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4.11 AVERAGE
4.11 AVERAGE
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
adventurous
challenging
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Oh my gosh another slam dunk! India Holton really knocked it out of the park with this one! Idk why I'm using sports metaphors but here we are! Dare I say, The Geographer's Map to Romance was even better than The Ornithologist's Field Guide to Love?! If not better, than definitely equal!
Elodie and Gabriel are so swoon worthy. The perfect example of opposites attract. Elodie is like a whimsical fairy flitting to and fro, while Gabriel is so stoic with a soft, romantic interior. Watching the shenanigans these two get into as they fight their instincts (thinking the other's feelings are not reciprocatory) was hilarious, while also being frustrating. Talk about a slow burn!
Once again, India Holton is a master at a true romantic comedy. This series has all the romance and all the laughs. I was kicking my feet and squealing when I wasn't busting up laughing! Seriously, if you haven't read these books, GO READ THEM! Meanwhile, I'll be mournfully watching birds and rocks, wishing the magic of this world was real, waiting for the next installment to the series.
Elodie and Gabriel are so swoon worthy. The perfect example of opposites attract. Elodie is like a whimsical fairy flitting to and fro, while Gabriel is so stoic with a soft, romantic interior. Watching the shenanigans these two get into as they fight their instincts (thinking the other's feelings are not reciprocatory) was hilarious, while also being frustrating. Talk about a slow burn!
Once again, India Holton is a master at a true romantic comedy. This series has all the romance and all the laughs. I was kicking my feet and squealing when I wasn't busting up laughing! Seriously, if you haven't read these books, GO READ THEM! Meanwhile, I'll be mournfully watching birds and rocks, wishing the magic of this world was real, waiting for the next installment to the series.
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-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:
Complicated
Pretty fun romance, significantly better than the first one in the series. Would make an excellent movie.
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Fun story, cute magic system. A lot of romantic build up for not a ton of payoff. Also if these characters just had even one single conversation this book wouldn’t have been half as long as it is…
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
fast-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
adventurous
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Buzzword Cover Challenge 25: Monochrome
CBR17 Bingo: Green (A book with a green cover)
Official plot summary, because I finished the book in early April, and perimenopause is doing my powers of recall no favours:
Professor Elodie Tarrant is an expert in magic disasters. Nothing fazes her—except her own personal disaster, that 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.
True story. Geography was probably my third least favourite subject in high school (after PE - always my most loathed subject, and math, which became increasingly harder in high school until I had the option to drop it). So it's interesting, that while India Holton chose to make the first book in this series about birds (which I have a massive phobia about), and the second one about geography (although if we'd gotten to study the sort of magical geography this book involves, I probably would have liked the subject a lot more in school), I was still so delighted while reading it. The third book in the series is a Gothic romantic fantasy involving historians - now you're speaking my language, Ms. Holton!
India Holton writes unusual and funny fantasy stories set in alternate timelines, featuring at least one neurodivergent protagonist. On social media, she describes The Geographer's Map to Romance as "Anne of Green Gables meets Twister in a light academia fantasy romcom perfect for those who love storms, bespectacled science professors, and shouting 'just kiss already!' while reading."
Elodie is very intelligent, extremely absent-minded and tries to see the world in a positive light. Gabriel is very intelligent, constantly grumpy and pines for his wife as if it were an Olympic event. Anyone who feels that a lot of romance nowadays doesn't have enough mutual pining and sincere yearning should check out this book.
Gabriel Tarrant was introduced in book 1 of the series, but these books work perfectly well as stand-alones. Towards the end of this book, we meet Amelia Tarrant, his historian sister, who will be the heroine of The Antiquarian's Object of Desire (already one of my most anticipated books of 2026).
These books can accurately be described as romps, so if you want deeply serious fantasy, they may not be for you. But if you'd like a light-hearted read with creative twists and turns, an amusing supporting cast, a destructive goat and protagonists who are both frightfully competent at their jobs, and dreadful when it comes to dealing with their own romantic entanglements, this might be a good fit.
Judging a book by its cover: Ms. Holton has been blessed by the gods of beautiful cover design, because the covers for this series just keep getting better and better (she just this week did a cover reveal for book 3, and it's gorgeous). The green and the gold work so well together. I don't own these books in physical copies (yet), but I will, as soon as my finances allow it.