One eccentric naturalist. One brooding animal expert. And a wager that will either save her family—or ruin her heart.

Lady Beatrice Thornfield doesn't need a husband—she needs a laboratory. While other debutantes are perfecting their embroidery, Beatrice is busy conducting behavioral studies on field mice. But when her father’s latest Egyptian obsession leaves the family bankrupt, he bets their remaining fortune on the only thing Beatrice is good at: training animals.

The challenge? Beatrice must out-train the most formidable animal expert in England.

Lord Malcolm Egerton is a man of discipline, logic, and strictly no sentiment. He’s spent years proving that animals respond to methodology, not emotion. When a chaotic wager forces him into a five-week competition against the maddeningly brilliant Lady Beatrice, he expects an easy win. He does not expect a woman who understands his work better than he does—and makes him feel things he’s spent a lifetime suppressing.

From capuchin monkeys in the breakfast room to a very large elephant crashing a garden party, the competition quickly turns into a catastrophe of the heart. As the deadline looms, Beatrice and Malcolm must decide what matters more: winning the wager to save their futures, or losing it all for a love that’s truly wild.

If you love the witty banter of Tessa Dare, the scientific spark of Evie Dunmore, and a hero who falls first (and hard), then you’ll love this laugh-out-loud Regency romp.