Opal Edgar's Reviews > The Naturalist Society

As a reader of the Kitty and the Midnight Hour series in my late teens, I was very excited to discover a new book by Vaughn and see what she was up to now.

Every word of this book is a love declaration from Vaughn to ornithology. You can see the research and the passion that went into learning about birds and great historical naturalists. It is lovely and made me want to play Wingspan.

The novel follows Beth, a recently widowed woman who was able to pursue her passion for arcane natural sciences in an 1800s era-like world, only "thanks" to her husband posing as the author of her findings. His death throws all of her life and future completely upside down.

This is a very pleasant and fast read with utterly perfect story structure, hitting all the beats at the right time with ideal foreshadowing, pacing, character emotional and exterior arcs. This book could really be used as a teaching device for plotting as it respects the 3 act structure to a T. This is what makes it such a smooth read, but does feel a little mechanic to someone who is familiar with the writing craft.

I would recommend to historical romance and romantasy fans.
I only give 3 stars as romance isn't my favorite genre, but I can imagine this book being adored by romance readers.