Review: ‘A Lady’s Formula for Love’ by Elizabeth Everett
A Lady's Formula for Love
by Elizabeth EverettSeries: The Secret Scientists of London #1
Published by Berkley on February 9, 2021
SubGenres: Historical Romance
Format: AudioBook
Pages: 322
Narrator: Elizabeth Jasicki
Length: 10 Hours And 34 Minutes
Source: Library - Libby
Audience: 18+/Adult
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What is a Victorian lady's formula for love? Mix one brilliant noblewoman and her enigmatic protection officer. Add in a measure of danger and attraction. Heat over the warmth of humor and friendship, and the result is more than simple chemistry—it's elemental.
Lady Violet Hughes is keeping secrets. First, she founded a clandestine sanctuary for England's most brilliant female scientists. Second, she is using her genius on a confidential mission for the Crown. But the biggest secret of all? Her feelings for protection officer Arthur Kneland.
Solitary and reserved, Arthur learned the hard way to put duty first. But the more time he spends in the company of Violet and the eccentric club members, the more his best intentions go up in flames. Literally.
When a shadowy threat infiltrates Violet's laboratories, endangering her life and her work, scientist and bodyguard will find all their theories put to the test—and learn that the most important discoveries are those of the heart.
I’ve been meaning to read more Historical Romances, and I was drawn to A Lady’s Formula for Love by Elizabeth Everett due to the synopsis. I love reading books where STEM is involved in the storyline because I always loved taking Science classes back in the day. Sadly, though, this book failed to hold my attention past the halfway mark. I did push through it because I wanted that HEA for the main characters.
The FMC, Violet Hughes, Lady Greycliff, is a scientist who has formed a secret club for female scientists like herself. This club is a sanctuary for women scientists to pursue their love of science freely, a concept that I found particularly intriguing. However, not everyone appreciates her efforts, and she becomes a target. To protect her, a bodyguard, Arthur Kneland, is assigned, and he takes his duties very seriously. The issue, though, is both characters are starting to have feelings for one another when they are forced together and that could put not only their hearts at risk, but Arthur’s job of protecting Violet.
This book started well, and I loved the storyline focused on the secret club. I enjoyed reading the scenes of the women scientists and Violet working on their research due to the inner science geek in me. Violet was a fantastic character for creating a secret club for women like herself, and I loved that she wasn’t deterred from what she was doing, even with the threat of someone trying to harm her and her club.
The problem I had with the book was I wasn’t convinced about Violet and Arthur’s relationship and I think it had everything to do with how it was told solely through Violet’s POV. Lately, the books I’ve been picking up from trad published books only give one POV, and I would feel more of a connection if the MMC had a POV, too, especially when Arthur had issues with having feelings for Violet initially. It’s explained why he was hesitant, but again, I wish I would have had his side of things from his POV. Maybe, then, I would have been convinced by the romantic relationship between him and Violet, especially since Violet’s husband, who passed away, didn’t treat her as well, and Arthur wasn’t like her husband.
When it came to the villain in the story and who was behind the attacks on the club, it felt rushed almost when it was revealed who was behind it. The buildup to the ending didn’t feel as suspenseful as I had hoped, and the resolution felt a bit too quick. But remember, I wasn’t really interested in the end because I lost interest in the story halfway through. I really wish I had enjoyed this book because it had potential. It also had a vast number of interesting secondary characters.
Although I’m only giving this book three stars, I’ll still recommend it to readers who enjoy Historical Romances. I’m not sure if I’ll pick up the second book in the series, but maybe later, when I have some time between other books, I need to read.
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About Elizabeth Everett
Elizabeth Everett is a USA Today Bestselling author of historical romance and lives in upstate New York. Her work is inspired by her admiration for rule breakers and belief in the power of love to change the world.
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My obsession with reading started over 30+ years ago when I went to my first Scholastic Book Fair and found R.L. Stine's Fear Street series. Later, I came across Anne Rice's novels at my public library when I was fourteen when my obsession with vampires started. I was the girl who preferred to be a vampire over a princess any day. My husband says I would leave him a heartbeat for a vampire that looked like Spike or Angel (from Buffy the Vampire Slayer) or Damon Salvatore from The Vampire Diaries. (It's true, though, and he's accepted it.)
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