I started dabbling with reading in the romance genre maybe half a dozen years ago. Mostly, I tolerated adequate writing so that I could have an easy, breezy book that was fun and low commitment. I enjoyed many that I read. But then I came across India Holton last year. Now, I’m not going to say her books are literary romance (which would make them more work, quite frankly, and not a good candidate for a brain break), but I would say based on the wordplay and the smoothness of her writing that she is capable of literary feats. I trust her. I think every bit of ridiculous and tongue-in-cheek that is there is intentional. And I am on board, belted in, and drumming my fingers on the dash ready to go when a new book comes out.

I did not manage to get an ARC of the third book in her Love’s Academic trilogy, The Antiquarian’s Object of Desire. (Read carefully: this means it’s the last book in the series. Waaaaah!) But I snagged one the evening before its release and read it in something like 36 hours. (What? I have a life.) It hit bookstores everywhere on Tuesday, April 21st, and I’m getting this review to you as fast as I can. (Still have a life. And two jobs.)

I can largely just refer you to my review for the first two books in the series, The Ornithologist’s Field Guide to Love and The Geographer’s Map to Romance. And then give you the short version.

Blurb: Amelia and Caleb have been best friends since they were kids in boarding school. But when they both land at Oxford with professorships—and they get caught hugging!—they have to feign enmity in order for Amelia to keep her job and her reputation in a man’s world. Occasionally they might go too far with their fake, blowing things up with their legendary fights, and get sent on assignment to a Gothic mansion in the middle of nowhere to catalog magical objects for the British Museum as punishment. But among the quirky characters and the dangerous items, Amelia and Caleb might discover that fake-fighting and secret-hugging is not be enough for either of them.

I loved it. Is it my favorite of the three? Hmm. I think it falls in the middle of the other two, but maybe not. It’s been a year since I read the other two. At any rate, I had a rollicking good time, couldn’t put it down and just sat there wide-eyed through all the historical references, making fun of Victorians and humans in general, magical randomness, and spicy moments. I was afraid, you know, that it wouldn’t be as great as my other experiences with the series, but I needn’t be afraid. I do accept, however, that this kind of book has to be your jam or you’re just going to balk at it and give it a bad review. You need to appreciate an obvious ending, for example (like to read romance in general). You need to be willing to frolic in tomfoolery. You need to be in on the joke. While I did miss a number of the historical references (becuase part of this book’s mashup was British and European history as well as dark academia and Gothic literature), I was still really happy in this world with these two goofy mains.

And for fans of the series, there are more than Easter eggs in this final book: there is a scene with all the MCs together (which means six of them). Just as a wink and a nod goodbye.

Waaaaah!

I really hope I enjoy her new cozy romantasy series (coming in 2027) half as much as this one. Until then, Holton has kept her place of honor in my life as favorite romance author of all time.