A Rare Find 4.5 Stars
A neighborly frenemies to lovers situation, but make it regency era and full of queer joy. Sound good? Then pick up A Rare Find for an absolutely delightful treat! Oh, you want a side of capers and mystery? Good news! One of our MCs is an archeologist and the other a rather rakish heiress. If only it had lovable side characters having their own shenanigans, you say? You won’t believe it… but it has that, too! AND near feral little sisters and so much swoony tension you wish you had a fan in your reticule.
Seriously, this book is super fun. Elfreda wants to be an archeologist more than anything, but she’s a woman and we know how fussy men are about such things. Georgiana is her carefree neighbor who has done nothing but rankle Elf since childhood. But Gorgie has their own struggles and when they’re forced out of London and back to their childhood home the unlikely duo falls into a partnership in search of an ancient hoard that has been nearly lost to lore. These two are a hoot. They are messy messy in the best ways and I love getting to know them both as they get to truly know each other for the first time.
And there’s so much happening in the background. Burly neighbors, angsty sisters, dead parents, meddling aunts, academic rivals… the whole shebang! I hope we get more of this world because it was a pleasure to dig into. HAH! Oh, self. The side characters truly were delightful and I want to know more about them. When you’re rooting for the side characters you know you’ve got a great cast. I really enjoyed the historical information within the historical setting. It was like a historical STEM nesting doll of discovery. But most of all the self-discovery discussions were beautiful and never rushed. You get to sit in these feelings with the characters instead of them being assigned queer characteristics for the plot.
Thank you to NetGalley, Berkley, and Joanna Lowell for a copy of this book for review.

A even 3⭐️

A sapphic historical romance that was a little too light on the treasure hunting, but really heavy on the awesome representation.

Book Stats:
📖: 360 pages
Genre: Historical Romance
Publisher: Berkley
Format: FMC Dual POV
Series: Standalone

Themes:
🪏 :Proving your worth
🪏: Being a woman in a man's world/career

Representation:
💎: Non Binary/Lesbian main characters
💎: Queer Side Characters

Tropes:
💗: Treasure Hunting
💗: Slow burn
💗: Childhood rivals to lovers
💗: Dueling Families

🥵: Spice: 🌶️
Potential Triggers: misogyny and sexism **check authors page/socials for full list.

Short Synopsis:
Elfreda (Elf) is desperate to prove herself a competent archaeologist by discovering next big dig. But her father who has been in the field for decades doesn't see her worth or her talent because she is a woman in a male dominated field. When Elf discovers an amulet that could change the face of archaeology and the history of their local town, she is desperate to bring it to the attention of the guild of archaeologists. However, she runs into one big obstacle. Georgie. Her childhood rival who's back in town against their will knocks the amulet out of Elf's hand and into a pond. In order to make it up to Elf, Georgie says that they will help her find a Viking hoard, and they start off on an adventure to find a buried treasure.

General Thoughts:
I desperately wanted to love this novel. Unfortunately, it was not at all what I expected it to be. Based on the synopsis, I was looking for a high adventure treasure hunting novel. Unfortunately, that just never materialized within the text. The story was much more heavy on Elf and Georgie getting to know each other and falling in love versus actual treasure hunting. I ended up spending the majority of the book waiting for something adventurous to happen.

That's not to say there wasn't things to love in this novel. The representation was so well done. Georgie and Elf have quite a few very interesting and historically relevant conversations concerning pronouns, being queer and being non-binary before non-binary was actually a recognized representation. I thought those conversations were very eye-opening and relevant to the time in which this story was written.

I did like the characters overall. Georgie and Elf were very interesting characters that absolutely captured my attention. I was felt very endeared toward the characters and their journeys overall. I loved how Georgie was unapologetically themselves, explaining that they sometimes feel female, sometimes male, sometimes neither. And I loved that the representation within the book show Georgie dressing and acting in a way that backed up those conversations.

Overall, I would have to say that this is a historical romance that had great queer representation. However, unfortunately, fell flat when it came to execution of the promised synopsis and failed to hold my attention throughout the book.

Disclaimer: I read this book as a e-book with a partnered audiobook as a free ARC/ALC from NetGalley, Berkley and the Penguin Random House audiobook influencer club. All opinions are my own. This is my honest involuntary review.

Thanks so much to netgalley and publishers for this ARC!

What a precious little love story. I love a good rivals to lovers, and this was a delight. The perfect little historical read for pride month as well! This was so much fun to read.

This was the perfect read right at the start of pride month, Elfreda and Georgie were the sweetest couple, and I love their love! Enemies to lovers is one of my favorite tropes, I always think it’s so much fun to watch the characters relationships evolve!

This is a lovely book with delightful and interesting characters, treasure hunting, finding one's place in the world, all with a lovely atmosphere and the beautiful English countryside. Think Sapphic, archaeological romance, with the vibes of The Dig (a most excellent film that I highly recommend).

I really enjoy Joanna Lowell's books, so I was very glad to be able to read this eARC.

The setting of the novel takes place in the bucolic, English countryside, and feels so lovely and airy and full of sunshine. Despite the challenges and difficult things both Elf and Georgie must deal with, there was also a joy and lightness between them.

It was truly lovely seeing Elf come into her own. She epitomises so many aspects of the competent, yet overlooked and under appreciated eldest daughter. Her desire to keep her family afloat, while also desperately seeking the recognition she deserves as a dedicated and aspiring archaeologist. I loved seeing her realise certain aspects of this desire, but also seeing the work of other women in her family who had also been working on this path.

Georgie was also a complex and interesting character. I liked that they tried to include and assist those around them. While Georgie had some elements of immaturity, I think that a lot of it was also misplaced direction and energy. Once Georgie found their stride, or purpose, so to speak, they really showed bravery and tenacity.

I also really enjoyed the side characters and smaller plotlines. As I'm writing this, the thought also popped into my head that there is a slight "Midsummer Night's Dream with a dash of comedy and good will" feeling to this novel. I really enjoyed it, and I hope you will give it a try.

Thank you Berkley Publishing and Joanna Lowell for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

A thoroughly engrossing and delightful romance -- this time centered around a young archaeologist named Elfreda and her insufferable neighbor, Georgie. Elf longs to be taken seriously as an archaeologist by her father, and by his archaeological society, so she searches her family's property for signs proving that the Great Heathen Army overwintered there. Unfortunately, the amulet that she finds is summarily lost when she's accidentally knocked into a pond by her overenthusiastic neighbor, Georgie, only recently back home from London. The two have a bit of a history as their families don't get along, and Georgie's dramatic personality overpowers Elf's more reserved demeanor -- but they wind up spending more time together in search of more ancient artifacts, and their relationship blooms into something more. Fans of the author's earlier work, A Shore Thing, will find much to love in this queer historical romance.

A Rare Find is an absolutely lovely queer historical romance. With lots of slow burn, antagonists-to-lovers goodness, Joanna Lowell writes a wonderful Regency romance that’s perfect picnic-in-the-countryside reading.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Elfreda Marsden and Georgie Redmayne grew up as country neighbors, with outgoing Georgie sometimes terrorizing shy, quiet Elfreda, before they left for the excitement of life in London. Now Elfreda is convinced that her family’s land once harbored a Viking army. She is shocked when she spots her childhood tormentor Georgie striding around the countryside in britches, and then she loses a valuable piece of archeological evidence. For their part, Georgie is just as taken with Elfelda as they were years before, but still has a tough time voicing their feelings, especially now that their brother has banished them from London. After a few machinations, the two strike a deal: Georgie will help Elfreda find the missing Viking treasure in return for a share of the loot. But while searching, it becomes harder for the seemingly mismatched pair to ignore their feelings towards each other.

While Elfreda and Georgie start the story at odds, it’s easy to see that their feelings for each other are quite different. I especially liked the way Elfreda comes to terms with her feelings for other women; as a sheltered woman of her time, it takes a while for her to find a way to address her attraction to Georgie. And Georgie seems like they’d be tons of fun to pal around with, even while they sometimes struggle with their own identity and their place in society.

The Regency countryside backdrop feels familiar to historical readers, but there is also tons of earlier history that plays a role in the plot. The archaeological gentlemen, along with Elfreda’s infuriating father, are men of their time, and their repeated dismissals of Elfreda’s knowledge and research are frustrating yet realistic.

If you are a fan of a slow burn historical romance, you’ll enjoy A Rare Find. Both Elfreda and Georgie are charming, likable characters who deal with the constraints of their era while searching for a chance at happiness. Joanna Lowell creates a story that’s engaging with sweet, softer moments too, and now I can’t wait to read more of her books.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advance copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Budding archaeologist Elfreda is convinced of two things: she can, as a woman, find her way into the male-dominated Society of Fellows, and there is evidence of a Viking army encampment on her family's lands. She even finds an artifact, but a literal run in with her nemesis causes her to drop the ancient tool into a pond, lost again to time. Reluctantly, Elf accepts the help of her neighbor and enemy, Georgie, who has bucked fashion to wear pants, sports a cute gender-free haircut, and adopted they/them pronouns, and they fall for one another as they enlist the help of friends and staff to solve the mystery of the location of the ruins.

Lowell gives voice and weight to queer experience in historical context with meticulously researched content, detailed author's notes, and full disclosure about what's real and what's speculative. The stories are so good and so believable, she makes it perfectly conceivable that women rejected their traditional society roles (and all the trappings) to live non-binary lives on their own terms--at their own peril. The plot is full of adventure, intrigue and drama, the writing has a satisfying amount of flowery flourish, and the characterizations are witty, sharp and bold, if not nuanced. The longing is sweet and the intimate scenes hot.

That said, it had a little too much mystery and puzzling for me; I tend to prefer romance with more introspection and baggage than gallivanting all over the countryside and trying to solve riddles. There were a lot of characters to track, and plot lines to tie up, and I did find myself slogging through and skimming for the good parts in the same way I did A Shore Thing. Queer regency is an important genre, and this is a great readalike for Bridgerton fans who want a bit more diversity in pairings and gender expression.

I received a free advance readers review copy of #ARareFind via #NetGalley courtesy of #Berkley in exchange for a fair and honest review; a review will post to HLBB on 6/10/2025

A captivating, 1-sitting-read! Lowell's characters are fun & engrossing, and you root for them the entire time. I also loved the historical setting -- the way the author talked about early 19th century historians/archaeologists made me cheer for the accuracy and the love clearly put into researching it. Highly, highly recommend! I will be suggesting to my patrons.

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.