I did not have a nonbinary queer Regency archaeologist romance novel on my bingo card for 2025, but I am so glad one dropped into my lap.

A Rare Find tells the story of Elfreda Marsden, a woman with dreams of becoming a member of a prestigious archaeologic society through the discovery of Viking artifacts on her property. She believes that wish has come true when she uncovers an ancient amulet. That dream is quickly snuffed out when, after a collision with a nemesis from her youth, she drops the amulet in a pond, losing it forever. Georgie Redmayne is an aristocrat who has been freshly exiled from London after a recent scandal and was the last person Elfreda wanted to run into. The two find themselves having to join forces to find a trove of Viking gold. So that Elfreda can get her recognition and Georgie can get the funds to return to the city self sufficient. The two don’t get along, but the adventure will take them to new places and force them to confront feelings they have tried to bury.

The book is marvelously written with flowing descriptions that make one think of any great Jane Austen book. My favorite part of the book is the deft handling of Georgie and her gender identity. Georgie is probably best described as non-binary or maybe gender fluid, but none of those terms would have been in use at this time in history. Hell, homosexual was not introduced as a term until 1868. But even using historical terms and categories, Georgie still feels fully valid and valued.

The heart of any romance is, of course, the relationship. The book follows an enemies-to-lovers path, though that is a little strong, as while it takes Elfreda a while to come around, Georgie is never truly opposed to the connection. But I really liked the slow-blooming aspects of the pairing, and once they got together, the two were a force that could be stopped.

This one has earned a place on my bookshelf, and I encourage you to check it out.

Thank you Netgalley and Berkley Publishing Group | Berkley for the free e-arc. My opinions are being left voluntarily. I absolutely loved and was kicking my feet while reading it. It was the perfect follow up to last year's a shore thing release. You can feel the author knows alot about what they are writing about. I loved the hate to friends to lovers it was done so dang well. I really love the side characters. The humor in these 2 books was the cherry on top. I noticed the author has a good backlist which I will need to jump into this summer. I absolutely cannot wait to see what they do next.

5/5☆

#berkleybookstagram

Suggest absolutely picking up these books.

I received an ARC from the publisher and am voluntarily posting a review. All opinions are my own.
A Rare Find is a lighthearted queer Regency romance. In terms of representing queerness in the Regency and prior, I feel like Lowell did a solid job, with not just one of her leads being what would be considered non-binary today, but also featuring a number of queer supporting characters. I especially appreciated the nuance with which Lowell approached using they/them pronouns, exploring their use historically in-text, as well as having Georgie use them for themself in the company of close friends, even if society at large would not conform. It’s a wonderful reminder that prioritizing the reader today is important, but also “historical accuracy” doesn’t always mean “universal bigotry.”
And while I didn’t feel like the characters had a ton of depth beyond that, I did like them and root for their romance. However, the romance was sidelined quite a bit by other elements, which really worked against me rooting for them at various points.
As for the external plot, I initially found the archaeology/treasure hunt premise promising. However, this element ended up being so boring, yet it dominated the book. Plus, the surplus of supporting characters (in spite of many of them offering queer rep) also overwhelmed the story, resulting in me zoning out at various points. This book seemed to want to do several things, when all I really wanted was the fun romance, and that was severely underbaked.
While this did not meet my expectations, my opinion is clearly in the minority on this one. I personally feel this would work if you’re in the mood for a fairly lighthearted, queer-affiriming historical romance, and you happen to also enjoy some external plot elements.

A queer Regency romance with a female archaeologist and a main character using they/them pronouns! I loved the characters, especially the main characters, Elfreda and Georgie, but also the hilarious supporting cast. The story takes place during what amounts to a treasure hunt, which is a lot of fun, as well. Elfreda is hoping to finally unearth an artifact that will leave her father and his Society of Antiquaries no choice but to recognize her as a fellow archaeologist and admit her to the Society. When Georgie accidentally gets in the way of Elfreda's goal, they offer to help her find the treasure mentioned in her grandmother's papers. The romance between the two main characters is sweet in an "enemies to lovers" sort of way and I was cheering for Elf and Georgie all the way.

Loved the premise but really did not feel chemistry between the two characters. Also took quite a while to pick up. Still a very fun light read with good imagery!

A perfect read for folks who wish Bridgerton was a bit queerer. This has a Gentleman Jack vibe as well as Bridgerton. Both Elf and Georgie are lovely, fun, interesting characters who you root for the entire book. Fun read perfect for a vacation.

*Received as a free ARC*
I know this was historical fiction and it was true to history. But Elf's dad was just such a dick, it dampened my enjoyment of the rest of the book. That being said, I still did enjoy the book. Queer archaeology fiction is hard to come by. I also enjoyed the array of supporting characters who managed to all feel quite fleshed out. Looking forward to Lowell's next book, hopefully with less people being dickish.

Joanna Lowell writes wonderful, engaging queer historical romance, and this one was as delightful as her previous titles. Her love for history shines through on every page, and the world she builds is one you want to believe in, one where acceptance and love win out against prejudice, even if society means that must happen in small, personal victories.

this was a perfect sweet treat that i ate in one bite! i am a longtime fan of historical romances, and i love that there have been so many queer entries into the genre lately. this one in particular featured a nonbinary main character, and i loved how georgie’s gender identity was incorporated in a thoughtful and inclusive way while navigating very real historical limitations.

i loved how passionate elfreda was about archeology, and i could tell the author really put in some research to be accurate. i don’t always see that depth when it comes to fleshing out a character’s interests, so the attention to detail was noted and appreciated here! i also loved how georgie incorporated themselves into her search — their development from butting heads at the beginning to forming a friendship (and more) felt natural and well-paced. i also really loved the supporting cast of characters, from elfreda’s siblings to georgie’s friends. i would absolutely recommend this book!

4.5 rounded up! This book was so fun! It was neighbor enemies-to-lovers with plenty of feminine smarts and a treasure hunt to wrap it all up! Truly so much fun. Elf is an archaeologist in Regency England, and all she longs for is her father’s approval and to be taken seriously. And then Georgie comes back into her life after five years and quite literally knocks her off her feet and getting her ticket to the Fellows swept away. Everything that ensues from here on was pure gold and witty writing. Our whole cast of characters (the one we really like, anyway) are queer, and they uplift each other in their true selves, which is beautiful to see. And Elf realizing her feelings for Georgie as they search for the treasure through riddles from Elf’s grandmother’s own discredited studies is a blast. I loved the banter and I loved the serious scenes and I loved the emotions and surprises and so many things about this book. It was truly a joy to read, and I highly recommend it!

Though at times the narrative stretches the plausibility for the time period, it is still a engaging and believable story of queer romance in the regency era. It is a sweet story that deals with the confines and restrictions of both queer love in historical context, as well as the restrictions on women of the time.

Enemy neighbours to lovers slow burn, tied up in a treasure hunt!

Georgie has been sent to her country home after a mishap in London and is itching to get back. Elf is trying to literally keep her family house from crumbling, tend her three younger sisters, and manage her narcissist father all while trying to find a Viking hoard. She does not have time to play nice with Georgie, and she really does not have time to *feel things* for Georgie.

This one started a bit slow - there was a lot going on, including some truly awful parenting! But there were some fantastic moments along the way, including one of my favourite side characters ever in Phipps, a boat ride down the river propelled by Georgie's arms, and the best star gazing scene ever. 

The way the story wrapped up was perfect, and as Georgie points out as she has money and land and as neither of them have pricks they can do what they want without much notice! Being a woman in a time when that equated to being property must come with some small perks!

A wonderful read about finding yourself before you can find love.

ARC Review: A Rare Find by Joanna Lowell
Pub Date: June 10, 2025

Thank you to Berkley Romance for the gifted copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own and I am leaving this review voluntarily. #berkleypartner

I absolutely loved Joanna's release last year - A Shore Thing was one of my top reads of 2024. So I was incredibly excited for this book and so lucky to have the opportunity to read and review it early.

This book is really a different pace - it's slow with not a whole lot of plot which does really let you sink in to the book and get to know all the characters and get invested in their personal growth. My favorite sub genre is queer historicals and this had a lot of what I love about them! I loved the conversation Georgie and Elf have about Georgie's pronouns was really lovely to see.

The HEA is satisfying and made sense for the time which is something I often think about.

Read this for:
- Queer Historical
- Nonbinary representation
- Treasure Hunt/mystery!
- Enemies to friends to lovers

Im so passionate about seeing queer representation in all genres, and I particularly loved this approach to the lesbian historical romance! Georgie and Elf’s chemistry is engaging from the first moment we see them interact and that is the heart that carries the book throughout.

The other plot lines were fun and interesting, particularly the treasure hunt led by aspiring archeologist, Elf. I loved how this book explored the sexist views and policies that prevented women from achieving renown and delayed great discoveries just because men wanted to stay in power.

Georgie using they/them pronouns was an excellent choice and I loved the exploration of gender that it allowed in the book. I felt like the author did a great job of examining what it would be like to be a nonbinary person living in the 1800s when gender roles were so rigid and institutionalized. It felt very realistic to me and we know that there were people just like Georgie who existed, so I love to see that represented.

My bookstore doesn’t stock romance titles, but I would push for this to be included in a historical fiction section due to its great representation and diversity!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the complimentary access to this ARC. All opinions are my own.

I genuinely really enjoyed this book. I had previously read Joanna Lowell's book, A Shore Thing, and was excited to read this one. However, this was much better than I was expecting. It is an incredibly sweet story with a fun treasure hunt plotline.

The book follows Elfreda Marsden (she/her) and Georgie Redmayne (they/them) as they attempt to unearth a long-lost hoard as proof of a wintering camp. Elf and Georgie are neighbors who were not exactly friends growing up, to put it mildly. As they engage in the search, you learn more about their relationship growing up, as well as each character's unique history and quirks. Ultimately, the books charts them (re)connecting and ultimately falling in love. All of the characters felt fleshed out and real, sometimes even in a negative way (Mr. Marsden it is on sight).

I thought this book in particular did a great job of showing the realities of being a woman, or someone who was queer in a time that that was not readily accepted without becoming overdone and traumatic. It is a hard balance to acknowledge that queer people have always existed and the struggle associated with that due to the world we live in, while still emphasizing the joy they were able to experience. This book did a good job of showing that one can acknowledge the struggle while still dedicating the book to honoring the joy.

Definitely recommend!

Elfreda is a young woman with an interest in the local history of the neighborhood where she lives. Georgie is in exile from London where she had caused a scandal and is now away from society where her antics can be forgotten. Georgie and Elfreda are not on the best of terms. When they encounter each other again is not warm feeling all around and all Elf wants is to do is locate the ruins on the property and gain recognition by the archaeological society that her father belongs to. I truly enjoyed the setting and characters. Elf and Georgie are women that are trying to live their lives despite the constraints placed upon them by the overall society. Their stories come together and intersect in a hunt for a lost treasure and they also connect romantically as well along this journey. It's a lovely story that gives a perspective of women thriving despite the restrictions of their gender in a time when too many women were relegated to second class status just because the happened to be born female.

Really loved this book! The queerness was handled really well in regards to keeping it historically accurate. Their arc from enemies to lovers was sooo well done, I was giggling and kicking my feet. Then there was also treasure hunting?? Loved. No notes.

Joanna Lowell's prose is stunning, and her character studies make me feel every deliciously uncomfortable shade of longing and jealousy (complimentary). I love how character-driven and introspective her romances are, while feeling grounded in historically rich conflicts (female archaeologist fighting for acknowledgement in her field AND a treasure hunt?!). Lowell is so deliberate in building her characters into people who are deeply relatable and fallible and earnest. Also, three cheers for excellent side characters in the various Peaches, Phipps, Agnes (oh Agnes) and sundry matrons. I loved this, and I learned more than I expected about Vikings? And also, this gets 10/10 for an excellent Quaker shout-out in a brief reflection on the class protest that is Plain Speech (heck yes!).

4/5

Who wants to uncover lost treasure with their childhood enemy. Anyone? Elfreda Marsden has long been in her father’s shadow helping him publish his various papers of archaeological research. Elf desires to make her own name as an archaeologist—starting with proving her theory that a Viking army camped on the Marsden estate, but when she uncovers an amulet that proves her theory, she immediately loses it after clumsily colliding with her childhood enemy, Georgiana Redmayne. Georgiana and Elf have never gotten along, due in part to the history of animosity between their two families, but can they bury the hatchet and uncover a hoard of Viking gold instead. Joanna Lowell has been recommended to me by several seasoned readers in the genre and it’s safe to say I have never read a historical romance as charming as A Rare Find. This is Lowell's first foray into Regency romance and it’s a purely whimsical, absurd, adventure through not just the regency period, but lost moments of history and antiquarian endeavors. Including some fantastic nonbinary representation and queer people discovering their identities, finding happiness and love, this book is a treasure in itself. The author's note on Lowell’s research was an incredibly fascinating read and I’m reminded just how much historical notes are my love language. If you like your plots meandering with significantly lower stakes, A Rare Find is the perfect historical romance to unwind with.

This review is featured on my blog.

A regency HistRom with enemies to lovers, a treasure hunt, starlight kisses, and a nonbinary MC.

Georgie and Elf’s relationship is low conflict but the external stakes are high and compelling. The dialogue is tight and fun.

Excellent secondary characters abound and anti-misogyny rules the day. Every major and minor plot line is executed to perfection. No holes. Excellent resolutions. And all a great background to a cozy, funny, sexy, sweet, and adventurous romance!