It starts off quite slow that I wasn’t really feeling it and was debating DNfing. However, at the halfway mark it started to pick up and became more interesting.

It's a cute, enemy-to-lovers trope but Robin Hood style. The romance isn't the star of the show which was a bit disappointing and had me wanting more when it was featured.

For me, I didn’t find it as enjoyable as GWEN AND ART ARE NOT IN LOVE but it was an enjoyable read.

Another excellent, voicey historical(ish) fiction leaning novel from love Lex Croucher. Love to see some gays in Sherwood forest and a band of loveable characters.

Aren't kidnappings SO fun in books? Clem is kidnapped by the Merry Men to be the groups healer. Mariel is the leader of the Merry Men and Robin Hood's granddaughter. (If that premise doesn't hook you already I don't know what will!)

The characters were brilliant, the pacing was so perfect I really struggled to put it down.

In short. I loved this very much and can't wait for Lex Croucher's next one!

Dnf at 25%.

I really tried to get into this but it just wasn't working for me. Thank you for the digital copy.

e-ARC received in exchange for an honest review.

After falling in love with Lex Croucher’s writing with Gwen & Art Are Not in Love, I am both relieved and impressed that Not For the Faint of Heart lived up to my expectations (and the hype).

From the very first lines, I knew Clem – the sunshiniest of sunshines – was going to be a character I loved. From the first kidnapping (a line I didn’t expect to be typing), you are instantly thrown into a world of adventure with a loveable group of misfits as they navigate a post-Robin Hood era.

The story feels less structured and more like a languid journey as you get to know and love the two MCs and their little queer found family by following along with their adventure. Lovable characters are truly in abundance.

Speaking of things being in abundance, the shining factor of this book was the humour. Page 1 had me giggling in my chair and I don’t think I really stopped until the end (excluding those 3 chapters around the 80% mark that had me crying tears of sadness rather than joy). Lex Croucher has proven before that they’re a master at writing a group of opposing personalities and making them a lovable team. But add all those personalities together and of course you are left with something truly hilarious.

Whilst I still loved this book, the love story between the two MCs felt like a secondary part of the story, always at 0 or 100 with no real in-between. And although I won’t deny that when they got going Clem and Mariel had real chemistry, the development of their relationship and its presence in the story at all felt a bit lacklustre and unneeded in a book already full of so much love.

But if you’re looking for a book that will bring a lot of joy and a heaping of roguish adventure, it’s definitely worth a read. Just think, Robin Hood but with an added helping of queer joy.

"Clem had clung to the belief that they were untouchable gods of the forest, good to the core."

3.5 star YA sapphic romance!

This was a fun story that showcased a large and enjoyable cast of characters. I enjoyed the spin on the original story and how that was used to create this new look into the story of Robin Hood and Merry Men. It would have been easy for the characters to spill into each other and for it to become muddy, however I really enjoyed that all the characters had their defining personalities and moments within the story. All the characters had their bits of background and development that allowed them to feel developed to the reader and not just tools to pad the wider story and romance out further.

The two FMCs were enjoyable to follow. I definitely enjoyed the character of Clem throughout the entire story, I enjoyed how the character was fleshed out, developed and brought a different kind of life to the story compared to the other characters. Mariel was also an enjoyable FMC whose character has more (present in the story) complicating characteristics. I can't deny that at times I wished that the development of Mariel's character would progress with a bit more speed, but overall her character arc was good.

I will say that I found this story to be more character-focused, rather than a plot heavy focus. It didn't detract anything from the story and the writing (the writing allowed the story to flow very well), but I think I had a pre-expectation of their being more to the story plot and development. I think I would have really loved to have seen more of that alongside the strong lean of the characters driving the story.

Thank you to Bloomsbury Publishing UK for the eARC, I am voluntarily leaving a review.

I am so pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this. A top notch sapphic historical fantasy romcom which was a total breath of fresh air.

For lovers of found family, chaotic capers, loveable characters you’ll be immediately protective over after three seconds, an engaging plot (though this was mainly vibes, in a good way?) and tongue in cheek narration which perfectly blends humour, teen angst and also anti-fascist rhetoric (amen) in an unlikely harmony, then this is the read for you!

We have a dual POV narrative, split between Clem and Mariel, which offers a fast-paced experience and a wider understanding of both protagonists mindsets.

Clem is a healer who volunteers herself to kidnapped by the Merry Men (a la Robin Hood) in place of her elderly mentor, and winds up thrown-head first into a series of rescues, betrayals, coups and discoveries under Captain Mariel Hartley-Hood. Mariel is a Captain of the Merry Men, the band of once steal-from-the-rich-and-give-to-the-poor do-gooders of Robin Hood and Arthurian legend. Nowadays they’re led by Commander Hartley-Hood, Mariel’s father. Discourse agains the Sheriff of Nottingham is rife as ever, but Mariel and Clem and Mariel’s band of Merry Men soon discover that the Merry Men’s leadership is not as selfless as they once were.

There is peril and danger, lighthearted banter between Mariel’s band of Merry Men, a twisty plot with enough happening to be engaging without dampening the “slice of life” feeling this book has. It’s mostly found family vibes, and as a reader who will happily die on the found family hill, this was a wholesome and much needed read.

I really enjoyed Clem and Mariel’s relationship! It bloomed in a way that felt organic, natural, considering their “grumpy x sunshine” dynamic, but wasn’t beholden to that underdeveloped “insta-love” trope that much YA has. They felt right, in my head, and shored up each other’s weaknesses. Their connection therefore meant that I was 😍 when we finally got a few more intimate scenes - all closed door and in line with the YA genre! I didn’t need anything other than Clem drawing on Mariel’s facial features with her fingers to feel their connection. 🥰

However while the narrative is light, this book is hugely critical of oppressive leadership, and of organisations/systems that masquerade as being “for the greater good” while being self-serving to the point of detriment, harm and poverty of wider society. Which I LOVED. This is a liberal book, hidden in plain sight amongst the folds of a joyous and occasionally heartbreaking YA romp.

I LOVED Mariel’s crew, each character was well written, distinctive and added a little flair to the group. Morgan was your typical moody teen with a heart of gold, running from past familial trauma. Kit was calm and good and gentle, Josey your typical cheeky badass who wound up being the first stan for Clem and Mariel’s relationship, and Baxter the big loveable giant who said the most cheesy cute things.

Despite the humour, there was a character death that I’m NOT over, and had me weeping like a baby in my bed as I read it. Croucher manages to write in a way that is charmingly irreverent but also nails those emotions that need weight, like loss and grief in a way that feels very human. The tone sits perfectly in the YA crossover genre!

I WILL be eagerly anticipating everything that Lex Croucher releases from now on 😭😍

I really wanted to love this book, but unfortunately it just didn’t click with me. I loved the Robin Hood setting as well as all the references and hearing about what happened to him when he got older. However, there was just not enough plot for me in this book. Nothing really happens up until the last third of the story and I just got bored. Also didn’t care too much for the two main characters and their romance, because there was just no chemistry and they had no personality. I did really like the rest of the Merry Men though.
Overall I was quite disappointed by this book, because I had really high expectations that were not met at all.

DNF - I tried so hard to get into this book. I really wanted to like it but something about it just didn't work for me.

Not for the Faint at Heart is a cute and cosy historical romantasy reimagining of Robin Hood that will make your heart smile!
Full of irresistible tropes like forced proximity, opposites attract and a personal favourite grumpy X sunshine, coupled with Lex Croucher's humour make for the best kind of read.
This is the Sapphic Romance of the Summer!
I could not stop smiling!

DNF at about 10%. I love love love Lex Croucher's adult books, but this one fell flat for me, especially the writing style. I will stick with their adult books from now on!

Following in her grandfather’s footsteps, Not For the Faint Hearted follows Mariel as she and her group of Merry Men try to create their own legend - whilst Clem tags along for the ride.
It wasn’t an action-heavy book, much more about the friendships that are made throughout. I loved how Clem infiltrated the group and inevitably became part of it - she was like a walking ray of sunshine.
Mariel, on the other hand, was moody and closed-off and spends most of the book trying to please her father. She does eventually learn, but thanks only to her friends supporting her.
I think the expected romance was well-done and there was a lot of other casual LGBTQ+ rep.
The book was easy to read and I was always happy to read a couple of chapters.

𝐍𝐨𝐭 𝐅𝐨𝐫 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐅𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭 | 𝐋𝐞𝐱 𝐂𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐫 | 𝟒*

𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐓𝐨 𝐄𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭:
⟡ Cosy historical romantasy
⟡ Sapphic grumpy X sunshine romance
⟡ Opposites attract
⟡ Robin Hood reimagining
⟡ Forced proximity
⟡ Lighthearted humour

𝐓𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬:
Our main character, Clem, is sunshine personified in this cosy and entertaining tale. Even when she’s kidnapped by Robin Hood’s granddaughter, Mariel, this does not dampen Clem’s optimistic outlook on life.

Clem and Mariel are complete opposites. Clem is perpetually happy, Mariel is determinedly brooding. Clem is a healer, Mariel is a fighter. Clem forgives easily, Mariel holds a grudge for years. However, their forced proximity: only one bed, only one horse, kidnapper and kidnappee situation is one that’s rife with delicious tension.

My favourite element about this book is its lighthearted humour. I genuinely just love characters who are generally unafraid for their own lives, and Clem is one of them. I loved the Robin Hood vibes too.

Unfortunately I thought that Mariel really sucked. There’s grumpy and then there’s nasty and she felt like the latter yet all the characters rally around her. Thankfully she was the love interest and not the MC or I’d have enjoyed this a lot less. Hands up for Clem to lead the Merry Men 🙌.

𝐅𝐚𝐯𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐐𝐮𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐬:
𝘊𝘭𝘦𝘮 𝘤𝘳𝘰𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘳𝘮𝘴, 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢 𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘫𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘥. ‘𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘧 𝘐 𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘶𝘴𝘦, 𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘤𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘣𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘨𝘢𝘯𝘨?’
‘𝘞𝘦’𝘭𝘭 … 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘣 𝘺𝘰𝘶?’ 𝘑𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘺 𝘰𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘧-𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘦𝘥𝘭𝘺.
‘𝘠𝘰𝘶’𝘭𝘭 𝘩𝘶𝘳𝘵 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴,’ 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘉𝘢𝘹𝘵𝘦𝘳.

𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘮𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘭𝘺 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘴 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘥𝘰, 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬, 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘷𝘦 𝘪𝘯–𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘥𝘰 𝘪𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘸𝘢𝘺.

‘𝘐 𝘥𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘱𝘶𝘳𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘪𝘧 𝘪𝘵 𝘪𝘴𝘯’𝘵 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶. 𝘐𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘴𝘯’𝘵 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘰𝘯𝘦 … 𝘸𝘢𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘰 𝘧𝘶𝘭𝘧𝘪𝘭 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘱𝘰𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘢𝘭.’
‘𝘈𝘩,’ 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘊𝘭𝘦𝘮. ‘𝘞𝘦𝘭𝘭. 𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵’𝘴 𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘺. 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘰𝘣𝘴𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴, 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘰𝘳 𝘴𝘭𝘦𝘦𝘱, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘥𝘢𝘺 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘶𝘱 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶’𝘷𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧.’

A sapphic fantasy enemies to lovers, robinhoods granddaughter!!!! NEED I SAY MORE

I really enjoyed the vibes of this book. I will say it’s a bit of a slow burn but once you get through the first half it’s like HELL YES! Let’s go.

And turns out daddy issues have been around as long as time it’s self! We love to see it.

This is gay joy and I love to see it.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this eARC of 'Not for the Faint of Heart' by Lex Croucher.

Lex Croucher is back with yet another YA historical romance. As always, it was fun to read and quick to get through. I love reading Croucher's books and this was no exception.

This was a wonderfully charming take on the Robin Hood mythology! Robin Hood's grandaughter as a prickly leader trying her best to do right by her people and also live up to her father's impossible standards meets a cosy cottagecore healer - and by meets I mean accidentally kidnaps - and they go on an adventure that challenges the way they see themselves and the world. Not only was the relationship between the lead characters lovely and compelling, but the cast of supporting characters were excellent and I loved the focus on how important communities of mutual support are. Overall a hilarious and heartwarming book.

Honestly I really struggled with this one; I just couldn’t get into it and by the end I still feel like I couldn’t tell you really what happened in the story. I think I liked the side characters far more than I liked the main pairing honestly - I didn’t buy Mariel & Clem’s romance and relationship… I got more AroAce vibes from Mariel, although Clem did live up to the chaotic bisexual energy that I love to see in YA (she flirted with everyone so I’m gonna say bisexual even though she only kisses Mariel in the book). I loved Kit (trans, Achillean) and Baxter (Achillean) but mannnn the storyline did them dirty IMO. And I really enjoyed Morgan the non-binary gremlin child.

This story is based around Robin Hood and follows his granddaughter, Mariel, as she tries to be the best solider she can be in the Merry Men, a sort of military bastardisation of Robin Hood’s original gang of scrappy do-gooders. Mariel kidnaps a healer, Clem, because Clem’s guardian is accused of tending to the Sheriff’s son and apparently kidnapping her is the way to deal with that. From there we get a sort of fetch-quest style plot when Jack Hartley (Mariel’s dad) is captured by the Sheriff of Nottingham and the gang have to travel all over to figure out where he’s being stashed. There’s a lot of fighting scenes, so if you’re someone who likes a lot of action narrated, you’ll probably get on with this one quite well.

I know I’m not really the age-group for YA but there are some YA authors I love (Elliott Schrefer, Alice Oseman, Rainbow Rowell), but I think this book just missed the mark for me. Yes, it was funny in places but overall I found it slow and the storyline simplistic. I wish I’d loved it more and I think my rating and reaction to it is very much ‘it’s not the book, it’s me’ as I see a lot of people loving this.

I do think it will appeal to a younger audience and those who enjoy a lot of fighting scenes and chaotic characters doing whatever the heck comes into their heads!

Young adult Robin Hood sapphic realness

For your next dose of anachronistic ahistoric historical YA fiction, look no further. Croucher's second YA novel, this is a good successor to Gwen And Art Are Not In Love, but in a lower key, focused on Captain Mariel Hood-Hartley, third generation Merry Man, and the healer Clemence, called Clem, an experimental medic in a time without running water or knowledge of bacteria, viruses and anaesthesia.

Of course, Robin Hood wasn't a historical figure, so there isn't an actual time period that you could research and convincingly recreate in novel form. As such, this is an ahistoric historical novel, the language that of teens and yoots of today, the witty repartee worthy of a snarky BBC3 youth comedy. I'm not complaining, I'm just laying it all on the line, that this is a modern recreation of a non-existent historic figure and their time, so don't expect historical realism. Instead, you get two contrasting young women, Clem who is sworn to help whoever comes to her, and Mariel, a walking chip on a shoulder, trying her best to make her dad, Robin Hood's son-in-law, proud. And as you and I know, that's a hiding to nothing.

The peril is relatively light, but there is a little swearing and quite a lot of violent death, so this is really a young adult novel. Clem is a delight, and Mariel is a prickly so-and-so, but the romance feels a little sudden. Certainly an entertaining book, but Heartstopper this ain't, although your heart will break at one particular point (no spoilers).

Three and a half stars, rounded up to four.

Love it love it love it! This was a fantastic breath of fresh air. The writing was superb. The world building was lush and intricate. The Robin Hood continuation plot felt realistic and very fitting. Our mc's were joy and hell a tough and sparked beautifully off each other. The found fam of merry men were the best. I cried and giggled and involuntarily curled my toes all the way through and honestly didn't want it to end. I haven't beamed and snorted my way through a book in a while, wholeheartedly recommend. Can't wait for more from this author!
Thanks to Bloomsbury Publishing and Netgalley for an arc, all thoughts are my own and left voluntarily.

AMAZING!! this was one of my most anticipated books this year and it did NOT disappoint.

Lex Croucher is an incredible author. i felt so connected to all the characters, not just the mcs, and the setting felt so realistic. the romance was also well thought out and i loved them together.

one of the best parts of this book for me was the platonic relationships. there was so many amazing friendships, both old and new, and i loved them.

i highly recommend this book!

Thank you to NetGalley and Bloomsbury Publishing for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

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.

Mariel seems to want to keep anything and everything at arms length, regardless of whether she likes them or not. I found it a little hard to relate to her because she seemed to permanently keep this wall up - even to the reader. It was a little frustrating actually because I wanted to dive deeper into Mariel as a character and felt like I couldn’t do that because she was so closed off. As the book progressed, she opened up a bit but not enough for me to be really engaged with her as a character.
Clem is a breed of her own. Despite being kidnapped, she is remarkably well-tempered. Cracking constant jokes and streaming out question after question, it was almost as if she thought she could annoy her captors into letting her go. I liked that we got to know Clem quite well. We saw her little quirks, got an insight into her past and what makes her tick, but more importantly, she was interesting and engaging for the reader. Her POV chapters held my attention the most because she was rather unpredictable of nature. That’s something I rather enjoy!

This is the first book by Croucher I have read but after hearing from them at a Victoria Aveyard tour stop, I knew their books sounded right up my alley. I think the overall plot was pretty good. The flow wasn’t too bad either though I did find some difficulty in keeping track of the timeline - how much time had passed overall. There is a lot of focus on the moment and what the future could hold that I felt a little lost in how long had actually passed. The cast of characters was rather great. The diversity amongst them was wonderful to read. A ragtag army banded together is always fun but Croucher did a very good job of ensuring their individuality and maintaining it across the story. The rep is something that must be mentioned. It is rare to see stories with such a large range of rep and I was so, so happy to see it! Hopefully more stories can follow in the footsteps of those like this and have true representation of many different forms. The romance in this story felt slightly stilted to me. There was a bit too much awkwardness for my liking considering the fact that both FMCs seemed to be fighting off feelings. But the general romantic vibe was lovely to read! The ending just felt ever so slightly rushed for me and concluded a little too abruptly. I did like where it was going but then it stopped and I expected more. I’m not the biggest fan of an open ending! On the whole, this book is more of a 3.75⭐️ rating but rounding it up to 4.

Overall, Not for the Faint of Heart is a book that’s perfect for its diverse rep!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

Thank you again to NetGalley and Bloomsbury Publishing for an advanced copy of this book. Review will be live on my blog on release day.