I've read all of this author's books and they are so fun and refreshingly unique. She has a knack for her niche - historical romance fantasy with super smart female main leads leading scientific lives. I love her characters and I especially loved the little journey that Elodie and Gabriel took in this new book.

This one features a classic trope: a marriage of convenience that essentially ended but they both secretly love each other 🥰 so cute and so fun. We get both perspectives and these two balanced each other in many ways. There are some other hilarious side characters and a magical mystery to be solved in a small town and it all worked. They're whip-smart (both profs at Oxford) but they're less smart about matters of the heart 🤣

If you're looking for something a bit outside the norm to try, this author is great!! This is kind of loosely (?) second in a series but definitely a standalone.

I want everyone to know, first and foremost, that The Ornithologist's Field Guide to Love was my favourite cozy book of last year, and I read quite a few.

Which is why it's so disappointing that this one didn't resonate with me the same way.

I have two primary gripes with this one. The first is just the "miscommunication" trope in general. It's not my bag. I found the first 50ish pages good, the last 75ish great, and everything in the middle to be, well, middling. While I loved the two characters, watching them make the same mistakes over and over and over for close to 300 pages was just too much for me.

The second gripe? I just... didn't quite understand the magic. Maybe it's my brain. Maybe I'm not meant to be a magical geologist. Part of what I liked about Ornithologist was that it was just magical birds. Somehow, magic birds make sense. I am less clear on what was happening in this book, and why, and how, which made the stakes less... stake-like for me. I'm sure had I realized earlier on just how catastrophic this could have been at large, I may have been more invested, but alas. I didn't get how it compared to tenure!!

That said, both Elodie and Gabriel were delightful (the former more than the latter - a sentiment I'm sure the gentleman would agree with). The writing was, as ever, witty and full of smart references. The romance, when we got it, was top notch. And Amelia! I love Amelia. I want more Amelia!! Which means I will definitely be reading the third.

All in all, this wasn't the one for me, and I doubt very much that had much to do with the author herself or her writing; merely personal preference. I will see you for the next one!

I LOVED THIS! I might have loved it even more than the first book, but it's hard to say. I will always adore a mutual pining situation, especially when there's a marriage of convenience thrown in the mix. I can't get enough of this world and these books and the romances these characters experience!

I adore India Holton's writing! I didn't want to put this book down. It was hilarious and melodramatic while also grounding the character's quirks in realistic vulnerabilities. I fell hard for both of our main characters and I loved being in their heads. They are both down bad but neither of them is ready to admit that so instead they proceed in their marriage of inconvenience with banter, sexual frustration and copious pining. If you're looking for a book that will make you laugh and make your heart melt this is the one for you.

Thank you for the opportunity to read this early. So delightful and fun. Love the author and her unique take on world "history."

"The Geographer's Map to Romance" is the second book in the Love's Academic series, after "The Ornithologist's Field Guide to Love." I really enjoyed the first book and was looking forward to reading this one, and it absolutely does not disappoint.

Gabriel and Elodie are two academics tasked with finding and stopping a source of magical mischief in a small Welsh village. It's the first time they have had to spend much time together since their marriage of convenience ended in a separation that, it soon becomes clear, neither of them particularly wanted. This book has all the humor and magic of the first book, and the second-chance romance storyline really drew me in -- I wanted these two characters to find their way back to each other.

I would recommend this book to fans of the first book, as well as to readers who have enjoyed humorous historical romances and cozy fantasies.

This book was an absolute delight! I was immediately drawn to the book because of the title, having a geography degree myself, and it did not disappoint on the geography front or the romance front. I found Elodie and Gabriel to be such an endearing couple. Both so in love with the other yet so petrified by the idea of admitting it.

I appreciated the balance in the book between the romance and tension between Elodie and Gabriel, and also the mystery before them of where all the thaumaturgic magic is coming from. The descriptions of the magic were rich and beautiful and made me want to live in their magical, Victorian world.

I read the first book in this series just prior to this one and also loved it, and I look forward to the third! Holton is a master of yearning and low fantasy and I can't get enough!

Unfortunately something seems to happened with downloading this title and it was lost between my foolproof method and the reality. Sigh! 😞 But going on Holton’s previous books it’s 5 stars.

I love the world that India has created. The characters in this and the tie ins to Ornothologists is so fun

Whimsy. Pure, unfiltered, slightly chaotic whimsy is the heart of The Geographer’s Map to Romance. Sure, it officially falls under fantasy, historical, and romance, but really, this book plays by its own rules with its fair share of tropes that readers are looking for.

At its core, it’s the tale of Elodie and Gabriel, a mismatched pair. She’s a walking ray of sunshine, bursting with optimism and well-intended chaos. He’s the grumpy, growling, lurking in the shadows, who is secretly (and not-so-secretly) pining for her. And here’s the kicker—they’re already married. Technically. If only the whole “happily ever after” part hadn’t gone spectacularly off the rails right after their vows. Thus enters the second-chance romance trope, served up with a side of misunderstandings (another trope) and simmering tension.

But the humor? That’s where the magic really happens. It’s not just witty dialogue; it’s the sheer absurdity of the situations these two find themselves in. The comedy is woven into the fabric of the story, driving it forward even when the pacing wobbles in places.

For true romantics, this book has moments. The kind of swoon-worthy lines that make you pause, inhale deeply, and maybe even shed a dreamy tear. There’s no shortage of quotes you’ll want to tuck away for future rereading.

And while this is part of a connected standalone series, it reads effortlessly on its own. Characters from book one make only the briefest of appearances. Elodie and Gabriel had a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it moment in the first installment, yet this is where they take center stage. You don’t need any prior knowledge; simply dive right in.

Need one more trope? The lack of communication. It’s the very thing that fuels the book’s charm, creating a perfect storm of frustration, missteps, and razor-sharp banter, specifically during yet another (only one bed) trope.

By the end, while I adored the humor and the witty exchanges, this one didn’t quite capture me the way the first book did. But am I sticking around for book three? Absolutely. The Antiquarian’s Object of Desire, which will follow Amelia Tarrant, doesn’t have a release date yet, but I’ll be waiting. If there’s one thing India Holton does well, it's crafting stories packed with quirky characters, baffling magic, and romance that’s smart, playful, and never overly sappy.

Reading The Geographer's Map to Romance was such a lovely experience - it's the perfect kind of story to get lost in on a cozy, rainy day. Elodie and Gabriel are such dummies (complimentary) and watching them find their way back to each other was agonizing in the best way. Romantic, swoony, cheekily funny.

The Geographer’s Map to Romance tore my heart out in the best way possible.

The Geographer’s Map to Romance is the second in India Holton’s Love’s Academic series, but can easily be read as a standalone (although you should read all of her books because they are fantastic). The Geographer’s Map to Romance is another fabulous entry into India’s fantasy/ historical romance genre that has wit, passion and magic thrown into an imagined magicked Earth. Elodie and Gabriel are both Professors at the same university. And happened to be married: it was a marriage of convenience, on paper, that went terribly wrong from the moment they said their vows. In the year since, they’ve been avoiding each other. Of course, it wouldn’t be an India book if they weren’t thrown together to help save the world.

On paper, Elodie and Gabriel couldn’t be more different: she is like Anne Shirley, all sunshine, optimism, and causes chaos through her well-intentions. Gabriel is taciturn, grumpy, and deeply pining for Elodie. Together they must deal with some powerful and dangerous magic that could destroy everything they love and hold dear if not resolved, a crew of rambunctious tourists haphazardly assisting, a magicked rampaging goat, and a village that is doing everything to get in their way because they like the attention and money that the misfiring magic brings to them.

Through it all, Elodie and Gabriel find themselves being forced to deal with their feelings for each other. There is SO MUCH PINING. Elodie doesn’t think she’s worthy of Gabriel’s love. Gabriel would do anything to ensure she is safe and treasured, but isn’t good at showing it, and together the two of them muddle everything up terribly. I love them so much, and watching them learn to trust in each other’s feelings and show how much they care made my heart grow three sizes. I could spend so many more pages with Elodie and Gabriel. I’d happily read a full series just about their escapades. I hope we do get to see more of these two, because the next book in this series focuses on Gabriel’s sister.

If you love pining, marriage of convenience and only one bed, then you must immediately read The Geographer’s Map to Romance. What are you waiting for?

A delightful and romantic adventure for two souls who are so smart but oh so dumb when it comes to expressing their feelings. I couldn't get enough of Gabriel and Elodie's story! The tension, the mishaps, the banter, it was just perfect!

The second book in the Love’s Academic series is out, and it's an absolute delight! It’s got plenty of India Holton’s trademark humor and whimsy, and just the most intense yearning between our two main characters: Elodie, flighty and exuberant, with a whirlwind nature and a razor sharp mind, and Gabriel, straight-laced and bottled up, who (when around Elodie) hides a tempest of longing behind a disapproving scowl. This story is a second chance romance, for the two of them married for convenience about a year previously and, after the reason for their marriage fell through, have been awkwardly avoiding each other ever since.

A warning, if you’re a hater of the kind of book that would be drastically shorter if only the main characters would sit down and have a conversation, this might not be the one for you. This novel takes that trope to an absolutely absurd level, which honestly only added to the comedy and the longing in my opinion, but if you’re sensitive to that trope you might just find it frustrating. These two are positively allergic to admitting their feelings and, despite being geniuses, seem doomed through their lack of conversational skills to misunderstand everything the other person does or says. But they do get there in the end, and it’s delightful.

5 stars, and really looking forward to the next one!

The only negative was entirely my fault -- I didn't realize this was the *second* book in the series! In the end even that's a perk, because I know I have another delightful book ready to read. Loved all of it.

Once again, coming in hot after publication date.

2nd Chance isn't my thing - I'm a grudge-holder in life, lol. But I love India Holton, so I muddled my way through this book. Neither main character engaged me the way Ornithologists's leads did, or any of the leads in the previous trilogy she wrote, but it had the signature Holton charm enough for me to finish the story. To any who like whimsical romance and 2nd chance tropes, this will probably be a great read for you.

Absolutely magical! India Holton never fails to amaze and delight. The Geographer's Map to Romance might be my favorite book yet :)

This. Was. Adorable. Perfectly marketed as "Twisters" meets "Anne of Green Gables," with two protagonists on the neurodivergent spectrum. Filled with heartwarming antics and laugh-out-loud moments, at times I was shaking the book saying, "JUST KISS!" Holton is absolutely on my auto-buy list now.

this was so fun and so romantic and just all around so good. india holton never disappoints! marriage of convenience is one of my favorite tropes and i love the fact that she sprinkled in the two idiots in love trope.

I really enjoyed this historical romance! I love India Holton's writing style and sense of humour, and I had such a great time with this book. I love the marriage of convenience/marriage in crisis trope, so I knew that I would love this! I also loved the magical realism aspect of the book with the involvement of magic in academia. Elodie was a great main character, and I thought the relationship between Elodie and Gabriel was pretty cute. I found Gabriel to be a bit of a boring love interest, but nevertheless, I very much enjoyed this book.