Stupid Dungeon Crawler Carl books! Ever since I finished them, I have been struggling to find a book that really sucks me in. I have read decent novels since then even, but nothing has absorbed me as much or felt as “un-put-downable” since. This novel is another like that – cute, whimsical, not at all serious, and pleasant to read but it’s not the kind of novel that has me staying up past my bedtime to keep reading.
As the magical birds might give away, this takes place in an alternate version of 1890s Europe, focusing on two ornithologists from competing universities and departments – Doctor Beth Pickering of Oxford and Doctor Devon Lockley of Cambridge. In addition to magical birds, the other big part of this being an alternate history is that it allows Holton to ignore history a bit with the gender conventions of the time, allowing for female faculty (even if they are surrounded by very sexist men) and a little bit of loosening when it comes to how men and women interact. Yes, Beth absolutely still thinks about things like chaperones and being alone with a man but it’s also just not quite as big of a deal as it would otherwise need to be.
A majority of the ornithologists are in France for a talk when a competition is announced: a caladrius, a rare bird with healing magic, has been sighted in England, and whoever finds it will win the title “Birder of the Year,” £5,000 and tenure. Mayhem ensues and all the ornithologists are in a race to win – a race where law and morals don’t matter, leading to guns being pulled, hijackings and more (it’s definitely a bit of a parody of the ruthlessness of academia).
Devon and Beth pair up temporarily after they find themselves separated from the larger group and miss their ferry from the Continent. Somehow they keep finding themselves in more ridiculous situations and fate seems to be thrusting them together … or is it something or someone else manipulating circumstances and them?
The love story is set up as a rivals to lovers story but there is never much question – they both are very attracted to each other from the beginning and they both have some internal insecurities to overcome about how worthy they are – there is cute banter and sweet compliments but not much tension – in fact there isn’t a 3rd act break up, it’s all external action and questions about the fate of the bird that drive the final portion.
As I said the story is fun and whimsical but my brain was having a hard time appreciating the whimsy and over the top adventures. I’m not sure if it’s just everything else going on but my brain just couldn’t quite appreciate the fun of this without trying to go analytical with how historically, natural scientists spent about as much time murdering animals to study them as they did observing them … so while Beth and Devon are the good guys, there’s also just some overall questions about the ethics and treatment of animals here. As I said, it’s a me-issue, and I think my reaction is probably trending this way because of current political situation, climate change and how many more animals are on the endangered species list.
The good thing is the next book planned for this series focuses on geologists so I won’t have to worry about magical rocks reminding me of real life creatures!