The Swindler's Daughter: Robin Hood Reimagined

Tales of Winberg #3

by Annette K. Larsen

Miriam left her thieving past behind.
But now she’s fallen for an outlaw, and the only way to protect those she loves may be to become one herself.

Growing up the daughter of a thief and con man taught Miriam how to steal. But it also convinced her that’s not the lifestyle she wants. Having escaped that life with her brother, she now values her place on the right side of the law. However, when the new magistrate of Murrwood Village starts taxing the people and stealing their goods, Miriam finds herself an unwitting part of Rowan Lockley’s unconventional and illegal form of justice.

He has a tragic past and deadly aim with an arrow, but as Rowan and Miriam fight over the question of right and wrong, Miriam must also fight her growing feelings for him. How can she possibly fall for a thief when that’s the life from which she ran? She’ll have to decide whether obeying the law and doing what’s right are always the same as thing. And if they’re not, will she have the courage to embrace the thieving skills she’s shunned for so long in order to help those who need it most?

Full of danger and daring, this romantic adventure reframes the classic tale of Robin Hood, as it forces Miriam to choose between loyalty to the brother who saved her and the love of a man who’s given up on the law.

Genres: Fantasy, Romance, Clean Romance, Fairy Tale Retellings, Retellings, Fairy Tales, Fiction

288 pages, Kindle Edition

Published May 12, 2022

About the author

I love words. I always have. In songs, in poems, in books, in movies—words move me. In my younger years, I dabbled in writing as a therapy and an escape, but I never expected it to become more than that. While deep in the depths of mommying several small children, I took seven years to write my first book, Just Ella. During that time, I taught myself how to write a novel through a whole lot of trial and error. Not the most time-efficient method, but it gave me an education I wouldn’t have received from a class or a how-to book. Something about the struggle of writing without a formula or rules worked for me. I wrote for me. I wrote from my heart space, and I think that’s the reason that Just Ella has found room in so many of my readers’ heart spaces.

I write clean romance because I love it. I love the discovery of new love. I love the relationship building that’s done with looks, words, brushing fingers, and tentative kisses. Jane Eyre is the hero of my youth and taught me that being true to yourself and clinging to your convictions will be hard, but it will bring you more genuine happiness than giving up on yourself ever can.

I am an extraordinarily happy wife, and a mother of five kids. I’ve lived in Utah, Arizona, Missouri, and Virginia, but my heart is now firmly ensconced in Idaho where we’ve built a home and a community.

I love chocolate, waterfalls, pretty teacups, the sight and sound of ocean waves, and most especially my husband and my five littles. I love books that leave me with a sigh of contentment, and I aspire to write stories that do the same for my readers.

Find me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/annetteklar...
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authoraklarsen
Follow me on twitter: @AnnetteKLarsen
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Reviews

[Melissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I so enjoyed this one! I love Robin Hood! It's always been one of my favorites:} Larsen is just a good writer. I always like her characters. She always gives them interesting back stories. You could read this on it's own but it is such a richer story read as a series. The first is my favorite:} Or you can go All the way back and start with Just Ella, another favorite. These are good for all ages.

[Laurajoyl · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful retelling of Robin Hood- I loved it!

[Becky Helvig · Rating 5 out of 5]

I couldn’t put it down! I had already read the first two in this fairytale series (Hooked and Cloaked in Scarlet), and was excited to continue with characters I already knew and loved. It is a stand alone book, but I recommend started with Hooked so you can watch Rowen’s little band of thieves go from children to young men. The parallels between Robinhood where fun to spot, but knowing the fairytale did not make the book predictable. It kept me on the edge of my seat. I loved the complexity of the plot and characters. My only complaint is that I loved the old reverend and wish we could have spent more time
with Father Tuck. Larsen is an author I can trust to give me a sweet, swoony, complex and believable proper romance! If you liked this series, I highly recommend reading the Books of Dalthia series. It takes place in the same area and contains interwoven characters from this series.

[Our Book Confessions · Rating 5 out of 5]

Annette K Larsen does such a good job of tying up loose ends. I’m never left with tons of questions, but she also does a wonderful job of keeping the right amount of things back until the right moment. We love her writing.
As far as a Robin Hood re-telling goes, this story was perfect. Like the other two it was just the right amount of nudges at the story you’re familiar with, while still being wholly and uniquely something new.
We loved how it was tied into the other stories, but could also be read as a stand-alone. All the characters she already made us fall in love with are still involved, but you can jump in without needing very much backstory.
The romance was tender and sweet with a good amount of tension without being overly dramatic. This whole series is one I would recommend in a heartbeat to both the old and young alike.

[Lorin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really loved this wonderful book! I loved the characters and the plot! It was nice to see the other characters again! I had a hard time putting this wonderful book down! I absolutely loved this retelling of Robin Hood! I will be reading the next book in this really wonderful series! I really love all of Annette Larsen's books!

[Lorraine · Rating 5 out of 5]

hooray for Robin Hood!

I loved this story, I loved this series. I hope there will be more well loved stories reimagined. I wouldn't mind if some of Princess Marilee's sisters came to visit, because I loved that series as well.

[Pascale’s*ARC,Unwind,Read,Review · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was so looking forward to reading this one and I wasn’t disappointed. A modern retelling of Robin Hood, it was well worth the wait. I highly recommend it.

[Melanie Mason · Rating 5 out of 5]

awesome

Loved this story. Couldn’t put it down!!! The characters and relationships were marvelously complex, and the story exciting!!! Two thumbs up!!!

[Jacquelyn 💐 {This Rapunzel Reads} [Jesus Christ, my Living Hope] · Rating 5 out of 5]

🏹🏹🏹🏹🏹🏹🏹🏹🏹🏹🏹🏹🏹🏹🏹🏹🏹🏹🏹

This is a Robin Hood retelling, focusing on Miriam! The cover is beautiful and one of my favorites of the series! Miriam is a great character! I loved her and am excited to hear about her story! I love how she trains with a bow and arrow and how Rowan taught her! Rowan was delightful! I think he’s my favorite MMC of the series! I loved him and my heart broke for him! He was charming, sweet and awesome! Of course, I didn’t agree with him stealing and poaching. But I loved seeing Miriam and Rowan interact and fall in love! It was delightful! I really liked the sibling interaction between Miriam and Hunter! I loved the ending! This book was so good, possibly my favorite of the series! 5 stars! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Quote that I liked:

🏹 One corner of his mouth turned up in a hopeful way as a question shimmered in his eyes. "Marry me, Miri?" Tears rushed into my eyes as I threw my arms around him. "Of course."

🏹🏹🏹🏹🏹🏹🏹🏹🏹🏹🏹🏹🏹🏹🏹🏹🏹🏹🏹

[Kara · Rating 3 out of 5]

This truly was a page turner for me, first time reading this author and so well written!
Miriam and her brother, Hunter, are great characters and got to love them both immediately. The only thing I didn't care for was how much kissing/affection there is between Miriam and Rowan. I would consider that PG-13 because even when they aren't kissing or touching, she is describing how on fire she is for him inwardly. The book suggests readers ages 13-18, should be 16-18 in my opinion. Despite it being a great story with a happy ending, not every teen girl is going to appreciate how much Miriam is physically desiring Rowan within the plot. They do get caught by the bad guys more than once and each time all I could think was, "How are they going to get out of THIS one?!" The Robin Hood aspect of the story was fun, dangerous also but fun.

[Chaos · Rating 3 out of 5]

I did not like Miriam for most of the story. I loved her in the other books so my feelings are completely unexpected. She was so nasty and rude. Saw the worst in her supposed friends yet refused to see how horrible the constable was. That's so self righteous and hypocritical. Even after she saw what Reeves was doing, she refused to believe it and said what Rowan and the others were doing was wrong. It frustrated me to no end. In some cases, sometimes a wrong has to be done for justice to prevail. It wasnt until the end that Miriam grew on me again. I love the story, but Miriam had me wanting to DNF. I hope Edmund and his bride will be good for the village. The duke was awesome and I love how he pardoned everyone. I wonder how them being in residence will change the dynamics of the village and how Princess Marilee will deal with it all.

[Sara · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Swindler's Daughter by Annette K Larsen
What I loved about this book:
🌼 A hero who wants to do what's right
🌼 A heroine who doesn't want to be a thief
🌼 But now she's falling for one...
🌼 Daring and danger
🌼 Sweet and swoony romance, just kisses
Really enjoyed this Robin Hood retelling! I liked how the author focused on the "Doing what's right" vs "Obeying the law" aspect. Quite well done!
Part of a series, could be read as a standalone
Favorite quote: “And what happens if I do nothing? What happens if no one stands up?” He paused, but I couldn’t come up with an answer, so he just nodded. “Inaction has consequences as well.”
Favorite character: Miriam (our main female character)

[Reah N. · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars
Robin Hood was never a favorite retelling of mine. All the cheating. The violence. The justified actions. The unfairness of it all.
So - I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this book.
The moral conflicts and the dilemma of choosing to do what’s right over choosing to follow the law was nicely handled. The characters’ actions in this retelling seemed a lot more justified to me, than those of the traditional Robin Hood.
I also enjoyed the relationship between Miri and her brother, as well as the dark past that they are both trying to escape. I loved how her past was an additional hurdle that Miri had to overcome while deciding if she should help her friends.
The romance, too, was sweet and innocent, despite the heat.

This is the first book in The Tales of Winberg series that I’ve read, and it made me very interested in reading the rest of the series.

Content
Violence non-graphic violence
Miri's father was a swindler. She and her brother ran away after discovering her father was going to sell her. The story involves men shooting each other, stealing, and almost being killed for stealing. There are also people in positions of power taking advantage of others.
Romance: heated kisses
Many scenes with Rowan and Miri noticing each other and how close they are and longing to be closer, and heated kisses. In one scene Rowan, delirious with fever and pulls her Miri into bed with him, thinking her to be his wife. She thinks back on this a few times, wondering what it meant, and who he thought she was.

[Jana Miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

I LOVE the internal conflict and coolness of Miri’s dilemma in this book. Her emotional turmoil against the backdrop of high-stakes danger in their town is super effective and compelling, made even more fantastic by the fact that the person she’s falling for poses an ethical dilemma that hits the root of her traumatic upbringing. The action in The Swindler’s Daughter (such a cool title, btw) woven with all of that makes for a delicious page-turner.

[Stella McAfee · Rating 4 out of 5]

A cute story! I did find the plot confusing at times but overall it made sense. Some of the character moments were really cute but I didn’t really see much growth in the main character? She felt a little flat. I loved the archery vibes and the justification for what they did, and Rowan was quite hot as well.

[LaShunda · Rating 4 out of 5]

A truly enjoyable tale

I really like this! The conflict in this tale is simply perfect. I enjoyed the delve into the justifications that surround the robin hood story. A sparkling read!

[Danielle · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed the strength and moral wrestle Miriam had in this book. The Robin Hood aspects were fun to search for and find. I was surprised by some of the depth of conversation by a few characters and the struggles they had endeared them to me even more.

PG rating for fighting and some suspense

[Shara Bowles · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely LOVED this Robin Hood retelling! Robin Hood has always been a favorite of mine and this might just be my most favorite retelling yet! The characters were wonderful and the romance was perfect! I did not want to put this book down!

[Jamie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful retelling

A lovely retelling of Robin Hood! I enjoyed the main character, who is a strong, independent young woman who also has her faults and weaknesses. The story moved quickly, and I enjoyed every minute of it!

[Dee Dooley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Robin Hood Retelling

An excellent love story and retelling of Robin Hood/Rowan and Maid Marian/Miriam. Complete with Friar Tuck/Father Tucker, The Magistrate/The Sheriff, and Sherwood Forest/Murrwood Forest.

[Jeannie · Rating 5 out of 5]

You never disappoint Me. Larson

I love all her books and this one disappoint. I really was wondering throughout the book "how ARE they going to get out of this?"

[Sarah's Always Reading · Rating 4 out of 5]

Easy and enjoyable book to read with a satisfying ending to the series.

[Skye · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not Larsen's best work, but enjoyable nonetheless.

[Helen Fleck · Rating 5 out of 5]

This series has been so much fun, I can't wait for the next one. I think this one has been my favorite so far.
The characters are fantastic and the story is fast moving

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this story. And I hope there will be more in the series

Content: clean

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this one too!

[Katelyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was such a captivating story. I loved every second of it. I felt the thrill and the suspense. Im hoping there will be more to this series.

[ToriLynn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Marvelous

What a retelling! I love the way the story plays out. Very well done. Book 3 continues to enchant. Keep it up!

[MacKenzie Bakos · Rating 4 out of 5]

Super cute retelling. <3

[Lydia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating! Loved the retelling of Robin Hood with our favorite characters from Winberg.