Reviews - The Geographer's Map to Romance

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1.07k reviews for:

The Geographer's Map to Romance

India Holton

4.11 AVERAGE

rachel_marie_a's review against another edition

2.5

funny hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

meggieisbooked's review against another edition

4.75

adventurous emotional funny hopeful mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

I firmly believe that everyone needs to read an India Holton book at least once in their lifetime. She's absolutely brilliant at weaving silliness, innuendo, romance, and heart into her stories so seamlessly that other books pale in comparison. Her books ✨️twinkle✨️

After reading the Ornithologist's Field Guide to Love, my expectations were sky high for the Geographer's Map to Romance, and I was not disappointed. The relationship between Elodie and Gabriel is so beautifully mismatched, their personalities are polar opposites, but they just.....work together ❤️

I see a lot of myself in Elodie: forgetful, easily distracted, and cheery. But underneath, there is a lot of insecurities. Not thinking her own husband likes her, worrying about being taken seriously as a professor, and just being liked. She's a great heroine and I love her growth in the story 🥰

Now Gabriel is a tougher nut to crack. He's so tightly wound up, doesn't show emotion, express himself, or consider other people's perception of himself. I wish we had gotten to explore his background more deeply, like we got to see with Devon in TOFGTL, but I did like Gabriel's growth nonetheless ☺️

This book had more plot than romance (at least to me), the stakes felt a lot higher and the action sequences had more dire consequences if they failed. It was an interesting shift from the first book, where they're just running around the country chasing birds, but I liked the more intentional plot ☺️

Overall, this was a fantastic read. I've had so much fun reading this series with my book club, I will definitely be recommending it to anyone who will listen 🤣

surupamc's review against another edition

3.0

adventurous funny lighthearted mysterious medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

I have loved all of India Holton’s books, but this one didn’t captivate me like the others have. Maybe it was a little too academic. Maybe it was because I’ve done audio books for the others and this was a physical read. I liked Eloide and Gabriel though. I like that they are married and still discover their romance. Still a big fan of her stories.

asha_m's review against another edition

4.0

adventurous funny lighthearted medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

wanda_clayr's review against another edition

4.0

I'm unsure what held me back from starting this novel, but when I finally picked it up, I was delighted. It is a second chance romance. Elodie Tarrant married for convenience a year ago to the insufferably arrogant Gabriel Tarrant. He wanted the better accommodations afforded a married man and Ellie wanted more respect from the male members of the geography faculty. When the desired house was rented out before they got there, a miscommunication of course occurs, leading to the couple avoiding one another for a year. Until a geographical emergency necessitates that the Professors Tarrant use team work to prevent catastrophe.

Holton has a light, humerous writing style which I enjoy. She gives us the viewpoints of both Elodie and Gabriel so we know what's happening inside both of them (lots!). They are polar opposites—logical and intuitive, stoic and demonstrative, a planner and an impulsive person.

In the first book of this series, Holton created fun and imaginative bird species for the ornithologists to pursue. In this one, she conjures magical landscapes that both amaze and threaten. I especially liked the quirksand, which can only be escaped through waltzing.

At the end of the book is an excerpt from book three, The Antiquarian's Object of Desire, which I will await with pleasure. Historians seem to be its focus and, as Holton observes, ”No one is more dangerous than people who have little interest in the future.”