The best books for people who had a crush on Disney’s Robin Hood

The Emperor’s Edge series is one of my all-time favorites. It features a ragtag band of outlaws, exciting steampunk action sequences, and characters that are real, loveable, and hilarious. The band’s unconventional leader, Amaranthe, dreams up unlikely schemes to protect her homeland from nefarious forces, and her team ends up blowing stuff up as often as they save it. This is a genuine page-turner that will keep you fully invested in the team’s goals and lost in their world. Bonus: the series includes the best slow-burn romance I’ve ever read!

This is a double recommendation because The Princess Bride is also one of my favorite movies. The book is special because the author pretends to be abridging a much longer fantasy adventure novel by the fictional S. Morgenstern. The story skips the boring bits (which don’t actually exist) and crams in all the good stuff we love about the genre. There’s a daring rescue, a mysterious pirate, quirky magic, an evil lord, strange creatures, and lots of excellent sword fighting. The hero, Westley, is full of sassy quips, which makes him a fun counterpoint to the brooding heroes you’ll find in other corners of the genre. Whether you’ve seen the movie or not, you won’t regret giving this unusual novel a try!

This is a slightly darker book. Be warned that you might find yourself contemplating a crow tattoo and a love affair with an emotionally damaged crime boss by the end of this novel. Six of Crows is a heist story in a vivid fantasy setting, and it features top-notch character development. You get to know each member of the crew intimately, so you understand the nuances of their personalities and why they decide to use illegal methods to accomplish their goals. The Crows are clever, ruthless, often funny, and exactly the sort of people you’d want on your side if the law failed you.

I’m obsessed with Naomi Novik’s books, and it was tough to choose which one to recommend for this topic. A Deadly Education fits the bill because its heroine, El, has the potential to become a terrifying dark sorceress, but she puts tremendous effort into resisting her destiny. She finds ways to use her knack for destruction to save the world instead of annihilating it. A prickly, difficult person, El speaks in an honest and often hilarious voice as she grapples with the complications and inequalities of her world. Bonus: the book is set in a magic school that’s literally trying to eat the students. It doesn’t get better than that!

This is the fifth book in the epic Wheel of Time series. You should start with the first book, The Eye of the World, but I’m recommending this one because it’s when Mat Cauthon starts to come into his own as a character. Mat is incorrigible, a gambler and a rascal with a secret heart of bravery and self-sacrifice—not that he’d ever admit it! Mat makes mistakes and puts his foot in his mouth, but you can’t help loving him for it. His growth as a character throughout the series is unmatched, and he’s one of my favorite examples of the charming, flawed ne’er-do-well who ends up saving the day.