Series Name: A League of Extraordinary Women #4
“Possible,” she allowed. “But the past is a good predictor of the future. The issue isn’t a lack of proof of women’s abilities, but rather an unwillingness to recognize our contributions. You see, women are a popular subject of study already. Male scholars are quite obsessed with us. Have women a soul, they wondered in ancient Greece, and they still wonder whether we’re capable of rational thought, whether these humans who aren’t men are good for anything beyond procreation.”
Catriona’s story is the perfect conclusion to one of my favourite historical romance series ever.
Bookish suffragist Catriona Campbell is busy: An ailing estate, academic writer’s block, a tense time for England’s women’s rights campaign–the last thing she needs is to be stuck playing host to her father’s distractingly attractive young colleague.
Deeply introverted Catriona lives for her work at Oxford and her fight for women’s suffrage. She dreams of romance, too, but since all her attempts at love have ended badly, she now keeps her desires firmly locked inside her head–until she climbs out of a Scottish loch after a good swim and finds herself rather exposed to her new colleague.
Elias Khoury has wheedled his way into Professor Campbell’s circle under false pretenses: he did not come to Oxford to classify ancient artefacts, he is determined to take them back to his homeland in the Middle East. Winning Catriona’s favor could be the key to his success. Unfortunately, seducing the coolly intense lady scholar quickly becomes a mission in itself and his well-laid plans are in danger of derailing…
Forced into close proximity in Oxford’s hallowed halls, two very different people have to face the fact that they might just be a perfect match. Soon, a risky new game begins that asks Catriona one more time to put her heart and wildest dreams at stake.
When I find someone who wants to get into historical romance I always recommend the first of this series: Bringing Down the Duke, as it’s one of my all time favorite books because it’s smart, funny, swoony and steeped in history. The fourth and final installment of this series may actually surpass BDTD as my most beloved in the series.
I love how each main female character in this series is vivid and different, and that we get to visit with them time and again in the books. Catriona has always been a bit of a dark horse. She’s super smart but also sensitive and very quiet and withdrawn. She has a lot of layers and is a perfect foil to the other women. In her own story, however, she shines. She is smart, obviously, but her dry humour and deep intelligence really shines here, especially as she tackles with her emotions and feelings, which she struggles with. Elias is the perfect romantic partner for her, even though there’s a myriad of reasons why they shouldn’t be together which is explored perfectly in the book. Their intelligence, intensity and passion is sexy as heck. I loved watching this couple fall for each other throughout these pages.
Like the other books in this series there is some great history in The Gentleman’s Gambit – I always come away from an Evie book both swooning from the love story and feeling a little smarter from what I’ve learned. These books are fun and filled with insights to a fascinating part of history told from the female perspective. You’ll leave this book asking, who owns history. And, in today’s socio political world, it’s a timely conversation to still have in 2023.
Evie Dunmore has ended her series how she began: with a hero and heroine that readers will fall in love with in a setting that shines in its intensity.
Thank you to Berkley Romance for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
