if it wasn’t the job offer she got in the final pages I need to slap her.

Things I liked: grumpy old lady with a good head on her shoulders, loyal knight, no horses harmed in the making of this novel, not prudish, interesting depictions of medieval life.

Things I did not like: Jane, a love triangle (my least favorite trope after miscommunication), the writing lacked atmosphere and a sense of place, loss of life of a child. What happened to that poor potter?

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC of this novel in exchange for my honest review.

There are so many wonderful things I can say about this story, about a book that made the childish Robin Hood of heroic action into a real person with flaws and darkness. But the most important thing I can think of is saying thank you, taking something as intricate and complex as old English prose and recreating it into such a beautiful story that flows is truly wonderful.
Don't read this book if you want a swashbuckling hero to sweep you off your feet.
Don't read this book if you want to remove that scene of fox Maid Marian and Robin Hood at the waterfall.
This book is not a fairytale. It is a story, with no true heros because there are no true heros. There are just winners and losers. Oh, and of course there are those of us who are good at dealing a trick or two.

The Traitor of Sherwood Forest is a new standalone novel by Amy Kaufman that is a twist on the story of Robin Hood. I thought the summary sounded interesting and was curious to read about Jane's story.

Jane Crowe is our fmc and she is an ordinary peasant girl who gets introduced to the Lord of the Greenwood and because she can be useful as a pair of eyes in the King's Houses, she becomes a spy for him. I don't think Jane really understood what she was getting into and as she is pulled deeper into Robin's "games" she is put into more dangerous situations. Despite that, she can't help but be drawn to him.

From a character perspective, I didn't really love any of them. Which is hard to say. I wanted to like Jane but she just seemed so naive and if she had just appreciated what she and Bran had, she may have been fine. That said, the fact that Bran turned on her was shady. And Robin...I don't know what to say about him. I think he starts out with good intentions but all of his tricks tend to go too far and they put a lot of people around him in danger. He also uses his charm and good looks to manipulate everyone around him.

As the story moves forward, things get out of hand for Jane and she has to figure out who she can trust and how she is going to get herself out of the mess she is currently in and she is lucky to have Ibota to lean on and provide some guidance...even though everything doesn't necessarily go as planned.

Overall, I thought this was an interesting book but I'm not sure how I truly feel about the story. I can't say I loved it only because I didn't love the characters. If you're interested in picking up a Robin Hood retelling with some morally grey characters, consider this one as it fits the bill and It's well written and the actual story was interesting.

Too slow of a start. I had a hard time relating to the main character and the story. Only got about 20% in. I don't love leaving a bad review. Sorry to the author!

First, thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a chance to read this as an ARC! As always, while I received this as an ARC copy, all thoughts and opinions are my own.

I LOVED getting a retelling of the medieval ballads of Robin Hood rather than the Disneyfied version. That is 100% why I picked this book up and it definitely lived up to my expectations in that regard. I also liked getting to read it from a female commoner perspective. Jane is observant but also naive. I liked seeing her character growth over the course of the book as she comes to terms with who she thought Robin was with who he actually is. I both loved and hated Robin Hood, but in a good way. His character was unpredictable and a true outlaw rather than a man with noble intentions. The side characters were interesting and I thought each one added something different to the story that helped to keep you guessing at what would come next and helped to move the plot forward.

So why 4 stars instead of 5?

This is told exclusively from Jane's point of view and while I did enjoy her character growth, there were times I was quite frustrated with her character, especially when it comes to her feelings for Robin. He is attractive and gives her attention, but she already had a man who treated her right who she ends up losing because of Robin (and later halfheartedly regrets losing). Despite everyone warning her away from him and even seeing for herself what he can be like, she is constantly making poor decisions because of her attraction to him. For someone who we are told / reminded is observant and sees things others don't, she couldn't seem to see past her lust, and I don't know, but that kind of rubbed me the wrong way.

I also would have liked an epilogue. What comes next for Jane in her medieval world? Robin's story comes to a definitive ending, but Jane's is rather open-ended and there are still questions left unanswered. Since this is told from Jane's PoV only, I think an epilogue could have tied up any loose ends, including giving Jane's story/future a more clear end.

We all know the tale as Disney tells it – he steals from the rich and gives to the poor, a champion of the common man! But this story of Robin Hood reveals a darker side of the hero, a side that makes you question who the true villain is.

Desperate to escape her common fate, Jane Crowe sets out to join Robin Hood and his merrymen. She starts out small, proving herself by passing along information about the noblemen and women she encounters through her work at the King’s Houses. But as Robin’s trust in her grows, the espionage she’s asked to partake in grows more dangerous and shockingly violent. Will Jane risk everything for the charismatic Robin Hood? Or has he finally gone too far for her to follow?

I love a good retelling of a classic. Robin Hood is synonymous with “the good guy”, so reading his tale from a different perspective was uniquely interesting. I did feel like the story ended a bit abruptly and wanted a bit more, and the character of Jane was frustratingly stagnant in her development. Overall this was a great premise that fell a bit short for me.

I was epically excited to see Kaufman tackling a Robin Hood retelling as it is an under served story in my opinion.I truly loved the bones of this story but the the main characters fell a tad flat for me in the end.

Readers follow Jane Crowe, a young peasant in need of a means to financial survival. She soon finds herself working for the legend himself, Robin Hood. Her task is to collect secrets within the King's House and deliver them back to Robin. It's dangerous work and as Jane gets deeper and deeper into her spying she finds that her feelings for her boss also grow deeper.

The world building here feels so accurate and thoughtful, with many moments taking on an evocative and visceral quality. Unfortunately, I found Jane to be borderline insufferable due to her naivety. I didn't feel as though she grew all that much which frustrated me with the length of the story, I did find that making Robin lean morally grey with a preoccupation on the optics of being good vs, actually being good to be a fun twist but in the end it wasn't enough to make this one a win for me.