I am now somewhat disappointed that I met the author at the craft fair where I bought this book BEFORE I read the book and became a fangirl. COME BACK TO THE GRANDVIEW CRAFT FAIR THIS YEAR SO I CAN FANGIRL AT YOU, AUTHOR! *ahem* Anyway, onto the review! There is a sad lack in most fantasy books I see lately of sincerity, and this book just perfectly scratches that itch for me. It's beautifully told, well written, and filled with heart. It works as just a fantasy story, and it also works as an allegory of sorts about good and evil, right and wrong, and about pursuing God. If you aren't religious this may come off as off-putting, but give it a chance anyway; it isn't a direct allegory, and the way Christian beliefs here have been translated into a complex fantasy magic and belief system was fascinating. It's an extended parable about how God uses the "weak" and how His power is made perfect in weakness. As a Christian I just about melted into a happy little puddle to finally read a fantasy book that didn't treat religion like poison. All that aside it's still just an amazing fantasy. My review might contain spoilers ahead: All that aside, I adored the story and the main character, Merry. That she has a wheelchair and can't walk made me want to do backflips of joy, because finally she's not the typical "sTrOnG fEmAlE cHaRaCtEr." HOORAY for diverse representation! Merry's personality is snappy, sarcastic, and wreathed in protective anger that she works to overcome. She's smart, brave, but also insecure. The male main character, Whyn, aka Robyn Hode (Robin Hood), has issues of his own. It makes him broody sometimes but he's definitely not the typical "I'm a sad boi and only your love can fix me, pretty girl," stereotypical male love interest. He works through his grief and the very real trauma he suffered in a believable way, and the friendship and romance that develops is natural and believable. Add in a curious magical companion, well-crafted worldbuilding, and fascinating secondary characters, and you have one heck of a good Robin Hood retelling. The plot was solid as well; there were some pacing issues here and there but I'm so in love with this book I don't even care. My only real quibble is that the main characters' first real kiss is in front of a crowd which made my introverted self want to cringe into infinity, but that's a very weird quirk of mine and nothing against the book, LOL. Oh! And the writing is EXCEPTIONAL. I have a pet peeve about stupid dialogue tags that YA books tend to all have now and she NEVER USES STUPID DIALOGUE TAGS! MY LIFE IS COMPLETE. The rest of the writing is also very well done, not overly simplistic or excessively poetic or weighed down by unnecessary adverbs. Buy it, read it, it's wonderful and I'm off to buy the rest of the books by this author and stall craft fairs like a creeper in the hopes I can see her in person again and tell her how much I loved this book.