REVIEW: The Outlaw’s Ransom Enchants the English Countryside

The Outlaw’s Ransom by Jennifer Ash is the first in a series of books written under the Folville Chronicles umbrella and it doesn’t disappoint.

This hot, galloping tale follows the travails of young Mathilda, daughter of a local potter who lives in the English countryside, as she is yanked from a loving family and thrown to a clan of thieves and so-called villains to ensure her father pays off his debts. But are the Folvilles all that bad? Mathilda’s a bright young girl, in some ways too bright for her own britches– a quality that causes some consternation, but also proves attractive to the Folville family – especially to the handsome Robert Folville. This is a family well known for living by the code of Robyn Hode (Robin Hood to most of us) and Mathilda believes she can find a way to free both herself and her father’s debts by helping the honorable family of tough guys.

Ash, whose background is in history and archaeology, has a lifelong passion for Robin Hood mythology. This devotion is clear when you read her charming tale of betrayal, family angst, and young love.  In The Outlaw’s Ransom, Mathilda is a pawn who becomes smarter and wiser by the day in order to stay alive. The second book in the series, The Winter’s Outlaw, is out now. A third is slated for late 2018, affording her fans something to look forward to –  both those in the United Kingdom and here in the States.

Fans of Robin Hood in all his various incarnations, whether the adventures with his Merry Men or as a sly animated fox with a red feather in his cap, will enjoy this fresh take on the legend and how it affected real-life families living in Medieval England. It’s also a timely read thanks to the updated Lionsgate film set to hit U.S. theaters this November.

Learn more about Jennifer Ash and the Folville Chronicles here.

Buy the book here.