She Steals Justice
A modern Robin Hood retelling set in the American South—Robyn Carter can't stand her sister's boyfriend, and for good reason. His mistreatment of her has Robyn’s patience wearing thin with each misstep. When her sister becomes impregnated, however, Robyn’s fight becomes more than just about her sister’s safety. She fights for her sister, other victims of domestic violence, and the less fortunate in her Black Southern community—vigilante style.
Her Robin Hood days take her down a spiraling rabbit hole filled with more questions than answers. She starts uncovering a supernatural side of herself she never knew existed. Blindly, she descends in the hopes of uncovering the truth behind her family’s mysterious past, the secrets being kept by the church, and her true identity unknown to even herself.-Goodreads
Title: She Steals Justice
Series: Standalone
Author: J. Clark
Page Count: 320
Genre: Fantasy / Urban Fantasy
Rating: 4.5/5.0
Date Read: November 9th, 2022
Opening
This was the third read assigned to me in the Indie Ink Awards of 2022. I've really enjoyed my reads within this competition so far!
To be honest, this one definitely grew on me as the story went on. The only information I really had going into this one was some kind of connection to Robin Hood and stealing from the rich to give to the poor. And I had my struggles trying to really connect that. I will say there is a very loose connection to that story in the first half but this book goes way beyond that with the author's imagination. And to this reader that was actually a good thing! I was interested through the first half but was truly gripped in the second!
Pacing
Pacing was fairly steady throughout. There is a lot of development needing done with our world and characters to get the book going which is to be expected. At the same time we have a lot of suspenseful or moments of anxiety early on before we start to feel some of the strength and character of our cast. Things settle into a good rhythm in due time. The flow of the book was smooth as the writing style of the author fit me well. This was an easy and fun read for sure!
World Building
The world building was interesting as we spend most of our time in a more traditional/modern Earth setting in the southern United States. However, we do get to explore some of the hidden societies in that world and even some of a different plane of existence too. Seeing the similarities in this other realm but also the differences (wonderful imagination by the author) was really interesting.
Character Development
The character development was done really well. We really get to know our protagonist and as the book continued on, we got to know more and more about some of the supporting characters as well. We see many of the characters grow throughout this book, not just Robyn, but her sister, her enemies and the little ones involved too.
Closing
I have enjoyed my time with these characters and the world that J. Clark has put into this book. I feel this will not be the last time I dip my toes into this world or this author's works in the future.
I'd recommend this book for any readers of a mix of urban fantasy with a sprinkling of mythology, spiritually and fantastical elements combining them all. I'd even go as far as in comparing this read loosely to some of the early Dresden books I've read.
Scoring
Pacing 4.0 / 5.0
Worldbuilding 4.5 / 5.0
Character Development 5.0 / 5.0
