India Holton’s Ornithologist’s Field Guide to Love, Review

The Ornithologist’s Field Guide to Love is the first wonderfully romantic and hilarious historical fantasy adventure in India Holton’s new Love’s Academic series. Read my full review.

My Review

I am not typically a fan of swoony reviews for romance fiction; oftentimes I feel people fail to distinguish between their love of the romance contained within the story and that story’s construction and delivery. But in the case of India Holton’s The Ornithologist’s Field Guide to Love, I struggled to find fault in either respect, so this review will read uncommonly gushy for me. And, since much of the delight stems from the myriad surprises that bloom along the journey, you’ll have to forgive vagaries in my explanation.

The enthralling story world is effectively the historical 1890s British-European high society we are accustomed to, at times stretched to farce, and then overlayed with, quite literally, magical touches of whimsy such as particular mechanical inventions and bird species. Professor Beth Pickering is wonderfully headstrong and capable in the academic context, but in every other aspect of life and society she is a fish-out-of-water clinging to the rules of etiquette like a life raft. Yes, I’m mixing metaphors… but if you noticed that fact, then I assure you, you will love India Holton’s writing.

It must be guilt, she decided, in defiance of an intellect that had always placed her so far at the top of her classes they had to keep inventing new ceilings for her. She owed the man an apology. He might have stolen her bird (and her parasol) (and at least some of her good sense), but that presented no case for violence.

And, the rogueishly handsome ornithologist Professor Devon Lockley — he’s a veritable onion. Layers, etc.

He met her fierce gaze, and the air between them grew so charged, Nikola Tesla could have invented three things just by looking at it.

Superb writing

One of the first things that struck me about The Ornithologist’s Field Guide to Love was just how much meaning (often double) is woven into every sentence. That fact, alongside India Holton’s swift story pacing and tangential character dialogue, initially felt akin to sensory overload. Quickly though, I began to relish being kept on my ‘reading toes’ by her unabashedly nerdy sense of humour, clever wordplay and supreme talent for old-fashioned absurdist visual comedy. Of the countless memorable scenes in this novel, there is one in a lift that completely undid me!

While this brand of humour may not be everyone’s cup of tea, the wordplay and feisty female characters in this novel will resonate strongly with most female book lovers.

A drainpipe only two feet away from the window provided a convenient escape route, but its aged state warned of a possible shift of genre from adventure to tragedy.

I also greatly admired India Holton’s nuanced blend of Victorian-era rigidity and contemporary expectations with respect to diversity, conservation and consent. Yes, things do get steamy.

For me, The Ornithologist’s Field Guide to Love is a memorably perfect combination of all that I could ever want in my leisure reading — an hilarious madcap adventure and captivatingly sweet and spicy smart romance starring hugely endearing characters delivered in assured pitch-perfect prose.

I now cannot wait to read the next title in this new Love’s Academic Series from India Holton, with The Geographer’s Map to Romance scheduled for release in April 2025.

More novels by India Holton:

More entertaining historical romance:

Click on book covers for full reviews of each novel.