The best Robin Hood books

Life for Princess Isabella is far from a dream, trapped by tradition, protocol and the stifling burden of inheriting the crown, she longs to escape her shackles. After fleeing her abusive home, Sophia and Isabella meet at the palace gates. Realising how alike they look, they plan to switch places for one week. What could possibly go wrong? What starts out as a naïve plan to follow their dreams soon takes an unexpected turn with events quickly spiralling out of control. As the nightmare continues around them, it’s a race against time to stem the devastating consequences of their actions.

Briar is a curse painter who can wreak havoc with the flick of a paintbrush—but she doesn't want to hurt people anymore. She flees her family's deadly curse business to sell nonlethal jinxes and petty revenge. Her powers catch the eye of a charismatic young thief, Archer, who hires her to help him save a kidnapped friend. Briar joins his ragtag outlaw band, hoping to make amends for her crimes, but the family business won’t let her go so easily. When her past jeopardizes Archer’s rescue mission, Briar must confront the dark arts she left behind—and decide what she’s willing to destroy in order to be good.

A YA fantasy reimagining of Robin Hood with art magic, romance, and fast-paced adventure!

A dark fantasy paranormal romance adaptation of the medieval French legend of “Tristan et Yseult” (Tristan and Isolde), interwoven with Arthurian myth, Druids, Avalon, Elves, forest fairies, diabolical dwarves, and dark tales from the enchanted Forest of Brocéliande, birthplace of Merlin, Lancelot, and the Lady of the Lake Viviane.

A serial killer is on the loose in metro Detroit. Three female victims have been discovered in motel rooms in different suburban cities. The only connection is each body is found in Room 319 and the killer leaves the taunting message “Why 319?” on the bathroom mirror, written with the victim’s lipstick.

Detective Jefferson Chene heads up an elite squad of detectives assigned to the case. With no home life, he devotes every waking moment to catching killers. But this one is more elusive than most. With no clues and no apparent link between the victims, Chene is at a dead end. Then a startling revelation busts the case wide open. He’s closing in, but will it be before another young woman loses her life?

In this Big Bad Magic series, fairy tales intertwine to weave a new story about the people many have considered villainous. This MM fantasy novel features a mage without memories, his rebellious childhood crush, and a magic-fueled race to find each other again before the murder of a Queen.

Through retellings, we not only get to see how the world was, but how it is today. The Frog Prince, Robin Hood, and the Mad Hatter are only a few of the wondrous characters the Big Bad Wolf comes across in a journey to reclaim himself.

This tale of the 11th-century high king Macbeth is told from the viewpoint of his Norse servant Kelda. Gifted to the Scottish warlord by his cousin Thorfinn, she finds herself becoming his confidant and spy as he battles rival tribesmen, Viking pirates, and his own cousins to claim the highest office in the land. A seer has promised him success, but she also spoke of a Dark Warrior, a man twisted out of nature who will be Macbeatha’s downfall.

Set in 11th-century Scotland, Macbeatha explores the cultural and political forces that may have propelled this warlord’s rise to power—and his tragic fall.

Fourteenth-century England was a time of plague, climate change, economic disruptions, revolts,  tyrannical rulers, and corrupt favorites. Against a backdrop similar to our own, my knights, their ladies, lords, and ordinary folk live and love and struggle against the turning of fortune’s wheel—where they, like us, rise only to fall and inch their way round the wheel yet again. Each character wrestles in some fashion with the family motto of my hero knight: All is lost save honor.

Throughout, historical characters such as Edward III, the Black Prince, and John of Gaunt all appear. My favorite is the little-known revolutionary priest John Ball who I shamelessly modeled after my more radical relatives. I hope I accurately captured the essence of John—and of them all. 

Glenrowan tells the story of the destruction of Ned Kelly and his gang of bushrangers. It follows Kelly’s spiral into madness as the search for the gang intensifies and he becomes more desperate. He hatches a plan to destroy his pursuers by sabotaging a train, which involves he and his mates wearing bulletproof armour made from farming implements. Everything culminates in a police siege in the township of Glenrowan and Ned’s legendary capture. It's a novel, but follows history as closely as possible.

Nothing in the book contradicts the historical record, and even the scenes I created that fill the gaps in our knowledge are based on oral history. There’s something for everyone in here: action, drama, romance, and an incredible true story that holds a special place in Australian culture.

In the middle of nothingness is the Island of Salvation. Reality bends easily here. Villages disappear. Forests burn forever. Pockets of inconsistent time are everywhere, their boundaries strung with yellow ribbon. And the three kingdoms of Salvation have been at war for a thousand years. But the greatest threat is the Malice, an incursion from the demon plane slowly tearing its way through the world’s weakest seams. Seams that—once split—will lead to the total unraveling of night and day, light and dark, life and death. 
Not that the human world takes much interest.

Of more concern is the upcoming marriage of Rune Highcrown, Prince of Caberwill, and Johanne Fortuin, Princess of Embria—the serpent bride, a girl of famous cunning—which offers a possible end to the ancient conflict. But Rune has noticed the growing darkness, and he is determined to summon mankind’s only defense: Nightrender, the hammer of the gods, an immortal warrior more weapon than girl.
 
Will she save humanity from the Malice…or plunge it deeper into the fires of eternal war?

The day Ishmael sees color for the first time, his life changes forever. This unique ability leads him to the Hall of Hue, one of seven creative workshops at a mysterious, magical place called the Commons. As a novice Color Keeper, Ishmael begins his training: helping to create landscapes that become glorious new worlds he and his friends shape and build, filling them with color, scent, sound, and taste. But when the rules of creation are threatened and the bonds of brotherhood are tested, Ishmael must learn when to let go of the past, when to trust the path ahead, and when to believe in himself. Original and gorgeously crafted, this middle-grade fantasy will enliven readers’ every sense.