The Ornithologist's Field Guide to Love

By: India Holton

Narrated by: Elizabeth Knowelden

Length: 11 hrs

Publisher's summary

"So riotously clever it almost defies description...an alchemy of romantic elements held in perfect harmony."—NPR

Rival ornithologists hunt through England for a rare magical bird in this historical-fantasy rom-com reminiscent of Indiana Jones but with manners, tea, and helicopter parasols.

Beth Pickering is on the verge of finally capturing the rare deathwhistler bird when Professor Devon Lockley swoops in, capturing both her bird and her imagination like a villain. Albeit a handsome and charming villain, but that's beside the point. As someone highly educated in the ruthless discipline of ornithology, Beth knows trouble when she sees it, and she is determined to keep her distance from Devon.

For his part, Devon has never been more smitten than when he first set eyes on Professor Beth Pickering. She's so pretty, so polite, so capable of bringing down a fiery, deadly bird using only her wits. In other words, an angel. Devon understands he must not get close to her, however, since they're professional rivals.

When a competition to become Birder of the Year by capturing an endangered caladrius bird is announced, Beth and Devon are forced to team up to have any chance of winning. Now keeping their distance becomes a question of one bed or two. But they must take the risk, because fowl play is afoot, and they can't trust anyone else—for all may be fair in love and war, but this is ornithology.

©2024 India Holton (P)2024 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

"India Holton infuses the story with wry wit and meta inside jokes. Every sentence is positively vibrating with the kind of charm that will have you pressing your lips together with laughter. And yet amid all the outrageous and camp fun, Holton also succeeds in building a genuine love story – between two people who have kept the world at a distance for years but somehow find a home within each other. And if that doesn't sell you, then you should at least know this book has one of the funniest twists on the ‘one bed’ trope I've read in a long time.”—NPR

"Holton continues to be the world's leading engineer of the romp. The Ornithologist's Field Guide to Love is positively confectionary: a sweetly earnest love story wrapped in layers of sharp word-play, deadly magical birds, and cheeky narrative awareness."—Alix E. Harrow, New York Times bestselling author of Starling House

“Holton’s prose winks and sparkles with wit and magic, flitting expertly between laugh-out-loud hijinks, swoon-worthy romance, and adventure filled with fowl play. The Ornithologist’s Field Guide to Love is pure, rollicking fun—and will set your heart aflutter.”—Allison Saft, New York Times bestselling author of A Fragile Enchantment