A Lady's Formula for Love

The Secret Scientists of London, Book 1

By: Elizabeth Everett

Narrated by: Elizabeth Jasicki

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 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.

©2021 Elizabeth Everett (P)2021 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

An Apple Must Listen Audiobook for February!

"Fizzy, engrossing romance...a whole-hearted celebration of women who choose to live gleefully outside the bounds of patriarchy's limitations." (Entertainment Weekly)

"A witty, dazzling debut with a science-minded heroine and her broody bodyguard. Fiercely feminist and intensely romantic, A Lady’s Formula for Love is a fresh take on historical romance that's guaranteed to delight readers." (Joanna Shupe, author of The Devil of Downtown)

“A brilliant scientist and her brooding bodyguard discover that love can find you when you least expect it. A Lady’s Formula for Love is full of wit, charm, and intrigue. You don’t want to miss this exciting debut from Elizabeth Everett.” (Harper St. George, author of The Heiress Gets a Duke)

voice actress makes characters octogenarian

I feel like I would have enjoyed reading the text, although it has floral prose in certain parts, but the audio performance ruined it. she made every character seem ancient and/or prissy. the Scots accent was okay but with everything else became an irritation. the idea of the book is good but I will not pursue the sequels through audiblem

Great historical story with characters who are adults

Love the genre of historical romances but tired of all the heroines being in their early 20’s. This was a great surprise of characters who are in the 30’s and 40’s and not portrayed as aging spinsters. Interesting concept of a lady’s social club in the time period for women who actually used their brains. Loved the characters and looking forward to book two. Hopefully there will be several stories to this series as there were some interesting secondary characters. So glad I bought this one on a whim during an audible sale.

Really good book

I don’t like the explicit sex scenes. I loved the women in science theme and the danger, mystery and love story

A fun romp.

Lady Violet Hughes’ passion is science, but it’s not easy for a woman to be a scientist in the 19th century, where women had few rights. Thus, Athena’s Retreat is formed. On the outside a mostly social club with a little bit of natural science discussion, but secretly the club is refuge to the seriously brilliant women who want to research and study the various fields of science.

Violet needs protection after being enlisted by the Crown to work on an antidote to a deadly poison being used in violence by dangerous rebels. Enter bodyguard Arthur Kneland, a sexy Scotsman. A man determined to be professional in view of the danger. However, the irresistible pull of attraction makes it impossible for Violet and Arthur to keep at arm’s length! These two can barely keep their hands off each other! More than just physical attraction, they connected and saw each other on an emotional level like no one else. Despite the differences in station, “the heart wants what the heart wants”! This is a romance, so we know they must figure out a way to bridge the gap, right?! I was on pins and needles trying to figure it out with them.

Violet was a sweet spunky character, so intelligent and big hearted, yet with the insecurities that plaque women from time to time. I just adored her! Arthur was the perfect fit, protective, but so onboard with Violet expressing her ideas and phenomenal brains!

A Lady’s Formula for Love was a delightful romp with quirky characters, laugh-out-loud moments, and a steamy romance.

Details, information, storyline, and personalities: a formula for entertainment

, I just finished a book that I enjoyed and thought of you. I’m not sure of your taste in fiction, but the science and the love story make an interesting cocktail, or should I say ‘solution?’ It also has criminal investigation in Victorian London, so there’s a bit of a Sherlock Holmes flavor. Plus the male lead, a gov agent is Scottish, so listening to the audio version had that extra tid bit of entertainment. Ok, so there is lovemaking in the book as a lot of romance stories have, but it’s all one relationship and not smutty. I hope if it sounds interesting you’ll try it.

Perfect start to series!

Elizabeth Everett truly brings the world a wonderful series starting with this book. Elizabeth Jasocki brings it all to life. She is a fantastic narrator.
Violet and the other ladies featured in the story are Victorian era superheroes. They are kind and brilliant. Violet’s life correlates well with issues women still face today. The amount of representation in the series is wonderful. The characters are a wide range of individuals with their own stories and challenges. The romance between Violet and Arthur is beautiful. The steam factor is 👍🏻 and the mystery takes you by surprise.

Enough with the whining!

On the plus side, the plot was clever and the characters were likable. The story was generally well written and the dialogue witty. I did not guess the guilty party until it was revealed.
I had a difficult time fighting through the author’s constant bemoaning of the status of women in the early 1800s. True, men had most of the rights, but they also had most of the responsibilities. Life in those days was difficult for both sexes, so let the past stay behind us and give me an entertaining mystery to enjoy.

Good story but slow

Starts out good but there is nothing going on for most of the middle and then at the end it’s very interesting. Narrator is top notch!

Good Story, Slow Narration

I enjoyed the story but felt the narrator was rather slow. I found myself losing interest in the story and would skip ahead to just get to the point. would probably speed up the narration next time.

Romance, mystery, and brilliant women

I am prefacing this by saying that I do not give five star ratings often or lightly. A good book earns four stars with me, so to earn five certainly makes this a cut above.

This book is a delightful regency with a dash of mystery, twist of action, and a whole lot of inspiring (and endearingly eccentric) women of science. The writing is incredibly self-aware, and the characters dynamic. Violet is an engaging heroine, and Everett balances her empathy with her drive and Violet's development is tangible and real. Her character's lessons resonated with me, and I actively cheered for her through the story. I even fell in love with many side characters, and would love to read more about them in Athena's Retreat and beyond.

(Also, Elizabeth Jasicki is a fabulous narrator and you can't go wrong listening to other stories she has read)