LOVE IN A BOTTLE

Author: Zoe Archer ISBN: 0843957387 12/2006 HISTORICAL Publisher: DORCHESTER/Leisure
Time Period: Georgian 1763

It was the most beautiful fungus botanist Sophie Andrews had ever seen. And the man who came with it was a pretty fine specimen, too: tall, handsome and flashing a grin that promised wickedness. Sophie knew the bottle of love potion the roguish peddler tried to push on her was a hoax, but she had no time to argue. One of England's most vicious criminals had kidnapped her favorite uncle, and something had to be done. Ian Blackpool refused to let the stubborn beauty who'd stumbled into his path track down the notorious Dark Dan McGannon alone. It was his duty to help. Surely it had nothing to do with the thrill he felt at her touch. After all, love was merely a specific chemical combination. But when Ian took Sophie in his arms, science went out the window. It was time to abandon bottle love and take a chance on something new—trusting his heart.

RRAH's THOUGHTS AND PONDERINGS: ^Plus

One of the best things about being a reviewer is watching new authors develop as each story they write becomes published. Sometimes it's a good thing—and sometimes it's not—but in the case of Zoe Archer, it's becoming a sheer delight. Let's face it, how can you not be drawn into a story that starts out with the intriguing sentence, "It was the most beautiful fungus Sophie had ever seen."?

Once again, in LOVE IN A BOTTLE, Ms. Archer creates a heroine that's a bit out of the normal for her day. In LADY X'S COWBOY she gave us a widow who was determined to make her late husband's beer brewery work, despite it being a socially unacceptable vocation for a women of her class and status. Now, in LOVE IN A BOTTLE, Archer dreams up Sophie, a young lady more interested in botany than in anything else in the world, much to her family's chagrin and dismay. But Sophie has one ally and nurturer in her family—her Uncle Alforth, who recognizes her bright intellect for what it is and does everything he can to encourage it.

It's obvious Ms. Archer has done her research work into the world of botany quite thoroughly, as is evidenced in Sophie's dialogue. She comes off as quite believable—a woman who's fixated on a dream, who wants to become a renowned woman botanist in a world of men, but who's naivety about the world around her is tinted by rose-colored glasses. That all changes, however, when she meets up with Ian Blackpool, mountebank extraordinaire, breaker of women's hearts and a man who's on the run from his own past and obligations.

Zoe Archer has blended a perfect mix in this romance that is both character-driven and filled with action. Sophie and Ian are the perfect compliment to each other, and both have a lot to teach the other. Ian believes there is no such thing as love and that the feelings that one perceives as love are caused by a mix of chemicals to be found in plants. When he meets up with Sophie accidentally, he acknowledges her rare gift for botany and is sure she's the perfect partner to help him discover this mysterious elixir. Sophie, for her part, sees in Ian a man who's running away, though from what she doesn't know. She'll help him in his determined search, if only to prove to him that all love comes from the heart and not from some mysterious, chemical brew.

While the underlying plot of a highwayman out for revenge is about the only thing that's not original in this story, it does provide some very tense moments requiring a bit of ingenuity and smarts on the part of Sophie and Ian. However, LOVE IN A BOTTLE also contains characters who are original and entertaining, and the love scenes between the two are sensual and wonderfully penned. Archer's prose is one that draws you in immediately and never lets you go. Her heroines are always intelligent and believable, matched with romantic heroes who are sensitive, understanding and strong in their support of the women they love.

If you haven't read LADY X'S COWBOY, then do yourself a favor and get it along with Archer's LOVE IN A BOTTLE. Fast climbing her way up my own personal favorite romance writers list, Zoe Archer is one author I think most readers will enjoy and that I highly recommend. I can't wait to read her next story!

Nancy Davis