The Blue Ribbon

by Katherine Marlowe

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.

Genres: Romance, Historical, M M Romance, Historical Fiction, LGBT, M M Historical Romance, Historical Romance

226 pages, Paperback

Published November 23, 2016

About the author

Katherine "Kitty" Marlowe is a writer of m/m historical romance novels and novellas. She has a degree in Classical history with a specialization in LGBTQ history, and can very easily be distracted into lengthy discussions on marginalized orientations and gender identities in dozens of different historical eras and subcultures.

When she isn't writing novels and novellas about handsome men smooching and living happily ever after, she is usually baking, hiking, or fighting eldritch deities in Arkham.

Reviews

[Tess · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.25 stars

Fun! 18th century adventure and romance with highwaymen, smugglers, a Cambridge lecturer and a sorta ghost.

[Daniel Mitton · Rating 5 out of 5]

(Originally reviewed for Love Bytes Reviews. Rated 4.5 out of 5.0 Love Bytes)

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.

[AngelFire · Rating 2 out of 5]

Wow, this was a disappointment! The romance was lackluster, the plot was shockingly boring despite including tons of themes that had huge potential and the majority of the plotlines went from plot convenience to plot convenience. Overall, the story was boring and shockingly low effort, as if the author's heart wasn't in it at all.

The only positive aspect of the story is that the author knows her history and also knows her LGBT history and it really shows. Every line of dialog, every object and every action perfectly portrayed 1748, including the very different attitudes people had towards sex (ex. oral sex was illegal for everybody) and sexuality (a concept that didn't exist). My favorite aspect is that the author always demonstrated that the characters were living in 1748 and to them, that was their present time. There were constantly references to older characters wearing outdated clothing, using outdated language and struggling with changing social norms. One of the best examples of the latter was having all characters using the terms Master/Mistress and Mr/Mrs interchangeably, since the usage of Mr/Mrs when addressing people was a recent thing and it was more easily adopted by younger people than the older ones. The author's dedication to historical authenticity even made some of the dialog difficult to read, which might frustrate some readers but I found it fantastic. She used phrases and wording that were commonplace in the mid-1700s but have completely vanished from the English language. For example, characters would often say "What shall I?" instead of "What shall I do?" which constantly tripped me up, but it was delightful. Reading one of Marlowe's books truly allows a reader to experience what being in that time period might have been like and that's something very few MM historical romance authors can lay claim to.

Now for the negatives.

Quick side note but I hated that the story involved two characters who had the title Lord Kearney, which made one of the biggest plotlines needlessly confusing. In addition, the author often referred to the three Kearney men just by the pronouns he or him, which added to the confusion. The three characters were all immediate family with two of them being brothers and one of them being a father but due to the confusing way things were written, I couldn't figure out the exact relationship dynamics until the end of the story, which is absurd. The situation involved the (deceased) former Lord Kearney, his brother (the current Lord Kearney) and his (the deceased Lord's) son which was a simple setup but the pronoun situation and the title situation made it confusing.

Lackluster Romance

The whole reason I was drawn to this book was the unusual match-up of a naïve, bookish Cambridge chemistry professor and a cocky Cornish smuggler/highwayman. Unfortunately, the author ended up writing herself into a corner by making the chemistry professor inherit his father's coaching inn and thus, forcing him to spend the majority of his time there. The problem wasn't the inn but that Theo's job literally forced him to engage with the public for the majority of the day. Being surrounded by people constantly (either guests lodging at the inn or the villagers coming to the inn for a drink or a meal) meant Theo wasn't accessible to Philip, who was a known criminal and had to constantly stay in hiding. Theo was forced to be a 'public figure' while Philip was forced to stay a very private individual, and that meant there were very few places they could socialize together. The majority of their shared scenes take place in Theo's bedroom and due to that space being sparse and uninteresting, this wasn't an interesting setting. Add in the author's historically accurate decision to not include any smut scenes (Theo and Philip only ever kiss and cuddle and don't even get naked around each other) and the bedroom scenes were even more boring. I wish the author had found a different job for Theo, one which would have allowed him to spend time with Philip in different environments.

Low Angst Plotlines And Plot Conveniences

When I'm reading a romance between an owner of a struggling innkeeper and the smuggler who supplies him brandy that he sells to villagers as a major source of his income, I'm expecting an intense, exciting story. Unfortunately, the author's heart really didn't seem set on telling such a story because she stayed about 10 km/h below the speed limit the entire time - coasting along at a comfortable but low angst pace that left me bored and disappointed. Not only that, but every single plotline was pushed along and/or resolved by a string of plot conveniences, which felt lazy and took away from the enjoyment of those plotlines.

Some examples:

+ Theo is arrested at one point and charged with being part of the brandy smuggling ring, which readers know he is a part of. He spends a night in prison, gets interrogated and things aren't looking good, until Philip shows up out of the blue, having easily subdued the one guard who guarded the prison. Philip easily rescues him and from that moment on, everybody seems to forget that a) Theo was charged with a crime and b) Theo broke out of prison. There's no follow up or resolution to this plotline, it just disappears.

+ The two Customs agents who often show up at Theo's inn with suspicions that illegal brandy is going through the inn are always easily distracted by Theo's ramblings and never find anything suspicious because everybody manages to get the illegal things (brandy, Philip etc) hidden in time.

+ Philip is shot twice during the story and he recovers easily both times, never mind that this was the 1750s and Theo doesn't have access to more than very basic medical supplies (he borrows tweezers from the blacksmith). Nobody disinfects Philip's wound either time and although he has a fever for a few days, he's fine both times.

+ Philip and Theo's futures were an intense uncertainty for most of the story because how would they ever be together with Philip being a known and wanted criminal? They discuss fleeing to France (where Philip had spent time and he's fluent in French), which would have been a cool resolution. But then the author decides to have Philip learn that he's the presumed dead son of the late Lord Kearney, making him the true heir and thus, turning Philip into an Earl overnight.

+ One of the ways in which Philip is able to prove that he's the long lost Earl was by a signet ring that had been left with him when he was left at a church as a two year old (long story, it doesn't matter). Readers are supposed to believe that over the decades of Philip living in very rough environments (workhouse, living on the streets, living with a gang of thieves, spying for the King in France, smuggling brandy into Cornwall etc), Philip had managed to hang onto this very expensive ring and that he'd never questioned how/when he'd come to have this ring. In addition, there's no way - NO WAY - that the adult workers at the workhouse where two-year old Philip was forced to spend his childhood would let a toddler keep such an expensive ring without trying to take it for themselves. Never mind that a toddler wouldn't be able to keep track of something like that. The whole thing was dumb.

+ Theo is told at one point that the current Earl (the brother, not Philip) is accusing the inn of not having paid their taxes to him for years. This was going to be a huge problem, but then Philip learns he's actually the Earl and they find evidence that Theo's dad had paid all of his dues anyway so the situation was resolved before it ever posed a real problem for Theo.

+ Philip decides to 'haunt' the current Earl by pretending to be his father, in their efforts to get the Earl to admit his plan to murder Philip as a child. To do this, Philip dresses in his father's old clothes and sneaks into the Earl's home, which was all good. But conveniently, Philip's haunting escapades mostly go off without a hitch. He and Theo rarely encounter anybody and the one time the Earl catches them at close range, Theo easily grabs an empty bed pan (which would have been under the Earl's bed while Theo was standing a few feet away from the bed) and knocks the man out.

+ Connected to the above point - the whole reason Theo and Philip do that particular haunting mission is because they're looking for the Earl's secret leather notebook that he scribbles in all the time. During the commotion where the Earl shoots Philip and Theo manages to knock him out, Theo also conveniently manages to grab the notebook from the Earl's pocket. The author claims Theo did it subconsciously (aka it's a plot convenience). Not only that, but we learn that the Earl conveniently kept a detailed record of every single crime he'd ever committed in that notebook and he's dumb enough to carry this thing around with him, which easily allows our heroes to have him arrested at the end.

+ Theo starts the story loving his job as a chemistry professor and being passionate about the study of chemistry. He's always hated the idea of being an innkeeper and he has no love for being in Cornwall. But after falling in love with Philip, Theo decides he's okay being innkeeper and he's happy to stay in Cornwall, running a coaching inn for the rest of his life and abandoning his academic career and scientific pursuits. He admits that he's only doing that because he's in love with Philip, which makes me think this relationship won't last long. But in any case, Theo's change of heart was another plot convenience that the author used to avoid having to deal with Theo abruptly forgetting about his love for his former career.

+ When Theo shows up at the inn, the place is falling apart (literally) due to his father having passed away months earlier. It's filthy, rotting and hasn't had guests in months. Theo does make a few changes but the way the inn turns its fortunes around almost immediately wasn't realistic. He conveniently has 3 employees who all have different strengths and together cover all the skills needed to run an inn. Plus, the villagers love the brandy that Philip brings and they singlehandedly bring the inn back to profitability, even before guests start coming back. But the brandy thing begs the question of why this wasn't happening when Theo's dad owned the inn, since Theo's dad had presumably started the tradition of buying the illegal brandy from Philip. Philip doesn't appear to have stopped his deliveries, yet the inn had been nearly abandoned when the story starts, which didn't make any sense.

+ By far, the biggest and most annoying plot convenience was the reveal that Philip is actually the true Earl. This allows Philip to conveniently avoid being prosecuted for his years of criminal activity and allows him to keep Theo and the others from being prosecuted too. Never mind that Philip and Theo got cushy futures hand delivered to them, despite this outcome being boring and unoriginal. I can't count how many times the 'secret-royalty/nobility' cliché has been done but I wasn't expecting to stumble across it in a book focusing on a smuggler.

+ Connected to the above - when Philip is struggling to prove that he's the real Earl and there's also question about him being a criminal, the other Earl and the Customs men accuse Philip of being a Jacobite, which is the crime that originally forced him into becoming a smuggler. Philip hasn't been able to prove that he was loyal to the English King and had been spying on the Jacobites because his main contact had refused to acknowledge him after the war. Conveniently, the author quickly resolves this by having the magistrate who is present happen to be the same guy who had hired Philip to become a spy in the first place. The entire group is in a tiny coaching inn in the middle of nowhere in Cornwall, dealing with brandy smuggling. The fact that the attending magistrate is conveniently the most important person from Philip's past who Philip needs at that exact moment was one of the worst plot conveniences and one of the laziest.

Minor Issues

There were other plot events that I hated because they made no sense or were dumb. For example - there was no reason for Theo to accompany Philip on his haunting missions. Theo was just in the way and drastically increased the chances of them getting caught, since Philip would be seen as the ghost but Theo was obviously just Theo. The only reason this happened was because the author wrote herself in a corner by only writing from Theo's POV, which meant Theo had to be there if she was going to show the haunting scenes in detail.

Then there was the scene where Philip and Theo come across a young footman on security duty in the hallway during one of their haunting missions. Philip easily walks past the guy (since he's assumed to be a ghost) but Theo (who has no reason to be there in the first place) can't just walk by. But instead of waiting there or doing something else, Theo pretends to be the ghost's voice and he tells the poor kid to leave the house ASAP if he doesn't want to die. The kid runs out of the house, into the cold winter night and just like that, Theo has cost this poor guy his job in the middle of the winter just because Theo couldn't keep his ass at home while Philip did his stupid haunting. It really irritated me that the guys didn't look for the footman afterwards and help him find employment somewhere else. Like some of the other plotlines in the story, the author seemed to forget about it after the scene ended.

Conclusion

Overall, this was a big disappointment. The premise had so much potential but the author refused to do justice to that potential at every turn. Every plotline was lackluster, disappointing and plotted in a lazy way that made it feel like the author was just going through the motions. The entire time, I felt like the author's heart wasn't in doing this story justice and she was writing because she had to. This feeling was cemented by the fact that this book is her most recent one, her previous books were much better and she hasn't published anything since putting out this one. In any case, those who are interested in a solid 1750s-era story may enjoy this one but it fell flat in terms of the romance and the storytelling.

[Thor B · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've read a couple of Katherine Marlowe's books previously, and honestly I think this is the best one. It's a much more plot-driven than romance-driven book, so it really has more of a story to it than the pride-and-prejudice-esque An Unusual Courtship or The Two Lords of Wealdhant Manor. There's definitely a romance here, though, and it's definitely wonderfully fluffy.

This book also takes some steps to deliberately address one of the criticisms Marlowe seems to get a lot, which is, but shouldn't there be more homophobia? Answer: Marlowe has done extensive research especially with respect to homophobia and queer identity in historical England, so there is actually the correct amount of homophobia, which is, not much. Enjoy a historically-rigorous book full of happy gays!

Well, they're sort of happy, because DRAMA! Poor Theo gets stranded in Cornwall, stuck running his family's inn, because some jerk (Philip) stole his money and he can't afford to get home. But things change quickly, and it turns out that Theo may have some reasons to want to stay in Cornwall... reasons being Philip is exceedingly handsome. Also, the current Earl is a jerk, and there are some just desserts to be served.

If you've read some of Marlowe's work before and enjoyed it, definitely pick this one up as well. If you haven't read anything by her before, this is a really solid introduction to well-researched historical gay romance with some action and adventure tossed in for good measure. I definitely recommend it!

[Misty · Rating 5 out of 5]

** 4.5 Stars **

I've always been a fan of Highwaymen, smugglers, Cornwall and well, The Blue Ribbon didn't disappoint!

There was enough romance, drama, action, mystery and excitement woven into Ms. Marlowe's rendering to keep you engaged. It's written in such an excellently detailed manner that you have no choice but to lose yourself in this old world. The author captured the Georgian period beautifully. The two protagonists are true to the time, very likable, lively and I love their interaction. It's a sweet romance with non-explicit sex-scenes.

A high point of the book is the use of language ; it's wonderfully crafted and it perfectly conveyed a sense of the period which for me is very important. Highly recommended!

[Jax · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was unclear how a foundling in a workhouse could grow up to speak like an educated person, there was only scant development of the romance (which fyi involves only G-rated kisses), and it’s completely unbelievable that no one ever stole a valuable ring from a workhouse orphan. But this had a certain charm that prevents me from rating it lower.

[D. · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a well written, intriguing historical romance that had an unlikely set of men brought together by an unfortunate event: the death of Theo’s father. Theo is really really cranky about coming back from Cambridge to take care of his father’s inn, but he falls into the arms of a hot dude and gets involved in a great mystery so it can’t be all bad right???

Is this 100% historically and culturally accurate? No. Does it stay true to the historical period in order to tell an intriguing story that includes a believable M/M romance? Yes. I think Marlowe does a good job of making things believable, while also acknowledging the realities of the time period.

This book also had a lot of great character development. Both MCs were likable and Marlowe showed how they changed throughout the book. It wasn’t like instant love now I’m a new person! Sure their relationship changed them, but they also shaped their relationship (with the help of some other stuff going on in the book). Their relationship and character development was very natural, and it made the book so much better for it.

I am always pleased when an author makes the secondary characters well developed and a central part of the plot, because that’s how life works. No couple is walking around with no friends/family/neighbors/coworkers in their lives. Sure some real life people are super boring. but most people are fully developed humans and not cardboard cutouts to help catalyze different parts of your life. It drives me crazy when authors do this, so I am glad this book didn’t get spoiled by this.

The only thing that made me really upset in the book was Theo leaving behind his chemistry and teaching career to go to the Inn. I was like nooooooooooo!!! I am a nerd and I love nerds, so I wanted him to be a Chemistry professor forever. It still makes me sad he had to leave his post. This sparks the whole adventure though so I guess I can’t be too sad (yes I can). This all happens in the very beginning of the book and is also described in the book summary, so it isn’t a spoiler!

If you like Robin Hood-esque type romances you’ll love this. It didn’t have the same or even a similar plot, but it was set in that time/England and has a similar vibe. Lots of shenanigans and intrigue combined with great characters.

Originally posted over at Justlovereviews.com

[Karen Rós · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ahhhh ❤️ I have nothing but love for this book.

ETA: now that I have time to leave a more substantial review I wanted to add some comments. This is the first historical romance I've read (to my recollection, anyway) and it seemed to my untrained eye to be very well researched and believable, from the language to the little facts and politics. Theo was delightful in his dusty scholar ways and it was lovely to see him become more alive as he rediscovered his penchant for mischief and carved a place for himself that meant something to him (even though he didn't want it to begin with!). The plot was slightly predictable, but it's the kind of predictable I don't mind - the kind where I'm just waiting to be vindicated so that Theo and Philip can get the happy ending I want for them.
Also, how ridiculously cute were they??? Oh my heart. ♥ they were adorable. I'm very happy for them. ♥

[Bo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Simply Wonderful Start to Finish

Like most of Katherine Marlowe's historical gay romances, this one moves sweetly along with a hint of tongue-in-cheek and virtually no sex, but that's no matter.

What you get here is a slow-developing, but evenly paced. plot line and a wonderfully delicious and somewhat insta-love romance between the reticent but sharp-edged Theo and the playful and adventurous Phillip. You know where this is going as soon as Phillip knocks on Theo's tavern back door, and you will delight in the twists and turns it takes to get there.

The characters are perfectly drawn, true to their stations in life and the era. Theo and Phillip are deeply devoted, and soon careless of showing that, despite the always there threat of a hangman's noose should they be caught.

Wonderful couple, delightful tale, lots of giggles, and a quick read with a good brandy, or two, by your side. Cheers!

[Aldi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sweet, if rather too vanilla for my tastes. It definitely had a certain olden-timey charm - it felt a bit like a novella version of an Errol Flynn movie, complete with dashing highwaymen, smuggling and swashbuckling, romance and gothic mysteries, lost heirs, dramatic chases, hauntings and murderous conspiracies by evil uncles. And the oldfangled language made it read almost like a novel of the time. At the same time, the things that made it charming also made it quite tame and a little flat - it's the kind of comfy, quaint old adventure story where you never have to worry that anything might actually go seriously wrong for our heroes, and the two-dimensional villains were no real threat. I like a little more bite and conflict, and this never really got my heart rate up.

[Leni · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love this style of writing, the story engages right from the beginning with its tales of highwaymen, smugglers and romance. Light on the sex FYI

[Suze · Rating 4 out of 5]

What I like about Kather8ne Marlowe’s writing is that you do get a good feel for the period. Largely the dialogue is of the time, oldy worldy and odd to modern ears. The norms of the time are explained in a forward so the smuggling and taxes are a bigger issue than Philip and Theo being together.
We have the nasty Earl, the highwayman, the returning son, the run down business, French brandy and a ghost.
The sitting Earl is nasty enough and ultimately gives us our happyish ending via his demise.
This is set older than the previous two KM books I’ve read so did have to do a bit of research to how they would have looked. What it did show me was how difficult it was to be yourself, get yourself out of debt, fight for whatever rights you may have and how easy the nobles could scupper those below them.
What future two men such as Theo and Philip would have who knows, but I enjoyed this story.

[Euraylie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ugh, this one started off so strong. It wasn't your usual clichéd Regency era, nor your usual cast of characters. It included a lot of detail in the beginning, a lot of build-up...and then it just fizzled. The introduction of the roguish love interest was thrilling, but then before you know it, it's suddenly true love forever and the plot just becomes repetitive. The 'twist' quickly becomes obvious, and by then all issues between the protagonists have more or less been resolved, making the last third a real slog to get through. There is simply no tension left in regards to the pairing and no suspense when it comes to the 'mystery'. It feels like the author put all her effort into the first third and then simply lost interest.

[Breanna Spiegel · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is quite a departure from my usual YA and fantasy favorites, but it came under glowing recommendations that I am pleased to say this book lived up to. I thoroughly enjoyed the story of Philip and Theo, which had both a wonderful feel-good romance and enough substantial plot and action outside of the relationship to keep me engaged. I admire the research into the believable setting and development of characters beyond the central couple (although I of course adored them as well). And you can never go wrong with falling in love with a rakish highwayman.
I look forward to reading some of Marlowe’s other works.

[Hannah · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5* This was such a beautiful story that had my heart going every which way! And, because the protagonists are two men that fall in love, I think it was a gorgeous representation that worked seamlessly into the story. Besides the love interest, the incorporation of the subtle paranormal ties and a suspenseful story line makes this one a definite favorite.

[Alison · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. Enjoyable. This was an easy, enjoyable read. It features beautiful Cornwall, highwaymen, ghosts, an evil uncle, lost heirs, lots of sneaking about, smuggling, hiding from customs officers, chemistry, and more. Fun stuff. The pacing was a pretty placid and I wanted more, but it was still engaging.

[Martha H. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Definitely 4* writing and a very nice story, though it all ends very quickly and efficiently. Kissing... these are the kissiest duo I've ever seen, otherwise chaste to their cores. A little love scene would not have gone amiss :-)

[Vin9 · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a beautiful novel- The setting, the love, the characters, the mystery; everything. Marlowe is one of the most talented historical writer I have come across. Hope there is lots more novels from her.

[V Rod Reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good lighthearted read. No smut scenes. Both characters seemed very quick to jump into a “relationship” and “love”, but as I said it’s a lighthearted romance compared to many others - I wasn’t looking for a long novel where this was drawn out. Very enjoyable. 4/5 overall.

[Fi · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars

[Patricia Ash-Vildosola · Rating 5 out of 5]

This has everything. Highway robbery, cuddling, banter, and impersonating a ghost. I think I shall read this again and again.

[Joyfully Jay]

A Joyfully Jay review.

3.75 stars

The Blue Ribbon is set just a few years after the Jacobite Rebellion of 1745 and follows the growing romance between a straight-laced professor of chemistry and a charming smuggler. Set primarily in Cornwall, we are given a few glimpses into the comfortable mantle of village life, but the story never has a distinctly coastal feel. This isn’t a detriment per sae, just an observation. Theo and Philip are both relatively well-developed characters and while Philip is a great deal easier to like, Theo is not without his merits. There is a measure of insta-love between these two, but it’s subtle rather than being done with a sledgehammer. Their romance is sweet and they seem a solid couple that is easy to champion. There is a secondary cast, who are given a fair amount of page time, in fact too much on occasion. But two in particular, the custom agents who dog Philip’s heels, remind me of the Reverend Thwackum and Mr. Square from Fielding’s Tom Jones. They provide a measure of malevolent comedic relief.

Read Sue’s review in its entirety here.

[Nina W. · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book has a total Hallmark movie feel, where I could just open it and indulge in some cheesy romance, but the way it plays out was lackluster. The premise of the academic down on his luck and a rogue highwayman was so intriguing, but Theo is unhappy most of the time and Phillip doesn't commit any daring, highwayman-esque escapades. He's a smuggler, but we don't even learn how he's doing it. They fall in love after only one night together, but I'm not going to fault a cheesy romance for being cheesy. I just wish they had a few more interactions beforehand to build up their interest in each other. As if to prove how in love they were, they kissed all the time, even in the middle of escaping danger or when other people were around, moments where it didn't feel natural.

I can't knock the predictable plot for the same reason I can't knock the romance from being cheesy. I think it would've been much more satisfying to read had it been tightened up a bit. I don't mind that Phillip is the lost heir to the fortune of the evil earl, or even how they go go about sneaking into the earl's estate by pretending to be ghosts. The thing I do mind is that the villagers, the earl, and the earl's staff are portrayed as simpletons for believing in ghosts and Theo and Phillip are taking advantage of their gullibility while not being invested in ghosts themselves. If they believe haunting the earl will work, then they should have something backing up their belief. Evidence of Phillip's heritage appears quite conveniently, but some of it is more easier to accept than others. The magistrate clearing Phillip's name is classic plot resolution material, so no qualms there. The same is true of the ring, except since Theo remarks how eye-catching the ring is, I have to wonder how it is no one noticed it before, especially the woman who gave it to him? If he's so attached to it, it could've been worn on a chain around his neck rather than right on his hand for others to notice. The most egregious element though was the earl's pocketbook. How is he still carrying around the same book of notes for 20 years? Since Theo and Phillip took the trouble to search the earl's estate, why not have them find it there? It would've played out exactly the same way and been a more fulfilling read had these elements been addressed with only light changes.

I really wanted to like this book more because it had all the makings of a fun, easy read, but the shortcomings, while maybe due to personal preference, were too many for me to ignore.

[Rosie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This started out so good, but I completely lost interest by the end. The romance has this big build up then completely fizzles out at about halfway. The story just changes focus and that focus was obvious and boring.

[Alexis Ames]

DNF. Way too much telling instead of showing. Not an engaging read.