India Holton
Books: Fantasy | Romance
Dangerous Damsels: The Wisteria Society of Lady Scoundrels (2021)
Love’s Academic: The Ornithologist’s Field Guide to Love (2024)
Dangerous Damsels
The Wisteria Society of Lady Scoundrels (2021)
Set in an alternate Victorian England.
Cecilia Bassingwaite is a proper Victorian young lady, and she is also a member of the Wisteria Society crime sorority, and she flies around England drinking tea, blackmailing friends, and acquiring treasure by interesting means.
Ned Lightbourne goes by many times, and has had many job descriptions. But this job, assassinating / retrieving / protecting Cecelia Bassingwaite is far more than he was expecting.
I really wish I had been in the mood for this, because it is definitely a romp.
"Just rest, and I'll assassinate her for you," he had said, smiling in a lithe, melting way that reminded Lady Armitage of her second husband before the slow-acting poison began bloating his tongue.
It's extremely silly.
Cecilia swung into action. She rid herself of her dress, and then, clad only in knee-length chemise, petticoat, long lace-trimmed drawers, corset, stockings, and slippers, she hastened from the parlor.
Cecilia had seen the houses rising like hot-air balloons over the trees— albeit rectangular, rigid, and less colorful, without flames beneath, so in fact nothing like hot-air balloons, but a failure of simile was the least of her problems at this moment.
I mean, I highlighted some fantastic passages.
"But, Aunty," Cecilia said, "you shouldn't be out here. It's dangerous."
"I am a pirate terror, my dear."
"Yes, but it's also cold. You'll catch pneumonia."
"Nonsense. Pneumonia is only for young ladies whose aunts wish to repress them so that they never become independent and leave said aunts alone."
But I've been reading cozy mysteries, and apparently that's what my brain wanted more of. So I'll try a reread later.
Publisher: Berkley
February 2022 | Rating: 7/10
Love’s Academic
The Ornithologist’s Field Guide to Love (2024)
Set in Europe in 1890
I’d forgotten how very silly India Holton stories are. That’s not to say they are bad, because they aren’t, but if you aren’t expecting the silliness it can be a bit of a surprise.
Devon might be guiltless in this matter, but she did not like the man, nor respect him, nor desire in the slightest to slide her hand through his wayward black hair. He was a bird-stealing fiend, never mind his various charms! They were fiends too, the whole lot of them! And she was a mature, sensible woman, despite the evidence of this paragraph.
Professor Beth Pickering (Oxford) and Professor Devon Lockley are attempting to capture the rare caladrius, for the Ornithologist who does will not only will Birder of the Year but also…. Tenure at their university.
Unfortunately, circumstances keep throwing the two together.
“If we tell you the truth, will there be more than one room available?” Beth chanced.
So Beth and Devon decide to unite to find the bird and keep it safe.
And all the while, there is science to be done.
“Perhaps we should draw up a chart of all the possibilities and formulate a hypothesis from that.”
The ring binder swung shut. “What kind of chart?” she asked eagerly.
He took a step forward, intensifying his gaze. “A radar chart.” Beth drew in an audible breath of delight.
One thing I appreciate about her fantasies is how she manages play with tropes.
Beth reached up to remove her spectacles, and he had to force himself not to catch her hand, stop her, since he couldn’t think of a reason for doing so beyond you’re so damned sexy when you wear them, I want to keep handing you things to read.
Which, he guessed, she’d find impolite.
The other thing I particularly like are her characters.
I also want to send thanks to all those who have been in touch about the neurodivergent representation in my books. I don’t use diagnostic terms within the context of the stories, because it wouldn’t be historically accurate. That neurodivergent people have nevertheless seen something of their own experience in several of my characters means a great deal to me as an autistic writer.
It was a fun story, just be prepared for silliness.
Characters: Professor Beth Pickering, Professor Devon Lockley, Herr Klaus Oberhufter, Hippolyta Spiffington-Quirm, Lady Trimble, Miss Ethel Fotheringham, Miss Elvira Fotheringham, Monsieur Tarrou, Mr. Cholmbaumgh, Mr. Fettick, Mr. Flogg, Monsieur Badeau, Mr. Schreib, Miss Eliza Wolfe, Mr. Wilbur and Mrs. Muriel Podder, Miss Rose Marin, Mrs. Hassan, Professor Gabriel Tarrant, Laz Brady, Professor Gladstone
Cover design by Katie Anderson
Publisher: Berkley Romance
March 2026 | Rating: 8/10