I always love a good historical romance novel especially when it’s part of a new series! I was super excited to read this one and knowing it was by an established author made me even more excited to read it. But I have to admit—I have been having a really hard time getting into Everett’s other series The Secret Scientists of London. By all accounts, the Secret Scientists of London should be a series that is 100% up my alley but I have tried reading the books and they just haven’t held my interest.
Now I know I am in the minority with readers of that series. But just because I couldn’t get into that series doesn’t mean that I was fully ready to write her off as an author. When this book came up for review, I was like ok here we go a fresh slate something new and different to try. This book is similar to the Secret Scientist series as it too has a STEM and science-y feel to it which has been a hot trend lately and I think that Victorian London really worked well as the setting for this book.
If you love historical romances, especially books with a STEM/science feel, then I think this book will be an exciting start to a new series. I think there are a few little things to figure out but overall I enjoyed this one more than I liked the other Secret Scientist books. Reading new series is one of the reasons I LOVE book blogging because I don’t know if I would have picked this one right right away had it not been floating around the blogosphere!
Summary
When a Victorian apothecary hires a stoic private investigator to protect her business, they learn there’s only one way to treat true love—with a happily ever after.
When Lucinda Peterson’s recently perfected formula for a salve to treat croup goes missing, she’s certain it’s only the latest in a line of misfortunes at the hands of a rival apothecary. Outraged and fearing financial ruin, Lucy turns to private investigator Jonathan Thorne for help. She just didn’t expect her champion to be so . . . grumpy?
A single father and an agent at Tierney & Co., Thorne accepts missions for a wide variety of employers—from the British government to wronged wives. None have intrigued him so much as the spirited Miss Peterson. As the two work side by side to unmask her scientific saboteur, Lucy slips ever so sweetly under Thorne’s battered armor, tempting him to abandon old promises.
With no shortage of suspects—from a hostile political group to an erstwhile suitor—Thorne’s investigation becomes a threat to all that Lucy holds dear. As the truth unravels around them the cure to their problems is they must face the future together. (summary from Goodreads)
Review
I really liked how this book just jumped right into the ‘meet cute’ between the two main characters. I loved Lucy and thought she had a lot of spunky and pluck which I love in female leads. I also liked Thorne’s characters. I thought he was sexy and yet has this grumpiness about him that makes him even more charming, I will say though I read him as older than he was which at times felt……weird. But here’s the bigger thing—-I didn’t love them together. Don’t get me wrong I thought there was certainly chemistry between them and I loved the hotness of the sex scenes however I felt like in the end he didn’t do enough to deserve her. I don’t want to give any spoilers here but for me I think he needed to work a little harder to get back on her good graces. Plus because I read him as older than he was some of the scenes were a little weird but if I didn’t think about that too much then it was fine.
I was also expecting this book to be a bit more lighthearted. It did have some pretty heavy content that I was NOT expecting. Again no spoilers but I was surprised that there was some heavier stuff in a book that I was expecting to be a little more on the fluffy side. That’s not to say I didn’t like it, I just found it surprising. Overall I felt like this one was OK. It has some issue that I think need to be ironed out and I hope the series doesn’t continue be similar to this but I didn’t hate it and I felt invested enough in the book and characters to add the next book to my TBR list.
When I read the Bridgerton books, the first book The Duke and I, was just OK for me too but the second book I LOVED and it cemented the series for me. If I stopped reading every series just because I felt like the first book was just ok then I would have missed out on some great book series. I think there is a lot of room for this series to grow and develop. If you have enjoyed Everett’s other book series then I think you will enjoy this book. It’s a solid start to a new spinoff series and I liked how it started but if you are looking for something light and fluffy this might not be the book for you. I am looking forward to reading more from this series though.
Format 352 pages, Paperback
Published March 19, 2024 by Berkley
ISBN 9780593550465 (ISBN10: 0593550463)
Free review copy provided by Berkley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own and in no way influenced.
Rating: 3 stars
Genre: historical romance
The Lit Bitch 