If you’ve visited my blog before, you know I love a good historical romance. I was excited to read The Earl’s Lady Geologist, especially after listening to Mad and Bad: Real Heroines of the Regency. In it, I learned about the Philpot sisters and Mary Anning, two “real people” our heroine, Cassy, spends a lot of time with. I greatly enjoyed this sweet, proper romance and liked that it showed a woman in STEM in a historical context.
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The summary:
The Earl’s Lady Geologist
by Alissa Baxter
Publication Date: February 28, 2021
Vinspire Publishing
Series: Linfield Ladies Series, Book One
Genre: Regency Romance
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 realise that love matters more than their objections.
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Praise for The Earl’s Lady Geologist
“A gentle Regency romance, full of sweetness and intelligence. Alissa Baxter’s writing is period perfect.” -Mimi Matthews, USA Today bestselling author of The Matrimonial Advertisement
“The Earl’s Lady Geologist by Alissa Baxter deftly weaves together the charm of a traditional Regency romance, fascinating information on scientific society of the time, with a quiet subtext about the challenges faced by women interested in pursuing science. This first book in a new series is wonderfully satisfying on many levels!” -Mary Jo Putney, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today bestselling author
“While immersing the reader in the mores and life of the Regency era, Alissa Baxter manages to write strong, independent heroines whom modern-day women will cheer and root for. Plus the addition of little details that wrap around the plot and the characters make reading her books all the more special because you never know when you might land on a little Easter egg morsel in the beautiful and engaging prose. Historicals with heart and engaging characters that read real—that’s what you get in Ms. Baxter’s books.” -Zee Monodee, USA Today bestselling author
“A truly traditional Regency romance, with lots of witty banter, very reminiscent of Georgette Heyer. Recommended for anyone who likes a completely clean traditional Regency, with strongly authentic writing, historical accuracy and a satisfying romance. Baxter’s writing is excellent, and her dialogue, manners and settings are true to the era. A spirited heroine, a brooding hero, lots of sparkling banter and an authentic Regency setting—with added fossils! Great fun. From Lyme Regis to the drawing rooms of London, Alissa Baxter takes the reader back to the time of Jane Austen.”
Mary Kingswood, author of traditional Regency romances
Buy The Earl’s Lady Geologist here.
Cassy is a geologist living in Lyme, which was a real hotspot for fossils in the early 1800s. She plans to never marry, following in the footsteps of her geologist father and her spinster geologist friends, the Philpot sisters and Marry Anning. (These women were geologist in real life!) However, her plans are thrown for a wrench when she meets Edward, Lord Rothbury, the half-brother of her cousins. After Cassy helps him by drawing some fossils mentioned in one of his papers, he decides she would make the perfect wife and propose a marriage of convenience.
Of course, Cassy rejects Edward’s proposal, but what’s really bothering her? Is she truly set against marriage, or is she hurt that Edward didn’t offer his love? The two continue to work and live closely together as Cassy spends her Season and summer with her cousins and aunt, Edward’s mother. Cassy is especially against the idea of marriage because the idea of childbirth frightens her. Her mother suffered through many miscarriages before passing away as a result of one. But circumstances soon make Cassy see that perhaps being totally against marriage might not be the right path for her, especially as she is falling in love.
This was a swoon-worthy proper romance with a few sweet kissing scenes. I really felt the romantic tension between these two. The feminist in me does wonder why the title couldn’t be The Lady Geologist’s Earl. 😉 It was so fun to read about a heroine in STEM, especially because I recently learned geology was very popular in the 1800s, especially in Lyme, and that there were plenty of women geologists!
I am so thankful for the opportunity to read and review this lovely novel. My thanks to Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours, the author, and the publisher for sending me a copy in exchange for my honest review. This was a 4 star read for me.
About the Author
Alissa Baxter was born in a small town in South Africa, and grew up with her nose in a book on a poultry and cattle farm. At the age of eleven she discovered her mother’s collection of Georgette Heyer novels. The first Heyer novel she ever read was Sylvester and she was hooked on Georgette Heyer after that. She read and reread her novels, and fell totally in love with the Regency period and Heyer’s grey-eyed heroes! After school and university, where she majored in Political Science and French, she published her first Regency novel, The Dashing Debutante.
Alissa travelled overseas and worked as a flight attendant in Dubai before she moved to England, where she did an odd assortment of jobs while researching her second novel, Lord Fenmore’s Wager, which she wrote when she moved back to South Africa. Alissa’s third Regency novel, A Marchioness Below Stairs, is the sequel to Lord Fenmore’s Wager.
Alissa has lived in Durban and Cape Town but she eventually settled in Johannesburg where she lives with her husband and two sons. Alissa is also the author of two chick-lit novels, Send and Receive and The Blog Affair, which have been re-released as The Truth About Series: The Truth about Clicking Send and Receive and The Truth About Cats and Bees.
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The Earl’s Lady Geologist by Alissa Baxter
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This was a sweet proper romance with just the right amount of tension! I think I especially liked it because I recently learned about women geologists in the Regency era. The Philpot sisters and Mary Anning play roles in this one. My thanks to HFVBT, the author, and the publisher for sending me a copy in exchange for my honest review. Look out for my full review at https://bitchbookshelf.com on March 25.
Find out more about how I rate books here.
Book Club Questions
- Cassy plans never to marry, emulating her friends the Philpots and Mary Anning. How is her circumstance different than theirs? Might these ladies not have chosen to remain unwed?
- What benefits might Cassy see as a married lady? What, if anything, might she lose?
- Explain the family dynamics between Cassy and Edward and how this impacts their relationship.
- How is James’s romance similar to his brother’s experience? How does Harriet’s romance compare to the experiences of the other characters?
- Did you know anything about women in geology during the Regency era? What about other STEM fields? Has this book inspired you to research the topic, and if so, what resources or similar books can you recommend?
Blog Tour Schedule
Monday, February 22
Feature at The Lit Bitch
Review at Books, Cooks, Looks
Review at WTF Are You Reading?
Tuesday, February 23
Review at Probably at the Library
Review at Chicks, Rogues, and Scandals
Wednesday, February 24
Review at Bookish Rantings
Thursday, February 25
Review at Gwendalyn’s Books
Friday, February 26
Guest Post at Novels Alive
Monday, March 1
Review & Excerpt at Bookworlder
Tuesday, March 2
Review at Robin Loves Reading
Wednesday, March 3
Review at Amy’s Booket List
Thursday, March 4
Excerpt at The Tea Queen
Review at Pursuing Stacie
Friday, March 5
Review at View from the Birdhouse
Monday, March 8
Review at Book Bustle
Tuesday, March 9
Review at Tangents and Tissues
Wednesday, March 10
Review at YA, It’s Lit
Thursday, March 11
Review at Older & Smarter
Friday, March 12
Excerpt at Hopewell’s Public Library of Life
Monday, March 15
Review at Jorie Loves A Story
Tuesday, March 16
Excerpt at Heidi Reads
Review at Madwoman in the Attic
Wednesday, March 17
Review at Historical Fiction with Spirit
Thursday, March 18
Review at Read Review Rejoice
Friday, March 19
Guest Post at Coffee and Ink
Monday, March 22
Review at Books and Zebras
Tuesday, March 23
Review at Novels Alive
Wednesday, March 24
Feature at I’m Into Books
Thursday, March 25
Review at Bitch Bookshelf
Friday, March 26
Review at Little But Fierce Book Diary
Giveaway
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