Review: Not for the Faint of Heart by Lex Croucher

Title: Not for the Faint of Heart

Author: Lex Croucher

Length: 394 Pages

Category: YA Romance, Historical

Rating: 5 Stars

At a Glance: Even amidst the battles and losses and heartbreak there is a bright and uplifting story told here of found family and affirmation and acceptance. The representation and support among Mariel’s group of Merry Men is why LGBTQIA+ rep in YA novels matters. Not for the Faint of Heart represents splendidly.

Reviewed By: Lisa

Blurb: ‘You aren’t merry,’ Clem said 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.

Review: Lex Croucher has a flair for retelling legends of old with clever twists and charming characters. They did it brilliantly with last years Gwen & Art Are Not in Love, and have scored another hit with Not for the Faint of Heart, a timeless tale with a host of irresistible twists.

This story is Robin Hood and his Merry Men, redux. Robin looms large but is not the star of the adventure. He is the inspiration. It’s his granddaughter Mariel who is trying to uphold the dignity and purpose of the Men, all while her father diminishes what they once stood for, and tears Mariel down at every opportunity in the process. Mariel is hardened and her life joyless in her efforts to gain some sort of positive recognition from her cold and callous father, while resenting her absentee mother. Little did Mariel know how much she was going to need, or come to depend on, the ray of sunshine she kidnaps and holds hostage.

The only word for Clem is lovable. That single word encompasses who she is: her personality, her caring and compassion, her dedication to her patients, her charm, her wit. As Mariel is bark and bite, Clem is the light that slowly and determinedly penetrates the walls Mariel fortifies with every harsh word she utters and every decision she makes. If you love the grumpy/sunshine trope, Mariel and Clem are that, with vigor. Watching Mariel pull and Clem push is, at first, the unstoppable force meeting the immovable object. Watching Mariel become helpless against the radiance and energy that is Clem is reinforced by the danger and grief that ensues.

Even amidst the battles and losses and heartbreak there is a bright and uplifting story told here of found family and affirmation and acceptance. The representation and support among Mariel’s group of Merry Men—who Clem so helpfully points out are not all men, nor are they all merry—is why LGBTQIA+ rep in YA novels matters. Not for the Faint of Heart represents splendidly.