Love in a Bottle [Mass Market Paperback]

 

 

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Zoe Archer has come up with a perfectly beautiful recipe for romance pitting together a lady botanist struggling for scientific recognition in a mans world and a mountebank looking for a recipe for love in her latest English Historical novel of LOVE IN A BOTTLE.

Sophie Andrews was a lady with passion; a passion for crawling in the dirt amongst all manner of roots, and fungus. While crawling to get a better look at a rare mushroom she finds instead a shiny pair of books encased in muscular legs, impressive thighs -- all in all a very nice package topped off with a charming grin on his face. Feeling a comfortable amity with the handsome stranger Sophie would later be dismayed to discover he was a mountebank capable of swindling the unsuspecting town folk for which Sophie promptly called him out for being a fraud.

Setting out for home and never expecting to see Ian again, Sophie had her coach stop to pick up another specimen in the woods. Ian saved from her being kidnapped by hooligans by stopping her from rushing to the rescue of her uncle Alford after observing him being accosted by the notorious highwayman Dark Dan McGannon. Joining forces with Ian, Sophie and he were later able to rescue her uncle not realizing their partnership was destined to continue. Ian had almost convinced himself that love was nothing but a chemically balanced love potion he'd yet to discover, leaving him baffled by the thrill he found from Sophie's touch. He also couldn't deny the feelings his heart was telling him wouldn't be found in a bottle, but only in his dear little botanist's arms.

*** This was a lovely story with characters the reader will find to be charming. For the period, in a class distinctive atmosphere, the author pits two unlikely protagonists together with amazing depth. Ian, a handsome hero fashioned as a common peddler who could never be found acceptable for the daughter of a squire, even though said daughter, Sophie, was a bit unconventional herself. Ian was convinced he was incapable of falling in love hence his search for the perfect chemically induced herb that would miraculously allow him to fall in love. Until a passionate kiss from Ian, Sophie's only passion was found in her botany studies.

The author was able to strike a perfect balance in her characterizations of secondary characters giving good depth and perfect motivations of their actions for Sophie's mother Caroline, her indulgent Uncle Alford, and her groveling suitor Lord Charles Vickerton.

It was delightful to see the love grow between the two protagonists as they first developed a friendship, were able to open up while respecting each other's individuality before they actually discovered themselves in love. This was an endearing love story and it proves to romance readers that Ms. Archer is a new talent that bears careful consideration for future book buying.

Marilyn Rondeau, RIO - Reviewers International Organization

From this romance's first paragraph, I knew I held in my hot little hands a unique, refreshing read. Through the eyes of Ms. Archer's wonderful characters, I was introduced to a side of England I had never read before. Set in pre-Regency England, 1763, "Love in a Bottle" exudes a robust atmosphere budding with the hope of love. Innocence, a touch of jadedness and passionate discovery will hold readers in an enthralling grip.

Sophie Andrews is set in her ways, those of a dedicated observer of plants and their intricate mysteries, a botanist. She tackles landscapes with indulgent care, recording discoveries and reveling in nature's delights--much to her mother's despair. Sophie has up till now refused any suitor, and they in turn often want nothing to do with a determined scientist. When she meets a mysterious stranger whilst combing the forest floor for rare fungi, the handsome man, the first ever to show a real interest in her work, intrigues Sophie.

Ian Blackpool searches for the answer to a burning question--one of love. Does it really exist? If so, surely its roots lie in the realm of plants. When he meets the beguiling and refreshing Sophie, her talents in botany will serve his quest well. On the run from his past, Ian must face what has driven him around the world even as he must come to grips with a passion the vibrant young Sophie awakens in him. Perhaps his greatest question should be could he himself love? It is a question he often ponders and is determined never to surrender to.

Ms. Archer has penned a breathtaking romance embodied by the sensual side of nature. Bits of botanical knowledge lend an authentic air to Sophie's work and in turn infuse the book with a spirited sense of freedom. Readers will grasp Sophie's desire to pursue her first love, botany and the genuine confusion she feels when Ian enters her life. His raw sexuality is as potent as the very earth they comb for answers to the question of love. His and Sophie's love is a true delight to experience and read, truly one of the most sensual and sincere couples I have run across in romance. A hard book to put down from start to finish, Ms. Archer surely has one of the best romances to grace the shelves today. Looking forward to many more from this author.

K. Montgomery
Official Reviewer for The Mystic Castle

This is my first book by Zoe Archer--won't be the last. Zowie! What a wonderfully original tale. Ian Blackpool and Sophie Andrews are heart-steallers. Their romance sizzles, but it's not just the hot love story, its the depth of these wonderful characters that held me mesmerized.

Sophie is one of those dreadful bluestocking in the Regency period, when women were little more than servants or bobbles on a man's arm. However, Sophie would have none of it. Her mother wants Sophie married, but she has little interest in men that won't appreaciate her mind as well as her body, and they want little to do with a woman who loves stalking the wild fungi!

In pursuit of a new fungus, Sophie stumbles upon Ian Blackpool. Our lad has a lot on his mind, but Mr. Tall and Sexy has a yearning to discover if there is really a thing called love, and Sophie seems just what he needs for his "experiment". From a meddling mother to a beloved uncle, Archer conjures well-drawn characters to thrill and delight.

The novel -- to quote the late Robert Palmer - is simply irresistible.

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