Temperamental, yet dreamy, geographical earth magic abounds in the second book of India Holton’s new historical fantasy romcom series. This is a—pun both intended and not—stormier edition and that's reflected not just in its magic, but also in the intense longing between Gabriel and Elodie that makes their coming together all the sweeter 💚 Longer review at https://anushreenande.substack.com/p/13-so-we-beat-on-boats-against-the

India Holton can do now wrong! This book is funny and romantic, filled with yearning, misadventures, and geographical features going BOOM!
This has grown into a series I very much love, and while each story stands on its own, I recommend also The Ornithologist's Field Guide to Love :D

I’d like to thank Berkley Publishing Group and Author India Holton for a copy of this eARC. I was so excited to receive this after finishing book 1.

This book has been a laugh I desperately needed. Eloise and Gabriel were entertaining and enigmatic throughout their journey.

I have loved pretty much every Holton has put out. And this is no exception. I love the whimsy, the fantasy, and the strong heroine who finally finds the love she deserves. The couple are swoony even if the MMC is stoic. I love the academia built in and the implementation of magic is so fun. I hope this series continues for at least one more book. And Holton has become a must read for me every year.

4.25 stars - I was so excited to read this after finishing The Ornithologist's Field Guide to Love - the very tiny hint we get about Gabriel and his wife as too intriguing and I loved that I was able to start this right away. Once again, I loved the relationship we got between Elodie and Gabriel. It's so different from the first book but hits on all the things I loved - the whimsy and fantastical elements, the competency on both sides, and the yearning is just unmatched.

Now, the lack of communication and misunderstanding is STRONG in this book. There were moments when I felt like I would lose it because they would get SO close to a better understanding and the moment would just slip right by. I didn't care as much about the actual plot of this book (the geography and the subsequent saving of Oxford, London, etc), but it was still written in a way that I wasn't bored or skimming I just wanted more of Gabriel and Elodie.

Overall, I really enjoyed this and am so happy I found this series. I'm already looking forward to the next one! Thank you so much to Berkley Romance and NetGalley for the eARC - all opinions are my own!

This book is delightful, in a word. The characters are relatable, hilarious, adorably flawed, and the writing brings them to life along with the setting which reads like another character. This book is familiar in its inspiration by Anne of Green Gables and entirely new in its unique fantasy world. I honestly loved it.

Elodie and Gabriel are both professors at Oxford 1890s, in this alternate magical reality. They’re also married, but it was a marriage of convenience when it should’ve been the real thing, because they were both actually besotted. A misunderstanding had them estranged shortly after a couple of passion-filled nights.

Now Elodie and Gabriel are both sent to the same location to manage a magical disaster in the making, determine its source and prevent a full-on catastrophe. This was fortuitous as it forced them together to work things out in between investigating and managing the locals.

The Geographer’s Map to Romance was a fun magical mystery/romance. Elodie was a hoot, a brilliant scatterbrain always seeing the positives in things. Gabriel was the broody, silent type but so devoted and protective of Elodie. They both needed to get out of their own way to realize the obvious: they were so in love! There were a lot of clever banter and laugh-out-loud moments. A pure delight!

𝐻𝒶𝓅𝓅𝓎 𝒫𝓊𝒷 𝒟𝒶𝓎!

Happy Pub Day to @india.holton

𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙂𝙚𝙤𝙜𝙧𝙖𝙥𝙝𝙚𝙧’𝙨 𝙈𝙖𝙥 𝙩𝙤 𝙍𝙤𝙢𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚 is the latest in her Love’s Academic series. She also wrote the Dangerous Damsels series (The Wisteria Society of Lady Scoundrels, The League of Gentlewomen Witches & The Secret Service of Tea & Treason).

Read these if you love
🪄cozy fantasy
🗺️ with a dash of derring- do and adventure - low stakes fun
🛏️ romantic tropes think one bed or one tree 😉
💞 historical romance think Regency or Victorian era style
⛰️ a romp of a book that makes you giggle
😠☀️ Grumpy Sunshine lovers rejoice

Think about a more rom com Indiana Jones style romp through the English countryside. This is the fun side of historical romantasy.

𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙂𝙚𝙤𝙜𝙧𝙖𝙥𝙝𝙚𝙧’𝙨 𝙈𝙖𝙥 𝙩𝙤 𝙍𝙤𝙢𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚 is out today, and I recommend both series to readers who want books to escape our very serious world.

𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙂𝙚𝙤𝙜𝙧𝙖𝙥𝙝𝙚𝙧’𝙨 𝙈𝙖𝙥 𝙩𝙤 𝙍𝙤𝙢𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚 is what to read when you’re done taking life seriously. Breezy book to lift anyone’s spirits.

These are cozy romantasy adventure series for lovers of Legends & Lattes and The Spellshop. I continue to love these fun and spirited cozy romantasy series.

QOTD: Predictive text: Life is magical because…

My answer: Life is magical because it has its own meaning and is the most beautiful thing.

#historicalromancebooks #romantasy #cozyfantasy #lowstakesfantasy #magicbooks #recommendedreading #currentlyreading #pubdayreview #bookreviews #bookstagram

Thank you to Berkley Romance for the free book. These opinions are my own.

This is a historical fantasy novel. Though it's the second in the Love's Academic series, it entirely stands alone. There's just a tiny mention of the characters in the previous story and some swipes at the field of ornithology.

In this story, we focus on two geographers who work at Oxford. And as we quickly learn Elodie and Gabriel are both Professor Tarrant because they married for convenience a year ago. But misunderstandings and a falling out mean they have avoided each other since. Now they must work together in forced proximity to save a small town in Wales from a magical disaster.

This is an interesting take on the marriage in trouble trope because they never really had a true marriage. It features tons of miscommunication, and that's entirely intentional and the point of the story. It highlights just how often miscommunication is at the heart of troubles in relationships.

And the other aspects of the plot are hilariously bonkers and delightful. There's magic, and the rules of magic seem never ending and entirely changing. It's impossible to predict what Elodie and Gabriel should do next because it never makes sense to me. But it's so much fun along the way.

This is a special shout out to amazing neurodivergent representation. Though not named with specific diagnoses, it's clear that both Elodie and Gabriel are neurodiverse.

I hate cozy fantasy but I loved this??? Make it make sense.

₊˚ ✧ ━━━━⊱What to Expect:⊰━━━━ ✧ ₊˚

🗺️ A historical fantasy rom-com
🌎 A failed marriage-of-convenience
🗺️ Natural disasters (but make it fantasy)
🌎 Over-the-top crazy adventures
🗺️ A grumpy mmc who only rarely smiles & has the vocabulary of a thesaurus
🌎 A sunshine personified fmc who’s also a genius!!! girl power!!!
🗺️ Only one <u>tree</u>

₊˚ ✧ ━━━━⊱Characters:⊰━━━━ ✧ ₊˚

🌎 Professor Gabriel Tarrant. He takes grumpy to the next level—and to be clear, this is not a complaint—the man didn’t even smile until after page 100. He’s so broody and cold ahhh y’all know that’s my weakness. He hates everyone . . . except babygirl Elodie <33 he’s also so smart!!! He uses such big words when he speaks and it’s very *ahem* sexy. Geniuses are so hot 🤌 The way he would get so passionate about math & geography was so precious. I love this dude.

🗺️ Professor Elodie Tarrant. LOVE HER!!! She’s so kind & spontaneous & bubbly & fun. Also,, so so so smart!! I love my genius babies with my whole heart <3 pissed me tf off when ugly, gross men would disrespect her or doubt her abilities 😒

₊˚ ✧ ━━━━⊱Romance:⊰━━━━ ✧ ₊˚

🌎 Opposites attract has never been done so well 😌 while she’s loud and impulsive, he’s quiet and cautious. You’d think they’d annoy each other with their drastically different personalities, but they’re actually hopelessly in love with each other. They balance each other out so well. They’re different, but still have enough in common (aka their passion for natural disasters & geography) to work as a long-term couple. Their intellectual conversations were so fascinating, even though I only understood about 5% of it. I’m actually convinced they have to be together because no one else is smart enough for them. Genius power couple!!
❝Elodie was the kind of person who would dance on a rooftop if dared (or even if not), whereas he was, quite properly, a ladders and
read-the-safety-manual-in-its-entirety man.❞

₊˚ ✧ ━━━━⊱What I Liked:⊰━━━━ ✧ ₊˚

🗺️ How adventurous this book (and series) is. The characters are constantly on the move and while traveling from place to place, they get into so many crazy mishaps and disasters. It made for a very fun and exciting reading experience.

🌎 Plenty of bickering and banter to keep me entertained for hours on end

🗺️ This author has a habit of taking uber popular tropes and putting a little spin on them to make them different, and I think it’s so fun. In the first book in this series, there were seven beds in the hotel room with barely any room for walking. In this one, there is only one tree and they have to sleep under it together. I love how she takes super overused, cliche tropes like the one bed trope and does something different with it.

🌎 This beautiful quote that celebrates women and their big hearts: ❝There are worlds within worlds, and entire universes in the heart of a woman.❞

₊˚ ✧ ━━━━⊱My Favorite Moment:⊰━━━━ ✧ ₊˚

🗺️ Instead of simply giving her his jacket when she gets cold, he keeps the coat on, hugs her tight and puts the jacket around the both of them AHDGAJDBW IS THAT NOT THE SWEETEST THING YOU’VE EVER HEARD?!

₊˚ ✧ ━━━━⊱What I Disliked:⊰━━━━ ✧ ₊˚

🌎 I liked almost every single second of this, but there was one scene that icked me out. They both needed to change their clothes in the same vicinity and asked the other not to watch because they’d be uncomfortable with it. Peeping Tom One and Peeping Tom Two both sneakily watch the other change, despite being asked not to. Yeaaaah, that’s not cute. It was treated as a heehee-haha moment, which rubbed me the wrong way. Consent isn’t a punchline. Boom. Mic drop.

₊˚ ✧ ━━━━⊱Recommendation:⊰━━━━ ✧ ₊˚

🗺️ If you’re looking for another hilarious romantasy rom-com with a nerdy professor fmc, good banter & adventure, check out Draco Malfoy and the Mortifying Ordeal of Being in Love by isthisselfcare on ao3.

*Thank you to Berkley and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest review and to PRH Audio for the gifted ALC*

These historical romances just make me giggle. They're farcical in the best way, where geographers are the final line of defense against magical disaster. And then adding in a marriage of convenience between two professors especially with one who's oh so broody? Catnip. I enjoyed Elodie's whimsy and her commitment to preventing catastrophes. I did feel like this installment was packed with a lot of worldbuilding though, and in a way that didn't flow as well with the story.

Hoping we get a historian-themed one next with Gabriel's sister! (A Historian's Timeline for Seduction? Just saying that would be a fabulous title)

ARC/ALC BOOK REVIEW

The Geographer’s Map to Romance by India Holton
5 STARS

Thank you, Berkley, for the free eARC of this book and another thank you to PRHA for the #ree audiobook! #berkleypartner #PRHAudioPartner

SYNOPSIS: “Professor Elodie Tarrant is an expert in magic disasters. Nothing fazes her--except her own personal disaster, that is: Professor Gabriel Tarrant, the grumpy, unfriendly man she married for convenience a year ago, whom she secretly loves.

Gabriel is also an expert in magic disasters. And nothing fazes him either—except the walking, talking tornado that is his wife. They've been estranged since shortly after their wedding day, but that hasn't stopped him from stoically pining for her.

When magic erupts in a small Welsh village, threatening catastrophe for the rest of England, Elodie and Gabriel are accidentally both assigned to the case. With the fate of the country in their hands, they must come together as a team in the face of perilous conditions like explosions, domesticated goats, and only one bed. But this is easier said than done. After all, there's no navigational guide for the geography of the heart.”

REVIEW: What an absolute joy and delight of a book! After falling in love with Holton’s writing with The Ornithologist’s Guide to Love, I was utterly thrilled to read this one.

It’s no wonder that I, a professor (though not of Geography), would love this one. The wit, the banter, the WHIMSY! It’s all just so perfectly crafted.

Elodie and Gabriel are such a cute pair: tender, yet with all the steaminess you’d expect from an India Holton romance. Additionally, I was thrilled to see representations of neurodiversity in this book, as well, especially with neurodiverse folks in LOVE.

Elizabeth Knowelden narrated the audiobook for this one, and I have to say I may be a bit obsessed with her at this point. This was an amazing performance.

Once again, I was laughing out loud of the academia-based jokes, especially the ones at the expense of the poor undergraduates. (Sorry, my lovely students, I promise I still adore you!)

Cannot WAIT for The Antiquarian's Object of Desire in 2026!

Publisher: Berkley, Berkley Romance, PRH Audio, Penguin Random House
Pub date: 4/8/25 – OUT NOW!

The Geographer's Map to Romance by India Holton is book two in the Love's Academic series and don't worry if you haven't read the first book in this one, you can read it as a standalone. That said, you should still go back and read the first book because I enjoyed that one too.

Professor Elodie Tarrant is our fmc and she is an expert in magic disasters. Nothing really fazes her...with the exception of her own husband, Professor Gabriel Tarrant. The grumpy, unfriendly man she married for convenience a year ago who she just happens to be secretly in love with.

Gabriel is also an expert in magic disasters and nothing fazes him either. Except for his wife. With their estrangement since shortly after their wedding day, he has been quietly pining for her.

When magic erupts in a small Welsh village, threatening catastrophe for the rest of England, they are both accidentally assigned to the case and must come together to solve the problem. And while there are many challenges along the way, there are also opportunities for these two people who truly do love each other and are only separated because neither have the courage to put their feelings out there.

I love Holton's books and she has become an autobuy author for me. Her historical romances are not your typical historical romances and that is what I like about them. They have a fantasy feel with the magic and odd characters along with banter and romance. If you like any of those things, I recommend you pick this book up (or any of her others). I'll definitely be grabbing the next book in the series when I can.

Wanting that same vibe of the Emily Wilde books? The same chemistry between the two leads? Look no further, because this is the book for you! Truly enjoyed this. Elodie and Gabriel are characters you cannot help but love (even though my god, did I so want to bang their heads together at times!), and their romance something to root for. Enjoyed the will they push and pull. Somebody described them as mutually pining idiots on Goodreads and I feel that is the best description I've read. Can't help but love them! And can't wait for the next in the series.

Thank you to Penguin Audio and NetGalley for a free advanced reader’s copy. I received this copy in exchange for my honest review.

I’m going to be honest, India Holton is an autobuy author for me so of course I enjoyed this book. It was whimsical and silly and fun but…I’m afraid this one had one main flaw: with the characters already being married, India Holton’s usual ‘will they won’t they in victorian flavor’ felt more contrived and not in a way that I could overlook with my usual suspension of disbelief. This was truly a book where, if you hate miscommunication, the excuses for why they aren’t talking to each other is especially weak and I feel like the twelfth time the POV character ‘excuses’ why they’re actually in love with their spouse but insists their spouse doesn’t love them is a bit exhausting. I feel like there was much more plot than this contrived relationship could handle and it made the book drag heavily in the middle third for sure. I ate up through the last third of the book easily but I needed help from the audiobook to get there in the first place.

If you’re looking through another whimsical academic romp then be prepared for a lot of brilliant people refusing to talk about feelings (which, on it’s own, can be laughable but frustratingly so).

I loved Elodie and Gabriel as ou main characters, and the tension between them was truly palpable, making me believe their romance and root for it. I also really enjoyed the premise of a couple in a marriage of convenience in which both parties are absolutely smitten with the other but will not admit it for some reason. It led to a lot of funny moments that had me chuckling out loud.

However, the plot in this installment of the series was nowhere near as strong or interesting as the plot in the previous one. When it took center stage in the middle of the book, I got quite bored and, in the end, not even Elodie and Gabriel's fun banter could fully save the story for me.

This series has three things I typically run from in most books: science, history and fantasy. India Holton must have some of that magic she writes so well about!

In this second entry of the Love’s Academic historical romance series, we have two wildly different geography professors, Elodie and Gabriel, who are experts in the mayhem caused when thaumaturgical (magical) elements found in nature begin to misbehave.

Another fun fact about them? They’re married! Though it began as a marriage of convenience for the two Professors Tarrant (or at least that’s what they tell themselves), the feelings have been simmering for years. Unfortunately, they aren’t as good at communication as they are at their jobs, so we first meet them after a year of separation when events awkwardly throw them back together.

When a small coastal town in Wales called Dolylleaud experiences weird blue lights, flying cattle and other bizarre happenings, Elodie and Gabriel are summoned to find and repair the cause before the powerful misbehaving magic travels along fey lines all the way to London destroying everything in its path.

There’s a lot to love in this book and series.

The characters. Elodie is quirky, fun, free-spirited and the perfect sunshine for Gabriel’s more stoic, grumpy man-of-few-words nature. Her unspoken fantasizing about him throughout the book is hilarious!

Historical representation. It’s nice to see successful women in the sciences (ornithology in the last book, geography in this one) in the spotlight. Their intelligence and expertise is lauded, yet you also see the difficulties they experience in being recognized as equals at that time in history.

The setting. The Welsh countryside setting and the village ambiance, including a goat named “Baby” were a nice escape!

The narration. I listened along with reading on my Kindle, and Elizabeth Knowelden’s voicing for every single character, including the aforementioned goat, is sheer perfection. Her Welsh pronunciations were beautiful. I hope she stays with the series to the end!

The romance. At its heart this is still a romance first, and Holton writes pairings that I can’t help but fall in love with. Elodie and Gabriel shouldn’t work, but they do, and their path to each other charmed me.

The one thing that kept this from being a five-star read was simply that the plot about the magical peril didn’t draw me in quite as much and the resolution was drawn out more than I prefer, but they were minor issues. All in all, another very fun, magical read, and I can’t wait for the next book: The Antiquarian’s Object of Desire which will feature Gabriel’s sister Amelia Tarrant, who we meet in this book!

★★★★ ½

I loved so much about this book - from the language and the way magic is nonchalantly woven into the world India Holton has created to the humor and sly Shakespeare references. All of that and then we get Elodie and Gabriel too. Oh, the longing. There was so much love and also miscommunication between them and then, finally, complete understanding. I enjoyed it so much.

“𝙄𝙛 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙜𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧𝙨𝙚𝙡𝙛 𝙩𝙤 𝙜𝙚𝙩 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜, 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙞𝙩’𝙨 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙧𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙮𝙤𝙪. 𝙣𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙖𝙥𝙤𝙡𝙤𝙜𝙞𝙯𝙚 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙬𝙝𝙤 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙖𝙧𝙚.”

I really really loved this one! Ellie and Gabriel were absolutely adorable. Miscommunication is not normally something I enjoy but in this case I felt like it worked for the characters. Ellie is trying not to be a burden and Gabriel doesn’t understand… well people. These two were so cute as they discover that the other person is absolutely into them. It felt more like a failed marriage of convenience 😂

I’d recommend this for fans of whimsical fantasy, quirky characters and semi-historical romance!

Thank you to @netgalley and @berkleyromance for a copy!

Elodie Tarrant is a professor in the Geography department of Oxford university. A year ago she married Gabriel Tarrant who is also a fellow professor for reasons of convenience, but they have both been secretly pining after each other even though they are not living a true marriage. They are both experts on magical disasters and disturbances.

When an anomaly appears in the Welsh countryside they are both called to investigate and stop further damage. So begins a wild journey to figuring out what is going on magically and romantically between them.

This book was so fun and campy. The author does a very good job and writing such outrageous scenarios but making it believable and fun. I loved seeing them pinning over the other and thinking the feelings could not be reciprocated. This series are the most unserious things but make me smile so much and I had a wonderful time reading it.