Everly AKA "Daisy" has lived the life of a workaholic.  Forced to take time off work, she travels and meets the most unexpected man.  When disaster strikes, is it more than her heart at risk?

Asher has traveled the world.  Mostly a loner, he finds he does well in his isolated lifestyle.  Meeting the most important woman never even entered his thoughts.  Now that he has, he has no idea what to do about it.

The mot unlikely couples tend to be the very best ones, in my opinion.  This story was very much that in so many ways.  Always a favorite one click author for me, this holiday jaunt into the pages was an unexpectedly slow burn of epic proportions.  The characters were fun and had depth, if you get past the belittling characters in the front of the book.  Worth the read however, as it hits the HEA jackpot before it ends.  I give this a 3/5 Kitty's Paws UP!

***This early copy was given in exchange for an honest review, by Netgalley and its publishers.

I know it's extremely small comfort for those of us worried about their own governments' responses, but I'm still glad we don't have to deal with this sort of mega-f*ckery.

No wonder Brazilians are furious.

Harriet is the daughter of the worst professor at Cambridge, a man who doesn't mind teaching her Latin, but won't even consider the possibility of her attending university. Her aunt, Louisa, keeps house for them and is the cheapest person ever, so were Harriet to hack them to pieces with an ax, no one would be surprised. fortunately, Harriet is offered the opportunity to join the corps of a ballet troupe headed up the Amazon for an extended stay among the insanely wealthy rubber barons of 1912.
It's a delightful book. Just as in [book:A Countess Below Stairs|714569], the heroine isn't brilliant at everything, but she is charming and kind. The hero is a good man, which we know because of his efforts to protect a native tribe (or two). Sure he's a colonial making a fortune, but he treats his workers well, and cares about their long-term interests (if not their land rights).
In addition, we are treated to the amusing characters of the ballet company, a buffoon of a suitor for Harriet, an entrancing young boy, a scheming Scarlett O'Hara type, and quite a lot of natural history. Fleas get their due, as does a coati.
The magic of the book is that Ibbotson tells an Edwardian love story in a way that mostly feels authentic and also progressive. Perhaps it's because when the author brings in a <i>deus ex machina</i> she proclaims it as such. Maybe it's because our leads are enjoying everything unabashedly. I don't know, what the magic is, but I bet you anything you like that Ibbotson had FUN writing this book.

Library copy.