Marian Allanson had a rough childhood and one of the things that helped her survive was the old man who owned the used bookstore. Marian’s favorite tales were of Robin Hood and she dreamed about being Maid Marian. When through some strange quirk her dreams seem to be coming true and she finds herself in England in the thirteen hundreds, Marian is surprised to find there may really be a man like Robin Hood but is he the man of her dreams? Is all of this real or is she just dreaming?

Sherwood Charade by Mimi Riser is a humorous, quirky tale primarily about finding your dream. Marian is a modern, educated woman apparently thrust back in time to find the man of her dreams. Because of childhood hurts she doesn’t trust men and rightly so. The Robin Hood in her dreams has always appeared to be noble, a hero to the poor, and trustworthy and the only man she can imagine herself ever loving. But in this time travel tale, can fact live up to the fiction Marian has imagined? In the story the man who is Robin Hood isn’t what she expects but you will have to read the story to find out more! I enjoyed this tale. I love fairy tales and modern version of classic stories and this one is well done. Parts of the story are far fetched but so is the original story about Robin Hood. I am not enough of an English scholar to tell you if the parts of the story in Old England are realistic but I don’t think it maters in this story. The story is meant to be a fantasy. There is a sense of fun throughout the story and a number of surprises to keep you entertained. I would like to read another story like this one or even more about some of the secondary characters in this tale. I have not read any other books by Ms. Riser but I love her sense of fun and adventure and I will look for other entertaining works by her. If you are looking for an entertaining, fun yet quirky, updated version of a classic tale you will enjoy Sherwood Charade.

Reviewed by: Stephanie B.