Hi Cara,
One of my favourite type of books is retellings. That’s why I was intrigued by Nottingham by Nathan Makaryk. As it’s a retelling of the Robin Hood. The legend who stole from the rich and gave it to the poor.
No king. No rules.
And a strange story begins to spread.
In England 1191 King Richard is another country fighting for God and ambition. Leave England for fend for themselves. As the people with power go unchecked, and the people without are barely able to exist.
People in Nottingham are at breaking point as the sheriff does nothing.
The lives of six people Arable, a servant girl with a secret, Robin and William, soldiers running from their pasts, Marion, a noblewoman working for change, Guy of Gisbourne, Nottingham’s beleaguered guard captain, and Elena Gamwell, a brash, ambitious thief become intertwined. The action will be felt throughout Nottingham and England.
Nottingham brings the legend alive in a story full of danger, betrayal, politics, love, friendship and power.
The book is split into different characters POV. The main POV are;
- Arable – Servant Girl.
- Robin of Locksley – Soldier with high ranking family
- William De Wendenal – Soldier with mid-level ranking family.
- Guy of Gisbourne – The Captain of the Guard in Nottingham, law and order is his life.
- Elena Gamell – Thief who is brash and ambitious who wants to leave her mark.
- Marion – A noblewoman and cousin to the king, who is fighting for change.
We do get to see POV from a couple of the other people. There are interesting to see what happens in Nottingham from there perception.
My opinion of the main character change throughout the book. As I find out more about their motives. The only character my opinion doesn’t change is Guy of Gisbourne. I just didn’t like him, he was like a religious zealot without the religion.
As I wasn’t connected emotionally it allowed me to see the story as a whole. As everyone is trying to do what they think is best for Nottingham but too stubborn to work together, or too stubborn to see the issue from a different perspective.
Also I enjoyed that the story contains why the taxes were raised, the importance of Sherwood. Richard as King and his relationship and his dysfunctional family. That William and Robin’s body doubled for the King. On the topic of William and Robin, they are different sides of the same coin.
Nottingham perfectly shows people believing they are doing the right thing for the right reason.
My rating for Nottingham is 4 out of 5.
Thank you to @JamiedoesPR and Macmillian for sending me a finished copy for a fair and honest review.
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Thanks for reading,
