A HOBOKEN HIPSTER IN SHERWOOD FOREST

Author: Marianne Mancusi ISBN: 0505526743 2/2007 TIME TRAVEL Publisher: DORCHESTER

If Chrissie Hayward knew that morning she'd be traveling back through time to rescue her crazy coworker Kat, she'd have worn better shoes. Doubly so if she'd expected to meet her true love. According to the mysterious gypsy, Chrissie was the "gentle soul who would tame an outlaw's thirst for revenge"—aka, the real Robin Hood. So how come the guy was such a dud? LOST...IN SHERWOOD FOREST? No, Robin of Locksley was no Prince Charming. And the part about robbing the rich to feed the poor? He didn't get the memo. In fact, all the guy seemed to do was mope. (And he and his not-so-merry men thought Chrissie was a boy. Sure, she wasn't stacked, but still!) Nonetheless, he was loyal and brave and handsome as sin. If Chrissie could just get him with the program, she could right his wagon and get these boyz'n the wood to be heroes of the realm instead of twerps in tights. Only then could this prince of thieves become king of her heart.

RRAH's THOUGHTS AND PONDERINGS:

Marianne Mancusi turns the Robin Hood tale on its ear in her February release, A HOBOKEN HIPSTER IN SHERWOOD FOREST, the sequel to her novel A CONNECTICUT FASHIONISTA IN KING ARTHUR'S COURT. I haven't read the previous book, but found this one easy to follow, though I might have felt more connected if I had read the prior book.

Chrissie Hayward, a photographer coworker of Kat, the heroine from the first book, is at a medieval faire with Kat when she loses sight of her. Kat calls her cell phone through some mystical process, and reveals that she's fallen in love with Lancelot of King Arthur's court and they have become trapped in the future. Chrissie needs to find the Holy Grail and rescue her. She is sent to the 12th century to fulfill her mission.

When Chrissie arrives, she meets Robin Hood, but he's not at all the suave hero she expects. It's up to her to use her knowledge of pop culture to make the legends come true.

Chrissie is a sassy contemporary character trying to find herself after a messy breakup with her husband. Robin is mourning the loss of his first love and has to come to terms with his anti-feminine stance. Other than some mild adult content, I felt like the book read more like a young adult novel with its breezy, fast pace and constant references to pop culture.

Heather Hiestand