Lord of the Forest by Kay Berrisford

Title: Lord of the Forest

Series: The Greenwood 03

Author: Kay Berrisford

Genre: Historical (1217), Fantasy

Length: Novel (200pgs)

Publisher: Loose Id (9^th April 2013)

Heat Level: Explicit

Heart Rating:  ♥♥♥♥4 Hearts

Reviewer: Pixie

Blurb: England, 1217. Dark forces are rising. In the Greenwood, foul spirits grow powerful, and greedy barons plunder the lands. Only one man dares fight back–Robin Hood.

Robin’s band of brothers is broken. Now a lone warrior, he denies his famous name and laments the friends and lovers he’s lost. When the fair folk capture Cal, a beautiful young forester descended from the Greenwood’s ancient protectors, Robin rescues him and forges a new alliance.

Despite a sizzling attraction, Robin senses Cal isn’t like his old comrades, and he’s right. Cal’s been raised as a royal spy. He plans to seduce and betray Robin, but can’t harm the man he’s falling hard for. Mistrust and arguments spill into passionate lovemaking, as Cal learns the meaning of loyalty, fighting beside Robin, the only friend he’s ever known. Even the enchanted forest seeks to bind Robin and the returned protector ever tighter.

Their connection will be tested by nature’s wildest forces, Robin’s past, Cal’s lies, and in a baron’s darkest dungeon. To survive, Robin and Cal must admit their love and embrace their true destinies. Only then can they save England and each other–and win their happiness ever after.

Purchase Link: http://www.loose-id.com/newest/current-month/the-greenwood-3-lord-of-the-forest.html

Review: This book is part of a series, but can be read in any order. Robin Hood’s friends are all gone now, dead or starting families. All alone, he now wanders no longer with a focus. Entering the Greenwood, he just might find a new destiny at hand. Cal is a royal spy, trained to use anything at his disposal to ferret out the secrets of the Barons. From a young age, his mother warned him about the Greenwood and the warnings were dire. Now, trying to find a new secret leads him into the Greenwood and to Robin Hood. But, the fair folk are not happy to see him and his deceit and lies come back to haunt him. Robin knows that Cal might betray him, but fighting and loving together brings trust. Until outside forces seek to rip them apart and they have no choice, but to trust in each other if they are to survive.

Although this story is marked BDSM & Fetish there is no real BDSM or Fetish in this story. I think they have labeled it so because there is some fantasy tree sex (it is the Greenwood), a bit of spanking and a bit of a torture scene (involving whips). Robin Hood is alone and lonely.  His entire old band has gone. Finding himself in the Greenwood has him meeting folktales, an old enemy and a young man he shouldn’t trust. Cal’s mother fled the Greenwood when her lands were seized. She warns Cal never to go to the Greenwood, but an assignment forces him to and the fair folk have no forgiveness for traitors. Sometimes nature can be at odds with itself and can be less than forgiving. As Robin and Cal struggle to find their footing in the situation, their love grows. But, can they overcome lies, deceit and their pasts to embrace their true destinies?

Ah. The Greenwood that fantasy forest of the Green Man, Wild Men, Niogaerst, fairy Queen (Elfaene), Herne the Hunter and the water spirit, Sulis. We are pulled into a wonderful new story that combines fantasy with history, myths with facts, and legends with historical figures. combining everything together to give us a new spectacular Greenwood story. Robin Hood, one of the greatest English legends of all time, Cal a royal spy in the employ of William Marshal the Regent and Baron Odo, Robin’s greatest enemy and a thorn in the crowns side, put them all together and we have loyalties shifting, doubts played upon, lies and manipulation, greed, need, betrayal, lust and love. Robin and Cal make surprising discoveries and it is far from easy for both these characters as they make decisions that could drive them apart.

I will recommend this story to those that love history mixed with their fantasy, who love folklore and legends, hot sex and a happily ever after.