Thank you for the free book, Berkley Romance!

Gabriel and Elodie are professors who have married one another as part of a marriage of convenience, but due to several misunderstandings they each believe the other is uninterested in romance. When there is magic in the Welsh countryside, both of them are assigned to the case. This leads to many magical adventures and mishaps and perhaps a rekindling of their romance.

This was my first book from this author, and also my first historical fantasy romance. I’m not sure it’s a genre that I’d typically pick up, but I thought I’d give it a try! I found it quirky and endearing, and certainly unique. Readers who enjoy historical romance and magical elements will probably love this book. The writing style is a bit wordy for my personal taste but fits the style of the book well. I would be interested in reading more from this author because she is clearly very talented and creative!

India Hilton has done it again. Her books are like a warm hug. I adored the whimsy, wit, and pining in Ellie and Gabriel’s adventure!

4.5 Stars

Professor Elodie Tarrant and Professor Gabriel Tarrant both work in the field of Geography at Oxford University, in magic disasters. And it just so happens they are both caught up in their own relationship disaster, a marriage of convenience. They have found a way to avoid one another throughout their failed first year of marriage, but they are secretly pining for one another. An emergency assignment to stop an eruption of magic in a small Welsh town forces Elodie and Gabriel to team up and avoid a magical disaster. But once they’re together, magic isn’t the only thing they have to worry about erupting, because their feelings for one another are ready to explode!

The Geographer’s Map to Romance is the second book in the Love’s Academic series. I read The Ornithologist’s Field Guide to Love before reading this one, and really enjoyed it, too. There are a couple of short references to one of the characters in Field Guide to Love, but Map to Romance could definitely be read as a stand alone. But I highly recommend reading both, because they are such fun books.

There were so many tropes in The Geographer’s Map to Romance that I really loved. Elodie is an absent-minded, extrovert FMC, and Gabriel describes her as a tornado, which definitely fits with her personality. Gabriel is the complete opposite of Elodie, with a quiet, meticulous, and introverted demeanor. At one point he is described as curmudgeonly!! So there are definitely some great grumpy/sunshine vibes happening in their marriage of convenience relationship.

I felt like there was more of a focus on the relationship part of the story in this book, compared to Field Guide to Love. FGTL had a lot of extra things happening alongside the relationship with the main characters, and I felt like MTR is more about Elodie and Gabriel’s feelings for one another, paired with their assignment to assess and stop a magical explosion. I really liked the fact that Elodie and Gabriel’s romance already had an established beginning and backstory, at the beginning of the book.

The Geographer’s Map to romance delivers an adorably, swoon-worthy romance, with opposites attract, unpredictable magic, one bed at the inn, and surprisingly, a magically imbued goat (at one point)! If you’re looking for romance, humor, and adventure, then I would highly recommend The Geographer’s Map to Romance.

a whimsical and charming tale of a geographer married couple who are too dumb for people with doctorates in the matters of love, travelling together to solve a crisis and just being exploded both metaphorically and literally once every 3 chapters.

so excited for the next one🩷 india holton presents the most interesting ideas and tropes in most humorously romantic way possible!

"if you have to change yourself to get something, then it's not the right thing for you. never apologize for who you are."

what to expect:
✧₊⁺ idiots to lovers, someone please help these idiots
✧₊⁺ failed marriage of convenience?! or so it seems 👀
✧₊⁺ forced proximity on an emergency mission
✧₊⁺ rule-following grumpy mmc x chaotic sunshine fmc

I will preface this review and say, could this book have been a few chapters long if the two main characters had a solid conversation with each other? Absolutely, yes. But was this done in such a quirky fun way that I didn't even care? ALSO, YES!

India Holton has done it again with bringing another great quirky cozy historical romantasy. I had a blast with Gabriel and Elodie. Did I miss Beth and Devon a little bit? (yes, yes I did) but I very much enjoyed this failed marriage of convenience dynamic we had going on with this second book. And who doesn't love it when the mmc says "MY WIFE"?! And Elodie is such a cute chaotic character, paired with literally the grumpiest rule abiding man ever who doesn't mind all the chaos when it comes to her.

I must also mention that I really love the inclusion of neurodivergent representation in this series. I think this book showcased well that being on the spectrum can look different for everyone, and there isn't certain boxes one needs to tick off to be neurodivergent. And also just the perspective of how one on the spectrum might have had to experience life during a time period where this wasn't well researched or talked about yet. It hurt my heart to see Gabriel force himself to be comfortable with things he was not, or tried his best to never seem bothered by anything.

Overall, this was a cute cozy read that I enjoyed. And also a slight side note, the way I screamed that we got a sneak peek for the third book at the end of this arc?! I don't want to spoil, but I am SO EXCITED for this dynamic!!!

thank you netgalley and berkley for this early copy ♥

thank you to netgalley for providing me with this arc!

Overall, this was a very enjoyable sequel but not sequel to the first book in the series. I always find book two in a series to be good but not as good as book one, don't get me wrong I had a wonderful time reading the book but book one just blew me away. I loved the whole marriage plot and how they both genuinely thought they hated each other. I did find it hard at times to follow the geography plot lines that were happening, in book one the plot felt very clear and easy to follow, this time around it felt more muddled. The sequence of the two main characters in the rain and the following scenes did have me smiling while reading because I will always love an enemies in the rain trope! I will be continuing reading the series as it goes on!

This was a warm cup of tea in book form — it’s a cozy, wholesome, and utterly precious historical light academia fantasy romance, replete with the quirkiest magic system, the angstiest dual POV yearning, and the ‘forced proximity’ cherry on top between two rival professors who marriage-of-convenienced themselves.

Truly this was a delight to read. transportive, immersive, and with all of the yearning you could squeeze into a standalone story, as both main characters firmly believe the other hates them. The reality? THEY’RE TERRIBLY, IRREVOCABLY, WHOLLY IN LOVE, but in that secret, seemingly-unrequited way that is quite literally my trope kryptonite.

The concept here is that after a single day of wedded bliss, a miscommunication leads them straight into years of estrangement and growing hostility, until they’re forced to pair up to save a little corner of Wales (and London, by fey line proximity), putting themselves in each others’ company for juuuuuust enough time to fall deeper in love.

This was literally adorable, and great if you’re in the mood for something with top tier banter, eccentric magic, and a heap of angst. While it’s written beautifully, in that sort of atmospheric, of-the-era (1880s England!) kind of way, it’s a bit dense and wordy (which I know is a wild thing to say about a book — of course it’s wordy!), but prepare to have to mentally lock in for all of the pseudo-scientific terminology and overlong back-and-forth exchanges. This isn’t one that’s easy to parse while on autopilot — but it’s so cute, so heartwarming, and the perfect read for when you want to fully escape reality into something low key and magical.

3.5 stars! I didn’t quite enjoy this one as much as the first (some of the magical science went a bit over my head and I wasn’t as interested in the disaster storyline), I did still really like the romance between Elodie and Gabriel! They were a bit frustrating at times with their constant miscommunication, but the last few chapters were really sweet.

Oh. My. God. What did I just read? This is amazing, it is the first book I have read by India Holton, and I am smitten with her, I am in love and I must go read everything she has written.

This book is Pride & Prejudice meets cozy fantasy, with a generous helping of sass. It is charming. It is delightful. It is whimsy incarnate. It is full of smart banter and I laughed, endlessly. Can you tell I liked it? Maybe I should be more effusive.

This book turns the enemies-to-lovers trope on it’s head, as our main characters are already married – and it was a disaster. They haven’t spoken since shortly after their marriage, yet neither can stop thinking about one another. But then! There is disaster! Magical disaster! And who do you call but the emergency geographers! A delightful mixup means both Professors Tarrant are called to a small Welsh village, and must save all of England from catastrophe. And also, maybe their marriage. Look, if you liked silent, restrained, deeply passionate Mr. Darcy then you are going to LOVE Gabriel Tarrant. And the sexiest part of this book? HE RESPECTS ELODIE. He admires her intellect, he trusts in her judgement, he considers her an equal. SWOON.

The very first line had me laughing immediately. “A geographer behaves with quiet dignity at all times.” (Look, I was a geography graduate student. I’ve seen how geographers party.) But the academic snark was on point and it was like reading an inside joke. “The fellow was either an incoherent lunatic or a humanities student. (Gabriel did not always find it easy to spot the difference.)” Many apologies to the humanities students reading this, but inter-departmental snark is a thing to be cherished.

I need to stop gushing, but I adored this. If you like Jane Austen but wish she’d been a bit more whimsical, this is for you.

My heartfelt thanks to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing for the chance to read this ARC in exchange for my review.

“The Geographers Map to Romance” is my first book by India Holton, but it will not be my last! Her first book in this series “The Ornithologists Field Guide to Love” was widely popular at my library so I thought I’d give the second book a chance as they can be read as standalones. I was not disappointed.

I like the writing style but sometimes felt the prose was too flowery. The purpose of a passage often got lost and I found myself having to re-read sections. Overall the writing and story was perfect to mix with this historical fantasy romance.

Rated 4 stars. Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the ARC ebook.

The Geographer’s Map to Romance was—as expected—a complete and total delight! Like The Ornithologist’s Field Guide to Love, this book was charming, hilarious, and incredibly sweet. India Holton combines humor, wit, and magic in perfect amounts.

Eloise is headstrong, smart (we love a woman in STEM), and pairs perfectly with Gabriel, her grumpy (but secretly tender hearted) marriage-of-convenience husband. I loved seeing them fall for each other all over again. This book is the cheery light academia novel of my dreams!

Thank you to Berkley Romance and Netgalley for the ARC!

Thanks for the ARC! I will be recommending this series to my library patrons looking for cozy historical romcoms. The magical academia setting and humor will be big selling points.

I made a mental note to keep track of when this one was released so I could purchase it, and luckily for me I didn't have to wait. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this advance copy for my perusal!
This was a sweet romance full of fun characters and witty dialogue. I really liked all the characters, he setting, and the writing, which set the perfect tone. This was a delight from start to finish. I haven't read anything else by this author, but my experience reading the Geographer's map... did not suffer for having missed the first in the series, so I'd say it's a pretty good standalone. I will definitely follow this experience up by reading the first in the series, and, when the time comes, add this book (and any forthcoming sequels!) to our library collection.

India Holton’s books are always a pure delight, and The Geographer’s Map to Romance is no exception.

From the moment Gabriel appeared in book one, I was eagerly anticipating his love story, and this book delivers in every way. Holton’s signature wit and charm shine through, with two characters so perfectly suited to each other that readers will find themselves swooning as the pair of them slowly come to the same realization.

If you're looking for a book that proudly and beautifully showcases male yearning, this one is for you. The pining, the longing, the dreaming, the admiration, the wishing—it’s the stuff of romance legend. Only a writer of Holton’s caliber could make me enjoy the misinterpretation trope this much. Gabriel and Elodie are so deeply in love with each other yet completely oblivious to the other’s feelings, making for an endlessly entertaining comedic dynamic as we switch between their perspectives.

The adventure elements add a fun layer to the story, and I enjoyed exploring more of the magic system in this world. The quirky side characters provide plenty of comic relief without overshadowing the central romance, keeping the focus right where it belongs.

Refreshingly original yet true to her signature style, The Geographer’s Map to Romance is a fantastic addition to Holton’s catalog—a must-read for anyone who loves marriage of convenience, witty narration, magical comedy of errors, or all of the above.

On somewhat of a whim, Elodie agreed to marry Gabriel. He needed to be married to help him get into a good apartment, and she hoped being married would help her gain the esteem of her colleagues at Oxford (spoiler alert, it does not). Not to mention she’s had a hopeless crush on Gabriel for years as they came up together in the academic world studying to be geographers. When a few days after their marriage they went to the landlord to ask for their desired apartment, they were informed it was already let to someone else. Embarrassed, Elodie quickly told Gabriel, their bargain was fulfilled and he didn’t need to worry about their marriage anymore. Since then, they’ve been awkwardly dodging each other for a year. They’ve now both been called on a trip to Wales to investigate magical disturbances (a la Twister if it was set in the 19th century and they were chasing will-o'-the-wisps instead).

I don’t normally like a book where the main conflict could be resolved if the two main characters would just have one honest conversation. However, the silliness of the plot coupled with the fantasy world and humorous tone made me much more obliging. Holton’s books are full of wit and a joy to read. This is no exception. The pining is extensive. The grumpy-sunshine trope is in full effect. A very fun romp!

This series is so easy to read! It's everything you need for a scholarly, humorous brain break! Professors Elodie and Gabriel's romp through the slightly (re: A LOT) magical English countryside!!

Marriage of convenience is one of my favorite tropes and I loved this one! It made me laugh and was so easy to follow.

**Thank you to Berkley for the advanced reader copy. I received this book for free, but all thoughts are my own. – SLR 🖤

This sweet slow-burn romance was so unique! I wasn't necessarily expecting the magical element, but it added so much fun to the narrative. The main duo, Elodie and Gabriel, are polar opposites in the best way. Elodie is dreamy sunshine, whereas Gabriel is pragmatic and shuttered. Watching them balance each other throughout the story was a delight! There was great humor littered through the story, and an irreverent tone that made reading fun.
To be honest, the burn was a little too slow for my usual taste. It made perfect sense based on the excellent character development done by the author. I just found it frustrating as the story went on that the relationship wasn't progressing more.
Overall this was a great read that I'm happy to recommend to my book club!

India Holton does not disappoint. Lightly steampunkesque, jokes for academics, hijinks, and romance between two clueless geniuses in their field of magical geography. It is in the same world as the Ornithology book, but aside from a joke or two, they can be read completely independently of each other (though you really should read all her books).

Thank you Berkley, India Holton, and Netgalley for the chance to read and review The Geographer’s Map to Romance ahead of its publication, in exchange for an honest review!

This book was a delightful edition to the Love’s Academic series. The Ornithologist’s Field Guide to Love was my favorite read of 2024, so I had high expectations for this one. While I didn’t end up loving it quite as much, it was still a thoroughly enjoyable romp.

The first half is really where the story shined for me. Holton does a wonderful job of keeping the chemistry and yearning palpable between Elodie and Gabriel…despite the fact that they are literally already married. Second-chance romance and grumpy/sunshine are not usually my favorite tropes, but I enjoyed the way they worked in this story. There were a few scenes that really had me giggling and kicking my feet and I really rooted for the endearing and unique main characters. I also loved how Holton used geography metaphors to describe their feelings in a way that was funny and romantic.

Around the halfway mark, the tension that was built up plateaued and the external plot started to feel a bit tedious. The writing began to “tell” instead of “show” and the scenes between Elodie and Gabriel were less indulgent and more in their heads. I wanted the stakes to be higher since they are already married and for there to be more for them to overcome externally.

Still, I love the academic setting and the lightheartedness of these stories. I can’t wait for the next one!

It is a truth universally acknowledged that if a romance comps Twister/Twisters, I’m going to get my grabby hands on it. The fact that this one is also tapping into historical romance - my first love in the romance genre - made me incredibly excited to read it. As a (not at all magical) storm chaser, I particularly loved seeing weather reimagined through a fantastical lens of magic and ley lines and Oxford scholars.

Y’all, I have SO MANY highlights that I would be remiss if I didn’t yell about the absolutely gorgeous imagery India Holton has packed into this book! If this wasn’t an ARC I’d probably have 4-5 images in the carousel and even narrowing those down would be hard (I’ll be back to yell some more once the book is out for sure!). More than once I had to pause for a min to do my highlight and then just drink in the gorgeous words. This is of course a trademark of IH’s voice and style that runs throughout her books, as is the charmingly witty humor that had me laughing continuously.

The world is lush, the magic is unique and well-constructed, and the vibes are immaculate. I love how seamlessly this book intertwines the romance and the science that makes the completely wild and almost fae-like magic into something tangible and practical in the hands of Elodie (who is more than a little delightfully wild and chaotic herself!)

I love a good trope, and grump/sunshine is definitely one of my faves. I adored Gabriel and his gruff grumpiness and how well it plays off of Elodie’s energy and fierce optimism. I think one of the reasons it works so well is that even when Gabriel has his grumpiest moments, his love and affection for Elodie underpins those scenes so strongly that you can’t be mad about it. As a writer, I can tell you that this balance can be really hard to achieve, but IH does it so well that it appears effortless.

Many thanks to Berkley for the ARC!