Beautiful, bold, and brilliant Avery dreams of becoming a member of the Royal Astronomical Society—and the only way she can join the all-male society is to disguise herself as a boy. After helping Giles, Lord Strand, escape a disastrous engagement, she is certain he will assist in her daring masquerade. No lady would ever come up with such a preposterous scheme, and no gentleman would accept…but fortunately for Avery, Giles is no gentleman.
A bargain is struck between the stargazing adventuress and society's most sophisticated lord. He will sponsor her as his prodigy and she will cover for him as he hunts London's darkest warrens for a missing colleague from his shadowy past. But time and again, Giles finds his quest compromised by his fierce and unwise attraction to the lovely girl who, though no lady, may well be the one dame to finally unlock the secrets of his heart.
Gender-bending and science! No Place for a Dame was great! As we saw last time, Giles proposed to the horrible Sophia out of a sense of honor and duty, and now has quickly come to regret that decision. Luckily, his friend Avery and the household staff are willing to help him get out of it. After scaring Sophia off, Avery asks for a tiny favor in return. She wants Giles to take her on as his protege so that she can join a prestigious astronomy society and present her comet research. She’ll also have to pretend to be a man in the process.
I adored No Place for a Dame! Avery was such a fun character! She’s a total science nerd and just wants to contribute her findings and maybe gain some recognition in the process. But she can do neither as herself. I loved how she actually made an awful boy. Her breasts were too big to bind, so they made her fat instead, chopped off her hair, and stuck some glasses on her face. She also has no idea how to hold a conversation with the men if it’s not about science. And on top of all that, the rumor is that she’s Giles’ young, male lover rather than his protege! Which is only “confirmed” when they’re caught kissing.
No Place for a Dame was an amazing ending to this series. I adored how everything was wrapped up for Giles and Avery. They put on quite the performance at the end to make sure that she kept her scientific award, while also allowing her to return to being herself. There’s also a showdown with Jameson! It wasn’t all that exciting, but I was glad to see him get what he deserved.
