Elfreda Marsden has finally made a major discovery—an ancient amulet proving the Viking army camped on her family’s estate. Too bad her nemesis is back from London, freshly exiled after a scandal and ready to wreak havoc on her life. Georgie Redmayne is everything Elfreda isn’t–charming, popular, carefree, distractingly attractive, and bored to death by the countryside. When the two collide (literally), the amulet is lost, and with it, Elfreda’s big chance to lead a proper excavation. Now Elfreda needs new evidence of medieval activity, and Georgie needs money to escape the doldrums of Derbyshire. Joining forces to locate a hidden hoard of Viking gold is the best chance for them both.
Marsdens and Redmaynes don’t get along, and that’s the least of the reasons these enemies can’t dream of something more. But as the quest takes them on unexpected adventures, sparks of attraction ignite a feeling increasingly difficult to identify as hatred. It’s far too risky to explore. And far too tempting to resist. Elfreda and Georgie soon find that the real treasure comes with a steep price… and the promise of a happiness beyond all measure.
Release Date: Jun 10, 2025
Heat Level: Hot
Publisher: Penguin Group
Imprint: Berkley
Price: $10.99
Another sapphic historical romance author that I’ll be keeping my eye on!
This is my first Joanna Lowell book, and I’m glad I picked it up. Though it launched with a slow start, one that required a couple chapters for me to get into I eventually was smitten.
With budding archeologist and historian Elfreda getting into mess after mess. From losing a medallion to support her findings, to falling into a lake, and running into her childhood enemy.
Said enemy, Georgie, is the non-binary of my dreams. A chaos Muppet who is still just trying to figure out where they fit. Running into Elf, Georgie’s nickname for our archaeologist, stirs up a ton of memories, feelings, and a personal mission to somehow redeem themselves in Elf’s eyes. Though winning her over and succumbing to a decades-long crush wasn’t the plan… or was it?
The journey these two take to falling in love is equal parts adorable, dangerous, and heart-aching. Both Elf and Georgie have gone through tough battles of not being enough, of feeling less than, due to family and others, but it was discovering their importance to one another and their ability to be steadfast to someone else that kept me turning the pages.
There is a bit of a Pride and Prejudice element to Georgie and Elfreda’s interactions at first, this misunderstanding was born of assumptions and misinterpreted actions or behaviors that only come from youthful mishaps. I think it was refreshing to see how the interactions in the present and the rehashing of their childhood encounters foster the acceptance these two eventually discover.
In the end, I couldn’t wait to see how they got their happily ever after, and the end result was satisfying, despite the sluggish start. There are proper villains, a couple of side characters that do get their well-deserved moments, and even a pair of spoonicorns.
For readers who enjoy Olivia Waite.
~ Landra
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