This book was explosively good! Elizabeth Everett has once again created a fabulous story about a smart, brave woman and a man who develops the good sense to love her. Letty and Grey were marvellous characters. They both won my heart from the very beginning. Letty's fierceness and Grey's determination (and his wonderfully endearing moments of boyishness!) made for a romance that never faltered in carrying the story to its fulfilling conclusion. I loved their mutual insults and their palpable sexual tension and I loved the way they learned to truly appreciate each other. Woven through this was an unflinching portrayal of the many injustices and barriers women of the era experienced, making for not just a swoony read but a powerful, feminist one too. Everett continues on form, and I can't wait to read the third book in the series.

Chapter one felt old-school nobility, chapter two felt too modern and like a different book, and I ultimately lost interest in the story. As a woman in STEM, I was hoping this would be a slam dunk. I learned this book is a sequel, but this book focuses on Grey and Letty while book one focuses on Violet and Arthur based on the synopsis. I don't know that it's necessary to read the first to understand at least where the second is going.

I was really looking forward to reading this second installment in the stories of the women of Athena's Retreat. While I did enjoy the book and the characters of Letty and Grey, I did not enjoy it nearly as much as the first book. I was disappointed that the freshness and originality of the series has already faded. I'm hopeful that this is just a sophomore slump, though, and I do look forward to reading more.

3.5 stars. We return to the world of Athena's Retreat, where lady scientists can safely invent and experiment and calculate, free from the judgmental eyes of London society. Letty and Grey are summoned by their friends Violet and Arthur, whose travel plans mean they need someone to watch over the retreat and its eccentric occupants. Grey's political ambitions and Letty's mathematical ones clash as a proto-men's rights group threatens the women of Athena's Retreat. But there's no denying the spark between them, despite their turbulent history and a scandal in Letty's past.

This just didn't hold my interest as much as the first book. Everett sets up a great premise, but she lets some of the plot just peter out. I didn't feel the same tension or concern for these two characters as I did for Arthur and Violet, although I was still invested enough to keep reading and see what happened.

Thanks to Netgalley, the publisher, and the author for the ARC to review. All opinions are my own.

I just couldn't get into this one. I had trouble relating to Letty and Grey, and it was difficult to keep track of the many, many side characters. Setting aside for now at 50%, but I might return to it at a later date.

Thank you to Elizabeth Everett, Berkley, and NetGalley for the advance copy; all opinions are my own!

After falling in love with A LADY'S FORMULA FOR LOVE, the first in The Secret Scientists of London series, I couldn't wait to get my hands on the next installment. Letty and Grey's story far exceeded my already high expectations, and I truly fell in love. Their dislike-to-love, friction-filled chemistry absolutely oozed sensual tension; their vulnerabilities and hidden wounds were sympathetic and believable; and their growth arcs as they lowered their guards and finally let each other in were so satisfying.

This plot felt slightly less suspenseful but still very much in keeping with its predecessor in that the amount of suspense and intrigue was perfectly compatible with the characters' personalities and the overall plot that allows their growth trajectories. I was a bit less on edge as the last one and while I loved the suspense in book one, I felt more able to settle in to the daily goings on at Athena's Retreat as Letty and Grey go head to head and the secondary characters fill in their days with benign explosions, rogue animals, and a delightfully steady stream of comedic mishaps.

One of the things I love best about Elizabeth's writing is how deeply she develops her characters as individuals while also developing their romance; even though her stories have strong plots propelling the narrative, the characters' backstories, arcs, and motivations fuel the story powerfully, too. A PERFECT EQUATION felt like an even deeper exercise in character-driven writing and to me this creates the ideal romance. I finished this book on a happy sigh, missing Letty and Grey already. I cannot believe I was lucky enough to early read this book, and I cannot wait for others to fall in love with it as I have.

Letitia is a radical: a member of Athena’s retreat, a place where women of science can gather to experiment and do other natural and hard science. Grey is an earl with a connection to Athena’s Retreat- it is run by his former stepmother. When she must take a position in the north - really to recover from a miscarriage- she leaves Athena’s Retreat in the hands of Grey and Letty. They are former friends and now enemies. From the first, sparks fly between this brilliant mathematician and the regimented ex military man who wants to close down Athena’s Retreat.
This was a fascinating book, a good look into the brilliant female scientists and what they had to go through back then.Many of the characters are eccentric in a fun way. Grey and Letty are intense and well drawn characters. There are enough twists and turns in the plot to keep a reader interested and invested in the story. I would recommend this book to my patrons.

What happens when a mathematician who loves romance novels clashes with a spy who thinks emotions will wreck his life? It all starts when the president of Athena's Retreat - ostensibly a women's social club, but actually a secret suite of laboratories for STEM-minded women - asks Letitia (the mathematician) and Grey (the spy) to take over in her absence. It should come as no surprise that they eventually fall in love - but the fun is in how they get there (of course!).

A Perfect Equation is a book for seasoned romance readers who are looking for something a little bit different. While we have our cameo from the previous book's romantic leads, it's not in the way we're used to. While we get all of the enemies-to-lovers, wall-makeout goodness, there are also more in-depth examinations of the genre. We have so many thoughts on this one it's hard to get them all out. We have Letitia's Defense of the Romance Novel, a feminist examination of Whose Work Is More Important, and a critical examination of the aristocracy (Grey is a viscount, of course). Absolutely recommended as a romance that makes you think.

At least as good as the first in the series, A Perfect Equation does not disappoint! Emotionally intelligence plus steam plus meta discussions of the 'worth' of novels equal a charming read. I would recommend this to fans of feminist historicals and will be looking out for the next one.

Letty, some of the things said of her, prickly, bossy, a shrew. Six years ago, when she was seventeen, she was caught in bed with the man she thought was going to marry her by his powerful father. Being a shopkeeper's daughter, although rich, she wasn't good enough for his son. She was labeled a seductress and, being the woman, was blamed for the encounter while the man was unaffected. She and her family were ostracized by society, her sisters' future chances of marriage imperiled, leaving Letty to keep a distance between herself and other women so as not to taint them with her reputation. She is a self-taught mathematician and is working to win the prestigious Rosewood Prize disguised as a man. Greycliff had a terrible childhood suffering from seizures. He endured terrible "treatments" and was secluded from other children. His uncle finally gave him advice such as to control your feelings to control your body and think of yourself as ice to control your pain. The seizures eventually stopped as an adult but Greycliff believes it was by the force of his will that he conquered them. Never show emotion and don't feel anything but the superficial for other people. He now wants to take over from his uncle as Director of the Department, a secret organization working with the Crown, supported by 8 rich men known as the Funders. Someone they care about asks Letty and Greycliff to temporarily be in charge of Athena's Retreat. Secretly a haven for women scientists, it must be put forth as only a social club which is still barely acceptable. Enter the Guardian's of Domesticity, an increasingly violent group of rioting men who blame women for society's problems. They believe women should be home with the children, serving men, and not taking jobs that should go to the men. "Bring back the better days of Britain," "Return this country to the ways that made us great." Science is a sham. The similarity to today's USA gave me chills. Don't get me wrong, there is plenty of laughter too. The women scientists and their individual experiments are something to behold. Tarantulas, ants, hedgehogs, and a few explosions are involved. All of these outside forces jeopardize Athens's Retreat, making Greycliff and Letty re-evaluate their beliefs and what they thought of each other the past six years. Be sure to read the Author's Note with interesting information about a real woman scientist of the era, and the last paragraph of the Acknowledgements to all the girls out there. This is a delightful romance that will also make you think.