Title: The Law of Love
Author: Fyn Alexander
Publisher: Loose Id
Length: 225 Pages
Category: Historical
At a Glance: A well written, compelling historical with excellent characters and a lot at stake.
Reviewed By: Jennifer
Blurb: In 1920s England, the penalty for a homosexual act is two years’ hard labor. Two men cannot kiss or hold hands without being blackmailed or threatened with arrest. Rafe Devonish, a landowner and a highly respected barrister, knows the law all too well––and the dangers of being homosexual. With constant pressure from both his mother and his profession to get married, he knows he has to act soon. But then he meets Ivo Manning, young and full of enthusiasm for life. Rafe not only wants to kiss Ivo and hold his hand, he wants to take him to his bed and make love to him. Very quickly he knows that Ivo wanted the same.
With far less to lose than Rafe, Ivo is not afraid to show his love, and what Rafe wants more than anything is to marry Ivo, but that’s impossible. The thing about Ivo, aside from being kind, warm-hearted and desperate for love, is his great intuition. It is this trait that allows him to help Rafe with both an important court case and a personal matter involving a tenant on his land.
As the two men spend more time together, their love grows and their intimacy, which in the beginning frightened Rafe, becomes the cornerstone of his life.
Review: I am a complete sucker for historical romances, particularly those between men, because the stakes are so high. My go-to era is Regency, but I have found that with Fyn Alexander writing, time does not matter. I had read one other book by this author before (Winter Hearts, published by Loose Id in 2014), and I still remember the story to this day, four years later. So, I was unsurprised when I found another book that would stay with me long after I read it.
The Law of Love is set in 1920s England, and as such, the stakes are high. Maybe not as high as in previous years, but being homosexual is still a crime, and for a man like Rafe Devonish, who is a renowned barrister, he has a lot to lose. Ivo Manning, on the other hand, is a young man who, while technically in a higher position than Rafe, has nothing left to lose as his family’s estate crumbles and all of his inheritance is dismantled. What starts as a plea for help from Ivo becomes an attraction that Rafe is afraid to continue and Ivo is desperate to keep.
Rafe and Ivo are fantastic characters. I loved how well they worked together, and I loved what brought them together and threatened to keep them apart. Secondary characters were equally as interesting, especially Isola, a young girl who most consider to be “simple” and who has found herself in a world of trouble.
While the ending may be seen coming by astute readers, it does not leave the story any less exciting. My heart raced every time there was risk of Rafe and Ivo being caught, and my heart broke when Rafe insisted they could not be together. I felt for Ivo and wanted nothing more than for him to be happy.
Fans of historical fiction will enjoy this book. If you like high stakes, it’s even better. All characters are fully realized and different from those seen in most historical romances. Rafe and Ivo can stand on their own and brook no comparisons to those in the genre who’ve come before them. I highly recommend this book!
You can buy The Law of Love here:
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