Intelligent and driven, Orion Worthington aspired to be like his mentor, the acclaimed scientist Sir Geoffrey Blayne. Logically, Sir Geoffrey’s daughter would be Orion’s perfect match. So why can’t he keep his mind off the unruly girl who works in Sir Geoffrey’s lab?
Orphaned fire-cracker Francesca Penrose hopes that London is modern enough to accept her brilliant mind despite her womanhood. But she can’t help noticing Orion’s mind…or his body.
So they decide to run an experiment: if they give in to their passions, their attraction will simply fizzle out, with no impact on their hearts…right
If you are looking for science nerd H/H set in the Regency, this is the book for you! Two dedicated and eccentric scholars feel the sparks fly when they meet.
Orion has moved in with Sir Geoffrey Blayne to help him with his experiments and inventions. He sees it as an opportunity to work on his own biological scholarship. Sir Geoffrey also hints that if their work together is mutually beneficial, then he will agree to give his beautiful, demure daughter over to Orion. Orion, in turn, seems to accept this with a vague level of distantness worthy of a dedicated scientist. He is not alpha or a rake.
However, when he meets Sir Geoffrey’s niece, the English-Italian Francesca, all bets are off and the loving begins.
Francesca is a more earthy, passionate woman who is looking for fulfillment not only as a scientist but also as a person. Never quite fitting in while growing up in Italy, she feels equally different in England. Her lust for life is all the stuff spunky Reg Rom heroines are made of, so readers should enjoy her as a character. She also is a virgin who is willing to taste the delights of the bedroom before marriage.
There are lots of cute and steamy scenes between these two, and both are likeable. The banter between the two is funny and smart.
In addition, the book features good supporting characters and a bit of mystery to propel the story forward. I think readers won’t be disappointed by the sexy scenes and steam factor (although readers looking for clean material should steer clear!)
A couple eyebrow raising liberties with properties/history and some sloggy pacing keep this one from being higher rated, but overall its an enjoyable historical romance with adorable H/H that readers should enjoy.
This is fourth in a series that I read as a standalone. There are some references to other books, and I missed some of the character backstory, but overall it worked as a standalone.
Overall, the romance is sweet and the characters are likeable so while its not my sort of re-read, I can see others loving this book and treasuring it enough to put it back into circulation in the TBR pile.
I genuinely enjoy Celeste Bradley as an author and can definitely recommend her for those looking for lighthearted historical romances . I am not going to run out and by more in the series, but the moment I am in the mood for a mad, scrabbling bohemian Regency family…I know where I am going to look!
4 out of 6 Science scholars in love
| Content Rating/Heat Index | |
|---|---|
| Mature Content |   |
| Adult subject material | |
| Intimacy | |
| Intimate scenes of vanilla variety. | |
| Violence | |
| A couple of scenes, nothing too graphic | |
| Overall |  |
|---|---|
| Sexy intimate scenes and suggestive content make this a better read for mature readers. | |
