Oh my goodness this was a blast, I love an unserious period piece! This series India Holton has created is most definitely for me :) it is silly, cozy, swoon-worthy-- full of all the vibes I love! The characters are hilarious and the way it is written had me laughing out loud. If you are in the need of a light hearted historical {fantastical?} romance I would definitely pick this up! For fans of Emily Wilde and maybe the show Dickinson or the Enola Holmes movies.


Thank you Netgalley for this ARC! :)

Professor Elodie Tarrant and Professor Gabriel Tarrant are experts in magical disasters who have been estranged since shortly after their marriage of convenience. There is one hick up, they both secretly love each other.

When they are both accidentally assigned to a case of magic erupting in a Welsh village unexpectedly, they must come together as a team. Can they solve the mystery of why the magic has gone wonky?

This is a sweet romance with one spicy moment that makes it perfect for an 18+ audience looking for a romance with a twist of mystery. Even though this is technically the second book in the series, you do not need to have read the first to enjoy it.

This author is new to me, but I will be keeping an eye out for anything else they publish. I loved the story and the characters. The pacing of the story was great and the characters were relatable.

The Geographer's Map to Romance by India Holton is a delightful mix of historical fiction and fantasy, creating a world that feels both whimsical and immersive. I loved discovering this historical fantasy sub-genre—it’s such a fun blend of magic, adventure, and romance. The humour is spot-on, with plenty of laugh-out-loud moments that keep the story light and entertaining. I can’t wait to go back and read the previous book in the series and eagerly anticipate any future installments.

I wanted to love this book so bad, but I dropped off halfway through reading. The characters are colorful and unique, which this author easily pulls off. I LOVED Elodie and I was rooting for her. Unfortunately, I preferred the snippet I got of Gabriel in the first book than what he turned out to be in his book. The biggest issue for me was the plot (or lack thereof). In the first book, I had found myself so intrigued with Orinthology, and I was open to getting invested and learning more about another niche, but I just couldn't find anything interesting about Georgraphy. Ironically enough, the book kept making jokes about how boring Geography was--which would have landed if the author had managed to make the plot more engaging. As it was, it felt meandering and that distracted me from the fraught romance between our leads. The humor is there, though! A reader who is more forgiving of slower paced books would enjoy this. If you loved the first book in this series, you owe it to yourself to at least give this one a try.

I really enjoyed the intersection of all the different parts of this book. It was romantic and whimsical but it was also academic and intelligent. The setting was beautiful, and I liked the little twist put onto the second chance romance trope.

All the characters really stood on their own and added to the story, and I was invested in everyone's story.

Overall, I loved the journey this book took me on!

Very late reviewing this, but thank you to my love Berkley for the eARC! India Holton is an auto-read author for me, and I'm always on the edge of my seat as soon as she announces a new book. I'm obsessed with Elodie and Gabriel's dynamic ("he has a special nickname for her" is one of my favorite tropes!!), and Gabriel is my absolute favorite of India's MMCs so far. My sensitive grouchy angel.

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.