Reviewed by Dan

TITLE:  The Blue Ribbon

AUTHOR:     Katherine Marlowe

PUBLISHER:     Less Than Three Press LLC

LENGTH:     227 Pages

RELEASE DATE:  December 7, 2016

BLURB:

Theo Aylmer’s perfectly satisfactory life as a chemistry professor at Cambridge is upended when he receives word of his father’s illness. Forced to return to Cornwall, he is robbed for everything he’s worth by a dashing young highwayman. When he finally reaches his father’s stagecoach inn, he finds it dilapidated and the village around it groaning beneath the thumb of the hateful Earl of Glynn. All Theo wants to do is return to his life and work in Cambridge, but as he tries to recoup the funds necessary to travel, he finds himself plagued by brandy-smugglers and rumours of ghosts. And at the center of all Theo’s problems is a certain handsome highwayman who has charmed his way into Theo’s bed and heart. When the highwayman turns up shot, Theo can’t turn him away, even though doing so risks bringing the wrath of the customs men, the law, and the Earl of Glynn upon them both.

REVIEW:

This was a new to me author, and honestly I chose the book because I lived in Cornwall for a couple years back in the 80’s and was always intrigued by the area and its history. I’m glad I chose it. It was a historical fiction piece that was done correctly in my opinion. I really liked the characters, the setting, and the storyline.

We meet Doctor Theophilus Aylmer at Cambridge, where he is gainfully employed as a chemistry professor. Very soon though he receives a letter from home that his father is gravely ill and he must hurry home. Hurrying home from Cambridge to just outside Truro, Cornwall wasn’t a fast proposition in the 1700’s, and by the time Theo arrives at his father’s inn, his father has been dead nearly a month.

On the journey home, there was a robbery, and Theo has no funds to go back to Cambridge. The inn is in shambles and has no customers. But there is a dashing young highwayman that also happens to be a smuggler of fine French brandy, who just might help things to a better place. The only problem? He is the same highwayman who robbed Theo in the first place! There are also tales of a ghost, an unscrupulous nobleman, and customs men. What is Theo to do?

I really enjoyed the story. Enough so, that as I approached the end, I kept trying to slow myself down and even reread a few pages so I could delay the end. The sign of a very good book in my opinion.

I highly recommend this one folks, to any of you who enjoy a historical m/m fiction.

RATING:

BUY LINKS: 

Less Than Three Press LLC  

Amazon