Ilsa once worked for the Whitacre family but was dismissed when the son, Theo, and she became too friendly.
She was left with no references and no money. She finds work and is doing well when Dr. Theo Whitacre comes to town. The two of them (Ilsa and Theo) work together to find what is making the residents in the town become sick.

I enjoyed reading this book, it contained some sexual situations.

3.5 Stars - The Infamous Miss Ilsa is a second chance love story between Theo, a doctor from a wealthy family, and Ilsa, a former maid to Theo's family. If you enjoy romances with a beta hero, then this may be just the thing for you. Having grown up with a handicap and an overbearing mother, Theo is rather timid and quiet-spoken. Ilsa, on the other hand, is very outspoken and gregarious. Still, I think the author did a nice job of showing what made these two click together. The growth of Theo's character from beginning to end was lovely. Personally, I thought the story took too long to really pick up steam. Theo and Ilsa didn't really start interacting a lot until 25% of the way through the story. Overall the storyline is cute, but I didn't feel a strong emotional attachment to this couple.

"The Infamous Miss Ilsa" was a fun book to read, loved it! I loved the early 20th century time period, not many historical romances are set in this period, which makes it all the more fun to read. There is a new doctor in town, trouble is Ilsa knows him, she used to be in service to his family and was tossed out on her ear because she had the audacity to kiss Theo.
Theo is partially crippled from a childhood illness, but has forced himself to walk on his own with a limp. He completed medical school and is interested in the newer field of germs and bacteria. Trouble is, his employer - an old timey doctor - believes in medicine waters and not much of anything that involves real medicine. He is shocked when he realizes that the girl he loved at 16 is now living in the same town he is.
Theo and Ilsa are very uncertain of each other. He feels guilty that his mother threw her out and she is still holding a grudge because he didn't speak up to defend her - it was only a kiss between 16 year olds. Theo is awkward while Ilsa sparkles.
But they are drawn to each other. They genuinely like each other and want to spend time together. Misunderstandings come their way and they are both hurt when the other can't meet their expectations.
There is a lot of passion between these two and some pretty steamy scenes! Theo is a very sympathetic character, I felt really sorry for him that his mother tried to control his life and didn't really seem to care about his actual happiness. Ilsa was the stronger character and had the upper hand on Theo many times, but never made him feel like less of a man because of his awkward knee and gait.
I really, really liked this book. I would love to read more about the people in this town and more by this author.

I loved the previous book in this series, and this is an excellent follow-up. Both leads are delightful. Ilsa is a great, strong heroine who refuses to compromise her goals and sense of self for the hero, and Theo is sweet and grows an excellent backbone through the course of the story. It was great seeing the previous book's couple still happy and successful, but knowledge of the previous book is not necessary to enjoy this one. And like I said of the previous book, it's always great seeing excellent historical romances about characters that aren't nobility/gentry, even if Theo does almost fit that here.