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| image courtesy of publisher |
This is the second book by India Holton that I've read, and I must say that I enjoyed this one even more than the first one of hers I read. In this book the two main characters are lifelong friends who must pretend to loath one another in order for the FMC, Dr. Amelia Tarrant, to keep her job as an antiquarian and history professor for Oxford University. The story is set in the Victorian period in England, but the author does a very good job of portraying the challenges Amelia faces working in a male dominated field in a way that modern women could easily relate to.
The MMC, Dr. Caleb Sterling, at first seems to be your atypical hero, handsome, charming, willing to take the blame for infractions Amelia is accused of to help her maintain her position. However, he does have a somewhat sad and tragic backstory and after they are sent to the distant countryside to catalogue antiques at a remote country estate, his weaknesses become readily apparent. Caleb cannot stand the countryside. Walking through fields in his designer shoes and being out in the weather are not his idea of a good time. In fact, it becomes obvious pretty quickly that Amelia, who grew up in a moderately privileged family, is much hardier than Caleb. I thought this gave him dimension as the hero of the novel and made him a perfect foil for Amelia that helped to showcase her tenacity and courage.
The romance between them is sweet and definitely a slow-burn one. But I did find their insistence that they were just friends and neither could believe the other felt anything more a tad repetitive. I did like that fact that Amelia takes the initiative throughout in making the first move to deepen their friendship into something more. It's always refreshing when the FMC does this, for me at least. The idea that antiques can be imbued with magical energy that can make them dangerous was a fun fantasy element to explore. It had some humorous repercussions throughout. But again, this drug on for a bit longer than I think it needed to. Those were the only things about this book that kept it from being a full five stars for me. The sweet way the two main characters blunder into a romantic relationship, the way they each try to protect and defend the other and the way they care for each other even as friends, was well developed and fun to read overall.
If you like quirky magical adventures with tender slow-burn romance and lovable main characters set in Victorian England, then I recommend The Antiquarian's Object of Desire by India Holton. It will be available wherever books are sold tomorrow April 21st. But you can click on the title link to purchase it from bookshop.org. Thanks to NetGalley and Berkley Romance for allowing me to read an eARC of this novel in exchange for this honest review.
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