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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
This rip roaring romance is a blast in the past!, September 18, 2007
This review is from: A Hoboken Hipster in Sherwood Forest (Mass Market Paperback)
Note: This story is written in the first person which works surprisingly well in this comical time travel romance!
This story returns to King Arthur's Renaissance Faire in Upstate New York (present day), the starting point for Kat Martin's journey to Camelot in "A Connecticut Fashionista in King Author's Court".
La Style magazine fashion photographer Chrissie Hayward is already irritated with the missing "Park Avenue Princess" when she receives a disturbing (and unbelievable) cell phone call from said coworker.
Kat claims to be calling from the future with her medieval boyfriend Sir Lancelot, and Queen Guinevere (due to the famous misunderstanding which was apparently caused by Kat's need for secrecy) and needs help getting back home.
Chrissie thinks she's being Punk'd especially when she finds Nimue (a time traveling gypsy from Avalon), at Kat's request, and is told she'd have to travel back in time to the point of King Richard's return to England and bring back a drop of blood from the Holy Grail to aid in Kat's return. The gypsy sends her with a message about love and an outlaw bent on revenge.
Chrissie arrives in Sherwood Forest expecting to find Ashton Kutcher and instead who does she find? Could it be? Robin Hood in the flesh?
It is indeed Robin of Loxley but he's far from the legendary version. Yes, he's incredibly handsome but all that business about stealing from the rich and giving to the poor hasn't crossed his mind and he thinks the idea of putting his neck on the line to defend the helpless is just plain crazy. Worse yet he thinks she's a boy!
Fortunately for him Chrissie's fully prepared to pull Robin up by his bootstraps and mold him into the man of the hour. What she isn't prepared for is losing her heart to him. After all she's on a mission and can't afford to be selfish. Then of course there's the fact that her idol thinks she's his latest merry man.
Poor Robin thinks he's gender confused until she finally reveals the truth. Although he is relieved that he's not gone crazy, a woman's betrayal had been responsible for his outlaw status, and another had broken his heart so he had formed a pact with his men that no women would be allowed into their camp. Can Chrissie trust a love that must be kept secret and what will happen when King Richard finally makes his appearance?
As we all know Prince John is just a puppet for the evil Sheriff of Nottingham who is not at all pleased with all this new distribution of wealth. His accomplice however may surprise you.
This story is a hoot especially when Chrissie is drawing on pop culture for their strategies or through some rather extraordinary magic Kat and Chrissie are dishing about their men and predicaments on their cell phones. And don't even ask about the ladies-in-waiting, it's just a little bit too much déjà vu for our erstwhile fashion photographer! For a rip roaring blast to the past I highly recommend A Hoboken Hipster in Sherwood Forest.
Reviewed by Leslie Tramposch for PNR Reviews
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Delightful!, July 7, 2007
This review is from: A Hoboken Hipster in Sherwood Forest (Mass Market Paperback)
Chrissie receives a strange phone call from Kat stating she's stuck in the future. Kat insists that Chrissie must speak to the gypsy fortuneteller. However, the gypsy doesn't just zap Kat back to where she belongs, instead the gypsy sends Chrissie back in time.
Chrissie makes the best of the situation. She's thrilled to come face to face with the notorious Robin Hood, until she realizes he isn't even remotely similar to the hero she's read about in books.
However, Chrissie is determined to shape Robin into the man he was meant to be.
Ms. Mancusi's Robin Hood tale at times had me laughing aloud with the hilarious banter between Robin and Chrissie. Her heroine is a strong take-charge woman who cleverly urges Robin and his Merry Men to be all they can be. The hero is strong and honorable, very likable and not afraid to consider Chrissie's suggestions. This is a delightful fast-paced chick-lit tale!
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
time travel romance love story and chick lit at its COOLEST!, May 25, 2007
This review is from: A Hoboken Hipster in Sherwood Forest (Mass Market Paperback)
i've read lots of time travel romances and rarely read chick lit, but i must say, the blending of these 2 elements by the author is unique, fresh, and wonderful!!
i won't summarize the story since the summaries are all here. Suffice it to say that i read the author's "fashionista" story (which was almost as good as this sequel) and the author blending the heroine going back in time in trouble with the fact that she can use the cel phone to communicate with her friend to discuss her man troubles (like in chicklit stories) is a nice supporting touch.
And i was surprised how the author turned this classic robin hood tale on its head with the edited addition of maid marion. How does the author resolve Robin's love of Maid Marion and his love for the heroine? well when you read about maid marion you know why!
and the author as everyone says puts robin hood at first in the not_so_heroic light when he first refuses to save a boy who would be punished bodily by the Sheriff for stealing food because his family's starving. And only the heroine stepping in to help moves Robin. But Robin improves when the heroine shows up and she encourages him to fight for the poor more and more and the poor look up to Robin and his merry men. And this sounds more realistic, esp. when Robin bans women from his merry band because of maid marion rejecting him once and another woman betraying them, so when he and Chrissie, the heroine, become intimate, he tells her sadly that he can't admit their relationship to the others because of his ban otherwise they'll turn to another leader, but this really turns off Chrissie as it would to any woman who wants her relationship acknowledged.
And i like the fact the author didn't make the heroine perfect. she's not a stupid innocent virgin and she becomes furious and reacts physically (smashes their love nest) when she thinks robin is still in love with maid marion just like a real you or me would have reacted even though we find out later robin has let go of marion and his love has grown for Chrissie.
and mancusi's books are SOOOO funny, always referring to teen angst, modern fashions/celebrities/situations with modern humor, so that we can understand exactly how we'd react in modern terms if we were in her shoes. in contrast to fashionista, hoboken's heroine is definitely a take charge type. You see this in the beginning when Robin thinks she's a man(because of how she's dressed) and challenges her to knock him off a log in water if she doesn't want to pay him his "tax". The heroine manages to use her gymnastics athleticism to knock him off and so he's surprised but liking her (as him).
DEFINITELY GREAT READING MATERIAL worthy of an award.
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