*I was given an ARC of A Thief to Die For in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to Harper Collins and Melissa Poett for my copy of the book*
Synopsis:
In a desolate, lawless land, Marian carries a dangerous secret. By day, she’s a high-ranking guard serving her father, the ruthless Commander who rules the region with an iron fist. By night, she becomes a whip-wielding thief, robbing the cowards she works with, to help the miners they mistreat.
That is, until Ryland catches her mid-raid. As an elite soldier charged with saving his homeland, Ryland has everything to gain by turning Marian in. Exposing her identity could help secure the coal his people desperately need. Or, it could blow everything apart—if Marian has her way.
But Ryland holds his own secrets—untapped magic runs through his veins. A magic the Commander wants, along with invading Ryland’s distant settlement. So Marian has her orders: win Ryland’s heart to betray him and his people.
And so begins a deadly dance of deception, stealing from the rich to give to the poor . . . and magic—the kind Ryland’s been waiting his whole life to wield.
- Classic Retelling: A retelling of Robin Hood, who robbed from the rich to give to the poor.
- Dystopian World: The world has been completely ravaged, leaving few surviving communities to fight over resources.
- Star-Crossed Lovers: Ryland finds Marian’s kindness compelling, but Marian’s father, who dictates every aspect of her life, stands in their way.
- Magical Bond: Ryland possesses a unique magic that allows the person he marries to access his thoughts and memories.
- Altar Diplomacy: Marian’s father wants to use Ryland’s magic to invade Ryland’s home community and is willing to use Marian to achieve his goal.
Review:
To say I was excited when A Thief to Die For landed in my inbox is an understatement. Melissa Poett’s debut, The Enemy’s Daughter (book one in this series) was one of my favourite reads of 2025 and this time I actually know the classic story this book is inspired by. I loved the BBC Robin Hood show as a kid and reading this has made me want to revisit it as an adult – it’s probably not as good as I remember, nostalgia is a powerful thing.
One unfortunate thing about A Thief to Die For is the fact that I picked it up during a time when reading felt very difficult. I think if this hadn’t been the case, this would have been at least a four and a half star read, but as it did take me over two weeks to finish, I can’t give this more than four stars.
A Thief to Die For takes you on a pretty wild journey. Just when you think you know where the story will go, it veers off in the complete opposite direction, leaving you disorientated but in the best way possible. You never really know what will happen next.
I adored book one in this world and I was so happy to hear that Tristan and Isadora are still happily married, with Isadora learning more about medicine. They’re both completely standalone novels though. Nothing about book one is really revealed in A Thief to Die For other than you knowing that Tristan and Isadora are married and share the connection – something that happens very early in book one.
Any Robin Hood adaptation that makes Marian the badass hero of the story is a winner for me. She was such a strong female lead, literally. She’s willing to do whatever it takes to help those she loves and that’s admirable. Especially in the cutthroat community she lives in. Instead of having the male ‘Robin Hood’ character be the one stealing from the rich to help the poor, Marian is raiding the goods her father takes from the villagers as tax from right under his nose.
Ryland was also a pretty good main character but he lives in Marian’s shadow. She shines way too bright for him to be a knight in shining armour – which isn’t a bad thing. I liked him a lot but Marian was way cooler. He also falls victim to ‘he falls first and harder’. I didn’t highlight anything during my read other than “Of all the things I’m worried about, Marian, falling endlessly, hopelessly in love with you is not one of them.” I can’t comment on the context of this without giving away a major plot point, but I did really love their dynamic. Being with Ryland is the first time Marian feels like she can actually lean on someone for support and I think that’s a beautiful way to start a connection (pun intended for those in the know).
There are so many elements of this book that I’d love to comment on but they’re huge spoilers and I’d hate to be the reviewer that ruins a book for people. There are a lot of complex character dynamics going on, especially between Marian, her sister and father.
You can also spot the fairly subtle Robin Hood references throughout. There’s a Little John, who is literally a child, not a huge man that acts like one. There’s the raids and our main female character is called Marian, which is probably the most obvious one. A Thief to Die For is an imaginative retelling of a classic story that you don’t see too often. I’d highly recommend checking this out!
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