Angieville

I've written about my love for Jennifer Roberson 's Robin Hood retellings before . But imagine my delight when I saw they were being reissued this summer with these lovely new covers. These two companion novels have had a good variety of covers, from a sort of  old school fairy tale historica l to super romancey bare chestedness . All in the interest of attracting people from different reading backgrounds who might read and love these books. But I am kind of digging these new ones, as I think they have the potential to appeal to the widest spectrum of readers. I know I'll be snagging copies as soon as they're released on May 28th and June 25th respectively. They'll be just perfect for the re-read I feel coming on.

Earlier today I ran across a list of favorite fictional thieves put together by Julie over at A Small Accomplishment . Love the name of her blog, by the way! Well, you can imagine how my mind immediately took off, conjuring up the familiar, battered faces of my own favorite ne'er-do-wells. So just for fun, here they are (in alphabetical order), the top five, with all their expansive charm, dubious glory, and inescapable claims on my heart: Eugenides   The Queen's Thief series by Megan Whalen Turner George Cooper  The Song of the Lioness quartet by Tamora Pierce Liesel Meminger   The Book Thief by Markus Zusak Mickle   The Westmark trilogy by Lloyd Alexander Robin Hood  The Outlaws of Sherwood by Robin McKinley and  Lady of the Forest by Jennifer Roberson Who are your favorite thieves? I'd love to add a few more rascals to the list...

. . . not one, but  two new Sword-Dancer books ! I am, quite simply, wild with delight. In Ms. Roberson's words: If you have been waiting patiently for the last two Karavans novels, I do apologize. But Tiger and Del are calling to me. Loudly. It's time to answer them. That right there, my friends, is music to my ears. I ♥ Tiger & Del in rather a big way. Then she went and topped the good news off by stating that she's also planning on writing two to three more historicals in the vein of her wonderful Robin Hood retellings Lady of the Forest and Lady of Sherwood . Bust out the party hats! I can hardly wait.

Ever since I highlighted The Outlaws of Sherwood a few Retro Fridays back, I knew I'd have to dedicate a future entry to my second favorite Robin Hood retelling-- Lady of the Forest by Jennifer Roberson . This is Roberson's second appearance as I've talked about her Sword-Dancer saga here before, but her historicals are written in such a markedly different style from her SF/F that I felt they deserved their own post. I also discovered her through this book and will always be glad I picked it up that day, despite how thick it was, and despite the cover featuring Marian's neverending braids. Actually, I think it's quite a pretty cover. I love the font, the banner-style heading, and the general composition. But those braids... Marian of Ravenskeep has lost her father. Cut down while on Crusade, all she got was a letter informing her of his death. No explanation. No words of condolence. Merely the fact that he is gone. And then Robert of Locksley returns home from ...