What is the title of your latest release?
THE ANTIQUARIAN’S OBJECT OF DESIRE
What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book?
Historian best friends are forced to fake hate to protect their reputations while dealing with dangerous magical antiques and rampaging ghosts, in a dark academia fantasy romcom.
How did you decide where your book was going to take place?
I wanted to write a dark academia romcom with gothic vibes (but cute!) so it was instantly clear to me that I needed an old manor set in lonely countryside during stormy weather.
Would you hang out with your protagonist in real life?
Absolutely! Professor Amelia Tarrant is my favourite heroine that I’ve written so far, and I would love to be best friends with her. Or, rather, second best friends, since her dear childhood friend Caleb Sterling always comes first in her heart.
What are three words that describe your protagonist?
Amelia is sensible, calm, and bookish. Caleb is vain, lazy, but clever.
What’s something you learned while writing this book?
I learned that I could write friends to lovers, which is a trope I’ve not attempted before and felt unsure I could actually do. But it turned out to be tremendous fun.
Do you edit as you draft or wait until you are totally done?
Edit as I draft, then edit after I draft too.
What’s your favorite foodie indulgence?
Sushi!
Describe your writing space/office!
I have a desk set up in my lounge so I can look out the deck doors to my orchard.
Who is an author you admire?
So many! Thinking randomly … I adore Alexandra Vasti’s books and Olivia Atwater also.
Is there a book that changed your life?
EMMA by Jane Austen. It inspired me to study classic literature at university.
Tell us about when you got “the call.” (when you found out your book was going to be published)/Or, for indie authors, when you decided to self-publish.
It was just a regular email for THE ANTIQUARIAN’S OBJECT OF DESIRE, but more interesting was hearing about my first book being accepted for publication. That happened in the wee small hours of the morning (I’m in New Zealand so a very different time zone from America). I learned that Berkley had won the auction for THE WISTERIA SOCIETY OF LADY SCOUNDRELS, and because everyone I knew was still sleeping, I danced around the house by myself in the dark.
What’s your favorite genre to read?
Fantasy romance.
What’s your favorite movie?
It’s a three-way tie between Ever After, Ladyhawke, and Strictly Ballroom.
What is your favorite season?
Spring.
How do you like to celebrate your birthday?
With family.
What’s a recent tv show/movie/book/podcast you highly recommend?
The Pitt.
What’s your favorite type of cuisine?
Sushi!
What do you do when you have free time?
Work in my garden.
What can readers expect from you next?
I have a cozy, cottagecore fantasy coming out in March 2027 called WISHSPUN. It features a shy librarian and a mage from a rival kingdom who must translate a magical grimoire to save the world from war.
THE ANTIQUARIAN’S OBJECT OF DESIRE by India Holton
Narrator: Elizabeth Knowelden
Love’s Academic #3
When two history professors and best friends are forced to fake hate to protect their reputations, chaos ensues, in the next rollicking historical-fantasy rom-com from beloved author India Holton.
Magical-antique experts Amelia Tarrant and Caleb Sterling have been best friends forever, although lately each has begun secretly wishing for more than friendship. But when rumors about their relationship spread, they’re forced to fake being enemies to protect their reputations and keep their jobs.
The resulting arguments spark havoc across Oxford University, and when they cause an explosion while fighting over a magical antique, it’s the final straw for their exasperated faculty head. He dispatches them to a job in Cumbria where even they can’t get into trouble.…
Which proves just how wrong one man can be. In a stormbound old manor house, Amelia and Caleb face magical mayhem and rampaging ghosts that make the previous havoc look mild in comparison. Most troublesome of all, though, is the secret of how they feel about each other. When it comes to tackling deadly antiques, hiding the truth in their hearts could destroy them for real.
Romance Fantasy | Romance Comedy [ Berkley, On Sale: April 21, 2026, Paperback / e-Book / audiobook, ISBN: 9780593641491 / eISBN: 9780593641507 ]
Buy THE ANTIQUARIAN’S OBJECT OF DESIRE: Amazon.com | Kindle | BN.com | Apple Books | Kobo | Google Play | Books-A-Million | Indie BookShops | Ripped Bodice | Libro.fm | Audible | Walmart.com | Amazon CA | Amazon UK | Amazon DE | Amazon FR
About India Holton
India Holton is the author of The Wisteria Society of Lady Scoundrels, a fantastical romcom set in an alternate Victorian era. She lives in coastal New Zealand, where she grew up running barefoot around islands, following ghosts through forests, and messing around in boats. She spent several years teaching and now writes about plucky girls, unconventional women, and the men who love them. India’s writing is fuelled by tea, buttered scones, and thunderstorms.
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