Just started reading Travelers Along the Way by Aminah Mae Safi. It’s a retelling of the Robin Hood myth, only set in The Holy Land during the Crusades.
The rag-tag band of misfits is mostly composed of young women: two Arabic warriors, sisters fleeing the sack of the city they’d been fighting for (their commander ordered them to retreat rather than be captured by the European forces); a Jewish alchemist; and a Mongolian warrior. They also pick up an abandoned English chaplain from the Knights Templar and a male spy from their own hometown.
As the group fights to make it across enemy territory without getting caught, they find themselves embroiled in world politics, as the abused horse they free (which wisely decides to follow them instead of stay) turns out to belong to Queen Isabella. Our heroines decide to broker a peace treaty between the fighting forces, but to do this they must obtain the queen’s royal seal–and the key to the Holy Sepulchre she has taken from Jerusalem.
I’m enjoying the story thus far. Lots of action and intrigue. It feels a little more like YA than adult historical fiction, but I can enjoy a good YA story now and then. I recommend it if you like retellings of famous myths & legends, or if you like a good strong heroine.