The Ornithologist's Field Guide to Love by India Holton

Magical academics Beth Pickering and Devon Lockley put their professional rivalry aside to try to capture the dangerous, yet endangered Caladrius bird and win Birder of the Year, but conniving public relations teams and personal feelings might get in the way.

Post election day, I needed a bit of an unserious break from reality. India Holton's first installment in the Love's Academics series was the perfect remedy for my aching/frustrated heart.

Taking place in a parallel history to ours, where magic exists and magical bird creatures run amok, Holton's book checks all the trope-y themes that we look for in a cozy fantarom read. There's will they/won't they, enemies to lovers, only one bed, and many many more. Was this book predictable? EXTREMELY. But with a sassy narration style, a vibe that feels like The Mummy meets Jungle Cruise (but even less serious), and by going in knowing that it is a very, very silly read, fans of cliche romance stories will enjoy this book.

I give The Ornithologist's Field Guide to Love a 3/5. And while I wouldn't recommend it to everyone, I think that if you like fluffy, cheesy romance stories, this is the book for you! I also know it was good enough that I will be reading the next one, The Geographer's Map to Romance, which came out two days ago! It's about magical geography and disaster management, which seems right up my and Maggie's alley.