"Riser has conjured a ripping tale of auld"
Robin Hood redux. All her life Marian has been haunted
about dreams of Robin Hood. Well, small wonder, eh, with a
name like Marian? Yet, in fiction where all things are
possible, this Marian finds herself and her friend,
Orlando, carried back in time to ancient England, where
King John (Edward Longshanks's grand pappy) is the ruler,
while Richard the Lionheart is away. Marian doesn't,
however, meet Robin ala Errol Flynn and things are not
quite as they have been handed down in tales!! For one,
Robin's true love and lady fair is Elaine. The real Marian,
back then, was his horse!!! (mind out of the gutter...lol). Elaine was presumed dead, thus putting Sir Guy of Gisborne
in such a snit because he lost her monstrous dowry when he
hoped to wed her. But what ho!! In a strange twist, the
modern Marian (not the horse, mind) happens to look just
like Elaine, so plotting is a foot! They think by passing
Marian off as Elaine's long lost twin sister, they can get
both Elaine's money and appease John since he wasn't too
happy about Elaine's death. Marian hopes Robin will show up soon, because she isn't
really happy with Guy and the Sheriff's machinations. With
me so far? Buckle up because, as Bette says, it's about
to get bumpy!! Complications abound when Marian is forced
to wed, but fortunately not to Guy. Instead she is wed to
Roland, lord of Huntingdon...who reminds her vaguely of.... Well, I won't spoil the fun. Riser has conjured a ripping
tale of auld with enjoyable twists and double twists to
keep you loving this fun story. A wonderful time-travel
with all the elements carefully measured and added to the
mix. Riser shines.
Reviewed by Deborah Macgillivray
Posted March 28, 2008
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Some are born to greatness. Others have it thrust upon them. Marian Allanson would prefer to avoid it, period. Emotionally scarred, and haunted by nightly dreams of the mythical Robin Hood, Marian is just limping through life till a mysterious quirk of fate tosses her and twelve-year-old street kid Orlando Konstantinos centuries into the past. Now she’s on a full-scale run through medieval Sherwood, threatened by the Sheriff of Nottingham, and discovering there may be truth to the myth, after all. A forest phantom appears out of the shadows to rescue her from death, then disappears again, leaving her to a different danger in the form of a forced marriage to Lord Roland of Hunterdon, a man hot enough to melt a maid’s skivvies—despite the fact underwear hasn’t been invented yet. To make matters worse, when the old sheriff is murdered, Roland steps into the job with plans to kill Robin Hood, unless Marian can stop him. Or will Roland be the one to die? With the questions striking deeper than Robin’s arrows, and a sudden uncertainty as to who’s the villain and who’s the hero, “Maid Marian” has much more to worry about than her missing unmentionables. And speaking of missing, where the devil is Orlando? Before the secrets crack open and the dust clears, an unlikely heroine will rise from her own ashes, a legend will be rewritten, and a love will be forged strong enough to conquer time... Genres: Romance / Fantasy / Time Travel / Romantic Comedy
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