• A Clean, Slow Burn, Smart, Regency Romance
4.5
The Earl's Lady Geologist Book Cover The Earl's Lady Geologist
Alissa Baxter
Historical Regency Romance
Vinspire Publishing
February 28, 2021
ebook, paperback
222

Cassandra Linfield is a lady fossil collector who declares she will never marry as no man will ever take her studies seriously. When circumstances force her to travel to Town for the Season, Cassy infiltrates the hallowed portals of the Geological Society from which she has been banned. She is horrified when she comes face to face with her nemesis, the infuriating Earl of Rothbury.

Lord Rothbury is a gentleman-geologist with a turbulent romantic past. After a youthful disappointment he vows never to fall in love again, and makes the decision, instead, to seek out a convenient wife when he returns to England from his geological travels abroad.

Brought together by their close family ties, Cassy and Rothbury collaborate on a geological paper and discover a powerful attraction. Marriage, however, is the one subject they cannot agree upon. But when Cassy's life is threatened, the two realize that love matters more than their objections.

“Your thoughts are mirrored in your expression, Mouse. Do you know that? They stream across your face in a most enlightening manner.” —Alissa Baxter, The Earl’s Lady Geologist

The Earl’s Lady Geologist by Alissa Baxter is a highly enjoyable love story that reads like a combination of Jane Austen’s beloved characters and the fossil hunting craze of early 19th century England.

If you’re familiar with my reviews, you know I love smart romance. I love characters who are unashamed of their interests, as well as their knowledge in the fields of study that call to them. Alissa Baxter writes like she’s the brain-child of Jane Austen and Penny Reid, and that is truly high praise from me. The Earl’s Lady Geologist has the feel of a good enemies to lover’s trope, but it’s held within the bounds of respect and decorum of the time period.

As a vehement fan of anything that gives me the slightest flavor of Pride and Prejudice, I adored The Earl’s Lady Geologist for exactly that reason. Cassandra as a character has no reason to marry, in fact, she would utterly prefer to spend the rest of her days on the beaches of Lyme Regis hunting fossils with her friends, writing scholarly papers on her findings and providing scientific sketches to go along with those papers. The fact that she must enter society to find herself a husband is an annoyance to her. The fact that she was whisked away from Lyme Regis in order to do so by a handsome, yet aloof man annoys her further.

Lord Rothbury has put off finding a wife for too long and at the behest of his mother, he feels he must find a woman who will become the countess his title demands. Because Cassy fits his checklist, and has no desire to get married, he concludes their marriage would be mutually beneficial and tells her so…quite bluntly and without finesse. From that point on, Cassy and Rothbury enter into a cat and mouse game of feelings that is not only entertaining, but it reads like a truly well-crafted slow burn. I loved their story, and I loved the characters around them. Based on an Author’s Note, I have found out that Cassy’s friends were in fact real ladies who worked to uncover fossils and other scientific discoveries in Lyme Regis.

The Earl’s Lady Geologist is a clean romance, and one that can be shared with any historical romance lover, Jane Austen aficionado, or smart romance fan. If you need a break from angsty reads, and need just a whole-heartedly well-done love story, then Alissa Baxter’s latest release is the story for you.