A Love by Design
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4.3 • 4 Ratings
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- $10.99
Publisher Description
You couldn’t design a better hero than the very eligible and extremely charming Earl Grantham. Unless, of course, you are Margaret Gault, who wants nothing to do with the man who broke her youthful heart.
Widowed and determined, Margaret Gault has returned to Athena’s Retreat and the welcoming arms of her fellow secret scientists with an ambitious plan in mind: to establish England’s first woman-owned engineering firm. But from the moment she sets foot in London her plans are threatened by greedy investors and—at literally every turn—the irritatingly attractive Earl Grantham, a man she can never forgive.
George Willis, the Earl Grantham, is thrilled that the woman he has loved since childhood has returned to London. Not as thrilling, however, is her decision to undertake an engineering commission from his political archnemesis. When Margaret’s future and Grantham’s parliamentary reforms come into conflict, Grantham must use every ounce of charm he possesses—along with his stunning good looks and flawless physique, of course—to win Margaret over to his cause.
Facing obstacles seemingly too large to dismantle, will Grantham and Margaret remain forever disconnected or can they find a way to bridge their differences, rekindle the passion of their youth, and construct a love built to last?
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Everett's disappointing third Secret Scientists of London Regency romance (after A Perfect Equation) again grants readers a glimpse inside Athena's Retreat, a haven for female scientists in a world that refuses to acknowledge their intelligence. This premise remains a valiant attempt to shine a light on Regency women outside of the domestic sphere, but this installment unfortunately devolves into an overdramatized and unbelievable mess. Margaret Gault, a hardworking, devoted, and ambitious engineer, has been given a commission that may make her career: to design a tunnel underneath the Thames. As she tackles this monumental project, she rekindles her love with her childhood friend George Willis, now the Earl Grantham. The romantic plot is simplified to a point that it leaves essential chemistry lacking—right up until the couple face sudden danger in the jarring climactic twist. The use of modern slang (the word clit appears multiple times) will pull readers from the narrative while the tidy resolution to a well-established tangle of seemingly insurmountable conflicts fails to satisfy. There's too little substance behind any of it for readers to feel attached to either the characters or the world they inhabit. Fans will hope for a return to form in future installments.
