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Star Daughter by Shveta Thakrar // Night Markets, Star Courts and Desi goodness

GOODREADS // AMAZON // BOOK DEPOSITORY The daughter of a star and a mortal, Sheetal is used to keeping secrets. Pretending to be "normal." But when an accidental flare of her starfire puts her human father in the hospital, Sheetal needs a full star's help to heal him. A star like her mother, who returned to the sky long ago. Sheetal's quest to save her father will take her to a celestial court of shining wonders and dark shadows, where she must take the stage as her family's champion in a competition to decide the next ruling house of the heavens--and win, or risk never returning to Earth at all. This gorgeously imagined YA debut blends shades of Neil Gaiman's Stardust and a breathtaking landscape of Hindu mythology into a radiant contemporary fantasy.   ( A huge thank you to the  HOV Tours  and HarperTeen for the eARC and the opportunity to be a part of this blog tour.  ~When a book sees you~      Yes I am absolutely going to s

Hood by Jenny Elder Moke // Robin Hood's daughter features in this retelling

GOODREADS// AMAZON // BOOK DEPOSITORY
You have the blood of kings and rebels within you, love. Let it rise to meet the call.

Isabelle of Kirklees has only ever known a quiet life inside the sheltered walls of the convent, where she lives with her mother, Marien. But after she is arrested by royal soldiers for defending innocent villagers, Isabelle becomes the target of the Wolf, King John's ruthless right hand. Desperate to keep her daughter safe, Marien helps Isabelle escape and sends her on a mission to find the one person who can help: Isabelle's father, Robin Hood.

As Isabelle races to stay out of the Wolf's clutches and find the father she's never known, she is thrust into a world of thieves and mercenaries, handsome young outlaws, new enemies with old grudges, and a king who wants her entire family dead. As she joins forces with Robin and his Merry Men in a final battle against the Wolf, will Isabelle find the strength to defy the crown and save the lives of everyone she holds dear?
 (A huge thank you to the FFBC tours and the publisher for the eARC and the opportunity to be a part of this blog tour. Click on the tour banner above to view the tour schedule) (US Giveaway at the end of the post)

~5 THOUGHTS WHILE I READ HOOD~

~Fast paced and doesn't slow down till the end~

     Hood is a really fast read; the kind of book where you start reading and then realize you're already 50% in. I read the book in one sitting and the action starts from page one. We are introduced to the protagonist, Isabelle when she's been captured by the soldiers and the story just takes off. I did think that while it was fast paced, it glossed over a lot of things and times didn't give me enough time to know the characters or understand the surroundings. Nevertheless, the speed at which the plot moved, kept me hooked and turning the pages quickly.

~Found family love~

     If there's only one trope I could ever read, I'd pick found family. Robin and his merry men are obviously the best characters for a lovely found family. Although we don't get acquainted with all the merry men, I did like the ones who were the secondary characters. Helena and Patrick were my favourites. Helena with her sharp tongue, quick temper and immense skill in archery was fun to read about and learning how despite her rough attitude, she also cares about her friends with a fierce loyalty.

     Patrick is a kind soul and the best at making Isabelle feel at home among the merry men. i liked that he takes the time to teach Isabelle something. Even though it wasn't much, he made her feel welcome by teaching her how to use a knife.

     I wanted to like Adam, but he felt too two dimensional for my taste. The moment we meet this boy with piercing eyes, smelling of pine, I knew he was to be the love interest and I wasn't impressed. I hoped he's impress me later on but alas. But the other secondary characters definitely make up for the lack of Adam's originality.

~Action filled plotline~

Like I mentioned, the action moves really fast and there are multiple fighting scenes that were done quite well. The plot keeps moving and while nothing in it shocked me, I didn't think a certain incident towards the end would happen. It was a bittersweet and considering the fun adventurous tone, I wasn't expecting that and was surprised!

My only issue is that as far as plot twists go, I found most of them predictable. I wish the story had made me jump up in my seat a lot more than it did. That being said, the way the story ended, I think a sequel would be great. This book wraps up as a standalone really well but there's a lot of scope for sequels or other books set in this world. I would like to have a closer look at some of the political schemes that were kind of the the far background in this book.

Hood is a unique take on the robin Hood tale as it revolve's around his daughter. I enjoyed the premise and fast writing but would have loved to see more depth in the main character.

(Rating - 3.5)


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Do you have any recommendations for Robin Hood retellings? Tell me in the comments below!

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