Name: The Ornithologist's Field Guide to Love (Love's Academic series #1)
Author: India Holton
Publisher: Penguin
Date published: July 2024
Genre: Fiction, adult, fantasy, romance, historical, comedy, cosy, mystery
Pages: 361
Rating: 5/5
Rival ornithologists hunt through England for a rare magical bird in this historical-fantasy rom-com reminiscent of Indiana Jones but with manners, tea, and helicopter parasols.
Beth Pickering is on the verge of finally capturing the rare deathwhistler bird when Professor Devon Lockley swoops in, capturing both her bird and her imagination like a villain. Albeit a handsome and charming villain, but that's beside the point. As someone highly educated in the ruthless discipline of ornithology, Beth knows trouble when she sees it, and she is determined to keep her distance from Devon.
For his part, Devon has never been more smitten than when he first set eyes on Professor Beth Pickering. She's so pretty, so polite, so capable of bringing down a fiery, deadly bird using only her wits. In other words, an angel. Devon understands he must not get close to her, however, since they're professional rivals.
When a competition to become Birder of the Year by capturing an endangered caladrius bird is announced, Beth and Devon are forced to team up to have any chance of winning. Now keeping their distance becomes a question of one bed or two. But they must take the risk, because fowl play is afoot, and they can't trust anyone else - for all may be fair in love and war, but this is ornithology.
- From Goodreads.
The two main characters in this book had wonderful chemistry and the attraction between them felt very real, you could really get lost in the moment with them. I loved that they obviously really liked each other from the moment they met but their connection became deeper over the course of the book and they came to admit it to themselves and to each other by the end. It was very sweet and endearing. It made both of the characters even more loveable.
Both characters had different personalities but they fit so well together and both were sympathetic and understandable and I enjoyed reading from both their perspectives.
It was very cleverly written, with meta jokes about romantic comedies and about the time period it was set in, and I liked the general silliness and goofiness of the tone of the story, but it was also balanced well with more sincere and touching romantic moments.
The world was very interesting with all the different magical birds which I thought were so fascinating and creative. I would have loved to learn more so hopefully in future books we will see the world expanded.
I would definitely recommend reading this if you enjoyed Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries, they both have the brilliant sense of humour and academia in a whimsical fantasy setting along with a perfect romance. I would also recommend if you enjoyed Half a Soul by Olivia Atwater as this was also a great historical romance with excellent humour where the characters had to deal with the rules of society.
