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Beautiful Minds
Lord Robert Stark, a genius rake who believes women aren't smart, wants to become the most celebrated Inventor in the world, but one smart woman stands in his way.
***
Lord Robert Stark is a Marquess, science genius, business mogul and, more importantly, the Rake of London. His latest work in progress, a moon lamp, has caused catastrophic stirs in Victorian era London, both good and bad. But the person most fascinated by his work is eighteen-year-old Ella Featherington, who wants him to be her teacher.
Between overriding societal rules and pressures put on ladies, Ella cannot follow her dream job as a scientist. But when one lucky ball makes her meet Robert, she takes a brave step no lady in her time would dare take.
As a result of her bravery, Robert is caught in a dilemma because letting her work for him would be considered too risky, but his ego can't help but want to prove that women don't belong in the workplace.
With a sizzling romance budding between them and a business rival who is out for their neck, they must overcome the odds, for they have beautiful minds which shall not be put to waste.
"Readers of Victorian historical romance, regency historical romance and Gilded age historical romance would love this book."
***
Lord Robert Stark is a Marquess, science genius, business mogul and, more importantly, the Rake of London. His latest work in progress, a moon lamp, has caused catastrophic stirs in Victorian era London, both good and bad. But the person most fascinated by his work is eighteen-year-old Ella Featherington, who wants him to be her teacher.
Between overriding societal rules and pressures put on ladies, Ella cannot follow her dream job as a scientist. But when one lucky ball makes her meet Robert, she takes a brave step no lady in her time would dare take.
As a result of her bravery, Robert is caught in a dilemma because letting her work for him would be considered too risky, but his ego can't help but want to prove that women don't belong in the workplace.
With a sizzling romance budding between them and a business rival who is out for their neck, they must overcome the odds, for they have beautiful minds which shall not be put to waste.
"Readers of Victorian historical romance, regency historical romance and Gilded age historical romance would love this book."
- GenresHistorical Romance
686 pages, Kindle Edition
Published January 21, 2024
24 people are currently reading
101 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
January 28, 2024
An 1800s Multiple POV Historical-Fiction Romance
Beautiful Minds: A Victorian Historical Romance
This book provided me with a comforting escape into an alternate universe set in the 1800s, making it a great read for downtime!
My initial reactions:
Thoughts on the characters - I feel that the development of the main characters Robert and Ella was amazing, I feel we were able to grow along with the characters. Robert was a man who used women as an escape to a man who found the joys and the understanding of love. And Ella, a young woman who knew the joys of science and found the strength in her true self and others. The development throughout this book really allowed me to understand the characters as a whole and created a great storyline in the novel.
Thoughts on the plot - I feel one of the common themes between the two main characters is the approval and desire to prove themselves worthy to their fathers. In the beginning, I felt it took some time for the plot to develop but once Ella and Robert established a mutual understanding of each other. The MMC and FMC went on many journeys to create a great novel that allowed for suspense, mystery, adventure, and love.
Thoughts on pacing - I felt the beginning of the book could have been faster-paced than I liked. It was more of a slow burn for the first 10-15 chapters but once you got into the storyline the book took off quickly and I couldn't stop reading until it was over.
What you like - I liked how there were multiple points of view throughout the book it allowed for insight into other characters and their thoughts and responses throughout the novel.
What you didn’t like - One thing I disliked was some of the old-world wording used, I felt I needed to constantly double-check the meaning of words throughout the book after the first few chapters, being able to understand the language became that much easier to understand and I felt by the end with the addition of the other language my vocabulary has expanded.
What you loved - The building of friendship and love throughout the story brought everyone together or could have pushed people away due to the fatherly bonds between the main characters. What matters is that in the end they found their way back and found what matters most.
Thoughts regarding the audience the book was intended for - I feel this book suits a more Adult age group due to some of the explicit content such as intimate relations and mature content such as murder and death.
Whether you would recommend - I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoyed the Bridgerton movie. I felt that this book created another very memorable Historical Romance that really connected to readers. This book may be 150,000 words long but once you're into the book you can't stop reading!
Overall I give this novel 4 stars and a 2.5 spice rating
I would 100% read a sequel if the author created a story along the lives of Robert and Ella post-creation of the Moon Lamp.
Conclusion - This book was an amazing comfort read and it was great to pick up whenever I had downtime for class. I felt I was able to escape reality and put myself in an alternate universe where I was placed in the 1800s alongside Ella and Robert.
Beautiful Minds: A Victorian Historical Romance
This book provided me with a comforting escape into an alternate universe set in the 1800s, making it a great read for downtime!
My initial reactions:
Thoughts on the characters - I feel that the development of the main characters Robert and Ella was amazing, I feel we were able to grow along with the characters. Robert was a man who used women as an escape to a man who found the joys and the understanding of love. And Ella, a young woman who knew the joys of science and found the strength in her true self and others. The development throughout this book really allowed me to understand the characters as a whole and created a great storyline in the novel.
Thoughts on the plot - I feel one of the common themes between the two main characters is the approval and desire to prove themselves worthy to their fathers. In the beginning, I felt it took some time for the plot to develop but once Ella and Robert established a mutual understanding of each other. The MMC and FMC went on many journeys to create a great novel that allowed for suspense, mystery, adventure, and love.
Thoughts on pacing - I felt the beginning of the book could have been faster-paced than I liked. It was more of a slow burn for the first 10-15 chapters but once you got into the storyline the book took off quickly and I couldn't stop reading until it was over.
What you like - I liked how there were multiple points of view throughout the book it allowed for insight into other characters and their thoughts and responses throughout the novel.
What you didn’t like - One thing I disliked was some of the old-world wording used, I felt I needed to constantly double-check the meaning of words throughout the book after the first few chapters, being able to understand the language became that much easier to understand and I felt by the end with the addition of the other language my vocabulary has expanded.
What you loved - The building of friendship and love throughout the story brought everyone together or could have pushed people away due to the fatherly bonds between the main characters. What matters is that in the end they found their way back and found what matters most.
Thoughts regarding the audience the book was intended for - I feel this book suits a more Adult age group due to some of the explicit content such as intimate relations and mature content such as murder and death.
Whether you would recommend - I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoyed the Bridgerton movie. I felt that this book created another very memorable Historical Romance that really connected to readers. This book may be 150,000 words long but once you're into the book you can't stop reading!
Overall I give this novel 4 stars and a 2.5 spice rating
I would 100% read a sequel if the author created a story along the lives of Robert and Ella post-creation of the Moon Lamp.
Conclusion - This book was an amazing comfort read and it was great to pick up whenever I had downtime for class. I felt I was able to escape reality and put myself in an alternate universe where I was placed in the 1800s alongside Ella and Robert.
January 29, 2024
My first thought as I read through the blurb was: okay, let's give this a try. And amazingly, this pretty piece didn't fail to live up to expectation. Beautiful Minds tells the story of two science freaks—Lord Robert Killian Stark and Ella Featherington—living in 1800s England. Robert, besides being a titled member of society, is a notorious rake, his exploits on the lips of everyone. He is considered a danger to young, unmarried ladies.
Ella, on her part, is demure and dreams of being the first female scientist in Britain. This common ground—science—ultimately "unites" these two clearly different individuals. As the story progresses, they discover a part of their interest which marry together: the need to please their father. Enemies come in, along the way, threatening to tear them apart.
I'm aware that what I've written thus far presents the book as typical and cliche. It definitely isn't. Apart from the punchy, thought-provoking diction of the writer, the characters are all well-fleshed out. Robert has an admirable side. He's sweet to his sister, honours his mother, and holds his father at a high esteem, despite the latter's apparent nonchalance with regards to Robert. His humorous nature is depicted through the frequent bantering that goes on between his right-hand man, Howard and himself. And Ella, too, I forgot to add. There are so many instances involving a dialogue between the protagonists, which had me curling my toes in excitement. Such as the scene where Ella shows up dressed as a man, and when she almost walks in on Robert skin dipping. I need not go further; you should snag a copy to devour!
Now, based on the hearty-nature of my rambling, it's only reasonable my rating be five-star. It isn't. The dear writer subjected me to pages of slow burn, with me pining and pleading till the lead characters acknowledged each other. Still, it was worth it as the subsequent adventures kept up at night, reading.
Ella, on her part, is demure and dreams of being the first female scientist in Britain. This common ground—science—ultimately "unites" these two clearly different individuals. As the story progresses, they discover a part of their interest which marry together: the need to please their father. Enemies come in, along the way, threatening to tear them apart.
I'm aware that what I've written thus far presents the book as typical and cliche. It definitely isn't. Apart from the punchy, thought-provoking diction of the writer, the characters are all well-fleshed out. Robert has an admirable side. He's sweet to his sister, honours his mother, and holds his father at a high esteem, despite the latter's apparent nonchalance with regards to Robert. His humorous nature is depicted through the frequent bantering that goes on between his right-hand man, Howard and himself. And Ella, too, I forgot to add. There are so many instances involving a dialogue between the protagonists, which had me curling my toes in excitement. Such as the scene where Ella shows up dressed as a man, and when she almost walks in on Robert skin dipping. I need not go further; you should snag a copy to devour!
Now, based on the hearty-nature of my rambling, it's only reasonable my rating be five-star. It isn't. The dear writer subjected me to pages of slow burn, with me pining and pleading till the lead characters acknowledged each other. Still, it was worth it as the subsequent adventures kept up at night, reading.
January 23, 2024
*4.5 stars
Even though it’s been a while since I’ve really devoured this genre, historical romances have always been a guilty pleasure of mine, and the blurb of “Beautiful Minds” fascinated me enough to give this new author a chance. A young woman, completely devoted to become a known female scientist and a notorious rake; something told me this duke was finally going to meet its match.
“Beautiful Minds” is a true historical romance, where everything breathes the timing of the story: the language, the interactions between characters, the choices these characters make (and might not be as easily accepted in this time or age), … I personally like it when an author stays completely true to the setting of the world at that time, but it does make the book a little harder to read compared to literature nowadays.
There are a lot of different elements to this story: the drive of two characters to achieve greatness as scientists, a rivalry that slowly escalates, growing love, secrets and a quest to find answers. Through it all, I really started to like our two main characters. There’s a touch of humor to this story I really liked, and even though Roberts makes some questionable choices his big heart makes up for them. The only downside I can mention is that there are some minor details in this story that don’t always seem to fit. But for a debut, I believe this author did really well.
Even though it’s been a while since I’ve really devoured this genre, historical romances have always been a guilty pleasure of mine, and the blurb of “Beautiful Minds” fascinated me enough to give this new author a chance. A young woman, completely devoted to become a known female scientist and a notorious rake; something told me this duke was finally going to meet its match.
“Beautiful Minds” is a true historical romance, where everything breathes the timing of the story: the language, the interactions between characters, the choices these characters make (and might not be as easily accepted in this time or age), … I personally like it when an author stays completely true to the setting of the world at that time, but it does make the book a little harder to read compared to literature nowadays.
There are a lot of different elements to this story: the drive of two characters to achieve greatness as scientists, a rivalry that slowly escalates, growing love, secrets and a quest to find answers. Through it all, I really started to like our two main characters. There’s a touch of humor to this story I really liked, and even though Roberts makes some questionable choices his big heart makes up for them. The only downside I can mention is that there are some minor details in this story that don’t always seem to fit. But for a debut, I believe this author did really well.
January 22, 2024
One of the most amazing books I have read. A mix of history and inventions. A fight for woman empowerment. Fun banters and an amazing chemistry between the characters. The story checks out all the boxes, making you want to read more and more. Awesome book. Worth a try!
January 24, 2024
Well this was lovely, just absolutely lovey! No spoilers in this review but the pace of the story was perfect, the plot unfolded wonderfully (nothing was rushed, nothing was dragged out) and the MCs are very likeable & believable. Will definitely be looking for more of this authors work :)
February 14, 2024
Good story
This story had plenty of interesting elements to it, the characters interactions, mission of creating, the rivalry between the two main men. Danger, heartache and a good outcome. The only thing that made me unhappy was the lack of better editing.
This story had plenty of interesting elements to it, the characters interactions, mission of creating, the rivalry between the two main men. Danger, heartache and a good outcome. The only thing that made me unhappy was the lack of better editing.
February 4, 2024
This book was a well written fun read. I loved every part of it and couldn’t put it down!
February 21, 2024
Beautiful Minds by @lordvictorhastings this was my second historical romance read!
PLOT: A very intriguing plot from the very beginning to the very end of the novel. I didn't think that this novel would grasp my attention the way it did. But I am so happy it did, the whole novel has me flipping page after page. The novel starts with having the camera on Ella...i wont keep talking, read it yourself.
CLIFFHANGERS: the book certainly is filled with many of them, and the good kind! not the ones that make you go ugh why. okay maybe a bit of ugh why because you want to know what happens next! THe cliffhangers towards the end of the novel are the best tho!
SPICE: see...this novel is written by the male species and actually didn't expect an amazing romance read by a man. I LOVED IT. and I think I appreciated this more because it wasn't solely focused on the smexy so it had me lured in through the smallest of touches.
DETAILS: For a novel that is in third person, it managed to give me the whole view of everything. I was able to imagine the whole book in front of me with how detailed the details are. From the shiniest star to the dullest of rocks. Victor did an outstanding job in this area.
EMOTIONS: This book surely had me scowling, laughing, sniffling and probably everything in between. Many scenes had me at a chokehold haha!
All in all, this novel was wonderful and beautiful, and funny enough I could see myself in the FMC even tho it is in a whole different era. This novel was also a struggle. only a little bit to read at first, because of the third person. You guys know me i hate third person. i struggle with it a lot. But this book made it super easy and entertaining and lets just say if you are a fan of Bridgerton, you will be a fan of Beautiful Minds!
Cant wait to read more work by Victor!
PLOT: A very intriguing plot from the very beginning to the very end of the novel. I didn't think that this novel would grasp my attention the way it did. But I am so happy it did, the whole novel has me flipping page after page. The novel starts with having the camera on Ella...i wont keep talking, read it yourself.
CLIFFHANGERS: the book certainly is filled with many of them, and the good kind! not the ones that make you go ugh why. okay maybe a bit of ugh why because you want to know what happens next! THe cliffhangers towards the end of the novel are the best tho!
SPICE: see...this novel is written by the male species and actually didn't expect an amazing romance read by a man. I LOVED IT. and I think I appreciated this more because it wasn't solely focused on the smexy so it had me lured in through the smallest of touches.
DETAILS: For a novel that is in third person, it managed to give me the whole view of everything. I was able to imagine the whole book in front of me with how detailed the details are. From the shiniest star to the dullest of rocks. Victor did an outstanding job in this area.
EMOTIONS: This book surely had me scowling, laughing, sniffling and probably everything in between. Many scenes had me at a chokehold haha!
All in all, this novel was wonderful and beautiful, and funny enough I could see myself in the FMC even tho it is in a whole different era. This novel was also a struggle. only a little bit to read at first, because of the third person. You guys know me i hate third person. i struggle with it a lot. But this book made it super easy and entertaining and lets just say if you are a fan of Bridgerton, you will be a fan of Beautiful Minds!
Cant wait to read more work by Victor!
January 27, 2024
I loved every page of the book. This book is one of the best historical romance books I have ever read. I loved Ella's strong female character and how determined and persistent she was. Robert's character was questionable for me at the beginning, but over time I really liked him. the whole story is very well written, eventful and very interesting things happen in it. It was a very good book, I can only recommend it. 💗
January 24, 2024
What a fascinating and fun genre I dived into! This is a beautiful written women empowerment (I'd say anyway) Story that Victor developed a perfect era and storyline for. This has exciting and fun moments as well as heartfelt. I enjoyed embarking on this adventure and look forward to reading more not only from Victor but also from this genre in the future.
January 26, 2024
This is a new Author to me and I will say after reading this story I will be looking for more by him. The story kept me turning pages in this engaging story as I watched Lord Robert Stark a rake and inventor and eighteen-year-old Ella Featherington come to understand each other and find their HEA. The book is well worth reading.
January 23, 2024
This is an arc review
I loved the banter in this book. Ella is a very curious young lady. Lord stark is a scientist. This book is a five star for me it was funny and romantic. I would recommend this book to everyone. I received a free copy of this book for an honest review.
I loved the banter in this book. Ella is a very curious young lady. Lord stark is a scientist. This book is a five star for me it was funny and romantic. I would recommend this book to everyone. I received a free copy of this book for an honest review.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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