As Lucy Muchelney watches her ex-lover’s sham of a wedding, she wishes herself anywhere else. It isn’t until she finds a letter from the Countess of Moth, looking for someone to translate a groundbreaking French astronomy text, that she knows where to go. Showing up at the Countess’ London home, she hoped to find a challenge, not a woman who takes her breath away.
Catherine St Day looks forward … looks forward to a quiet widowhood once her late husband’s scientific legacy is fulfilled. She expected to hand off the translation and wash her hands of the project—instead, she is intrigued by the young woman who turns up at her door, begging to be allowed to do the work, and she agrees to let Lucy stay. But as Catherine finds herself longing for Lucy, everything she believes about herself and her life is tested.
While Lucy spends her days interpreting the complicated French text, she spends her nights falling in love with the alluring Catherine. But sabotage and old wounds threaten to sever the threads that bind them. Can Lucy and Catherine find the strength to stay together or are they doomed to be star-crossed lovers?
more
F/F romance is not my go-to genre, but a reader recommended this to me, and it was lovely. How the heroines expressed themselves through their passion for science and art was beautifully done. Catherine and Lucy were realistic and appealing heroines, and the writing was superb from beginning to end. I think I would have liked more romantic scenes between them and sexual encounters, but since I’m a BDSM and erotic romance reader, that bias is mine and doesn’t figure into my rating. The romance and eroticism that was in the story was well done, emotionally moving, and put me squarely in their corner. How Catherine resolves the “permanency” of their relationship toward the end was brilliant.
I enjoyed the handful of side characters who were also exploring ways to express themselves in a limiting society. I did find myself questioning where fact and fiction blurred, and how realistic the situations in certain instances were. That led me to this quote by the author: “Ultimately, the modern reader is my priority. I am not writing for people in the 19th century; I am writing for people in the present moment, who have a lot on their minds and who are looking for a way through. Sometimes we have to practice imagining a better world than the one we’ve inherited. Sometimes we need somewhere safe to practice hope, before we try something world-changing in our own lives. Fulfillment we can give you. Happy queer people, making choices that matter to them, even if those choices are sometimes constrained. Happiness, in spite of anything. In spite of everything.”
Fair enough. For someone who isn’t normally a F/F reader, but has been wanting to give a good one a shot, this would be an excellent choice. Especially if you enjoy historical romance!
I loved this f/f historical romance between Catherine, Countess of Moth, a widow who’d traveled the world with her husband, who’s since passed away, and Lucy, a younger, budding astronomer. Lucy fascinated me the most, because she is only interested in women and has no qualms about that. She’s fresh off getting her heart broken by seeing her ex Priscilla get married to a man and not looking to fall in love again. Waite does an amazing job of setting up their love affair, a momentous leap for Catherine, whose marriage was far from idyllic, as well as establishing the importance of their individual careers and professional discoveries as they live together while Lucy translates a major astronomy text. The sex scenes are at times tender and at times much more intense, both riveting, and Waite portrays Regency England as a place where women in intimate relationships with women weren’t rare. The writing here is so exquisite, with many metaphors coming back to the planets and stars, as befitting Lucy’s profession. An early line I loved, soon after Lucy and Catherine meet: “She’d felt like a book pulled down from the shelf, splayed open by a determined reader, and held firmly in place until she gave up all her secrets.” a feminist through line emphasizing how women’s accomplishments and talents were ignored, overlooked and diminished at that time. This is a sexy, beautiful, moving book and I look forward to the next in the series. Whether or not you usually read historical romance, I recommend it.
My goodness, but this book is wonderful! A historical f/f romance set in Regency England, the writing is as richly poetic as in literary fiction, especially in the passages concerning art, exploration, and astronomy.
When Lucy Muchelney’s astronomer father dies, she’s determined to carry on with her passion for exploring the heavens. A skilled mathematician and linguist, she’d long ago taken over all aspects of her father’s work except for his most outlandish theorizing. Of course, a female scientist’s chance of gain public acceptance was slim, if not microscopic. At the books opening, we find Lucy heartbroken as her lover, Priscilla, marries a man she doesn’t love to gain social acceptance, thus ending their long-standing affair. Worse, Lucy’s artist brother is threatening to sell her telescope.
When Catherine St. Day, Countess of Moth, writes Lucy’s late father, asking for his help in translating the work of a French astronomer, the leading light of their day, well—how can Lucy refuse? She travels to London to plead her case in person.
Catherine has suffered for years through a loveless marriage to a mercurial scientist, then an abusive lover. Her refuge, then and now, is her highly skilled needlework. (The author must be an artist herself to describe Catherin’s designs with such touching, poetic language. Trust me—you’ll love these passages.) Now a widow with a considerable fortune, she’s free to continue her work supporting the Polite Philosophy Society. Of course, celestial sparks fly when the two women meet. But the passion pulling them together must battle with social disapprobation, two badly singed hearts, and the active interference of male scientists who, of course, want all the glory for themselves.
Richly developed characters, detailed world building, luscious love scenes—this book has it all. The ending delivers an HEA with a most satisfying twist. I’m adding the rest of Ms. Waite’s The Lady’s Guide series to my TBR pile! Five scintillating stars.
This book is absolutely delicious!
I love this book. I accidentally read the series out of order — I read “The Hellion’s Waltz” before this book, but it didn’t make much difference. They both have well-drawn, lovable characters who are strong, intelligent, and independent. The historical settings are engaging and the background (in this case, 19th-century science and the struggle of women to be taken seriously) are wonderful. Stir in a pinch of radical politics and you have a delicious mix.
This was cute and sweet, and a lovely queer historical romance. I loved the consent, how the characters interacted, and how they went about getting what they wanted. I thought it was nice how they grew each other without needing to share interests.
The book has it’s strong points. The characters are unique and interesting being women in a time where they had so little power even with one of them being a dutchess. So it’s definitely fun to see two female characters go against the men and pursue their interests and pave the way for science. The setting is good too with it being royal society England, it’s a fun time period to read about.
However, I really wish I could rate this book higher, but the truth is… I just couldn’t even finish it. There are moments where the characters really shine and moments where you could honestly just care less. The chemistry between the characters is just weak for most of the book and it makes it feel endless, like you’re dragging yourself to hope for something better. It took me over a week to even get 2/3rds through because it just couldn’t hold my attention.
I liked the characters in this book and how the author’s brought them alive individually and as partners. The discrimination women experience is explored realistically, and I identified greatly with their anger over not having their intellect and accomplishments acknowledged. The author includes relationships beyond that of the two main protagonists, adding interest and depth to the story.
Brilliantly written and incredibly romantic – this dreamy, sexy historical F/F romance novel was truly amazing. Lucy and Catherine’s love was real, beautiful, sweet and sultry. As they (literally) charted the stars together, I was utterly swept up in their love affair, their quest for science and equality, their curiosity and bravery. I’m new to this author’s work but I’m a fangirl now!
As much book about science and art as love and a woman’s heart, The Lady’s Guide to Celestial Mechanics was, in a word, exquisite. Olivia Waite weaves a take that’s as feminist as it is feminine, exploring the contrast between women’s roles or expectations and their passions and aspirations.
This is the very definition of a slow-burn romance, full of friendship and flirting, questioning and queerness. Lucy is a woman of science who appreciates art, her heart broken by the betrothal of the woman she thought she loved, who is chasing a dream as much as she’s fleeing from a nightmare. Catherine is a woman of art who appreciates science, her passions dismissed by the men who laid claim to her, who only opened her home as a patron but finds herself opening her heart as a lover. Lucy is attracted to her patron, wishing there could be something intimate between them, while Catherine finds herself attracted the younger woman, never imagining that such intimacy with another woman could be possible. It’s a sweet friends-to-lovers romance, full of awkward moments and humorous misunderstandings, but also wondrously passionate.
Lucy and Catherine are both such wonderful characters, so real that I went looking online to see if they were actual historical figures. They have such personality, such carefully defined mannerisms and quirks of speech, such warmth and tenderness, that I found myself wholly invested in their relationship. Waite imbues such passionate intensity in small glances and gentle touches, it’s all too easy to feel that joyous thrill of newfound love. And when they finally do become intimate, I found myself marveling at the interplay of sensual eroticism and wanton passion, with the laborious act of undressing as exhilarating as the first kiss upon a creamy thigh.
Alongside the romance, I loved how deeply this was a story about art and science, and how significant Waite made those issues. Astronomy, mathematics, botany, and natural history are explored alongside poetry, painting, dressmaking, and embroidery. Pushed back and pressed down but a patriarchal society, Lucy and Catherine find both purpose and validation in one another, coming to understand and explore their passions through their interactions. It’s a story that made me angry so many times, wanting to reach into the pages and strangle men like Wilby and Hawley, but there are some twists and surprise revelations in the final pages that are immensely satisfying and full of promise.
There are, of course, moments of darkness and doubt to be overcome, acts of sabotage and feelings of betrayal that threatens to upset their entire lives. I freely admit, I closed the book at the end of chapter 13, entirely too broken to continue reading that night, but I found a quiet corner the next day and happily lost myself in the final 50 pages. In a sense, I’m glad I waited so long to give The Lady’s Guide to Celestial Mechanics a read, because with The Care and Feeding of Waspish Widows pre-ordered and due to be delivered before the end of the month, I do not have to wait for Olivia Waite’s second Feminine Pursuits romance.
What a great way to start my 2020 reading!
Lucy is a fantastic character – she takes action even when her world is rocked, even when she’s scared, even when she’s shut down. She’s everything brave and brilliant.
At the same time, she knows she’s not always right. She is careful with Catherine’s heart and cautious about balancing what they both want and need. That caution – on both their parts – leads to some admirable pining as well as a well-deserved black moment before they learn how to move forward together.
A romance starring two heroines, one working embroidery and one translating mathematical manuscripts. This book is wonderful! Lucy and Catherine are both rich and relatable, with their own talents but very different backgrounds. The writing is gloriously beautiful, a tapestry of fine stitches, star charts, and perfectly suited characters who draw you into their story. Loved it!
A wonderful book, with beautifully developed characters. Beautifully written and filled with inspirational and realistic dialogue. Thoughtful and timely.
Three and a half stars. First, I absolutely love the title. In fact that’s what first drew me in, but the actual story is so worth a read. I enjoyed the progression of Catherine’s and Lucy’s love for each other and also Catherine’s self-discovery journey out of a bad marriage to a relationship that freed her from all the shackles imposed on her by a controlling husband and a patriarchal society. The descriptions were beautiful and detailed even though they sort of interrupted the flow of the story for me at times. That surprise at the end made my day (you’ll have to read it to find out), some kind of karma. I was outraged right along with the two female main characters by the way Lucy and her work were treated by a society of men who were too afraid to admit women were their equals just as I loved the strong feminist tone of the whole story. For my reading taste it was a bit slow at times, thus the half star instead of a full four stars, but that’s just a personal preference, not a reflection on Ms. Waite’s work. Well done.
I read this novel over the summer, picking it up for several reasons including the gorgeous cover. Rich and passionate, the novel delivers on the promise on the cover. This novel is a particular delightful because it is smart, gets the science right and captures the concerns of scientists of the time. Central to its premise is the way women are relegated to supporting roles in the lives of male scientists, even when they are far more brilliant than their male counterparts.
I’ve read a few ff romances and I find they are either euphemistic in their approach to feminine passion or they emphasize the sweetness of the affection of the characters and not the passionate nature of their love. While there is a great deal of affection and respect between Lucy and Catherine, their physical passion is also powerful and the author does not hesitate to show that. Each love scene increases in intensity as they give themselves over to their mutual attraction, giving both women their due agency and sexual expression.
Excellent novel – I enthusiastically recommend it.
Astronomy, embroidery, and lady love FTW! Olivia Waite writes a marvelous romance column for Seattle Review Of Books so I had high hopes for her FF historical romance. And reader, she more than met my expectations.
I could not handle how good this was. The way Lucy described astronomy was vastly more interesting than the astronomy class I took in college. The way the story explored science and art and what validates each discipline was nuanced and lovely. It was heartbreaking to see how Catherine’s skill with embroidery had been overlooked and downplayed and I loved watching her come in to her own in accepting her talent. Also: I now desperately want a shawl with the whole night sky embroidered on it.
There were so many tender, quiet moments between Lucy and Catherine, really building up the tension and the angst until they decided to act on their attraction. Catherine is healing from a toxic marriage, while Lucy is grappling with not being acknowledged as an astronomer simply because she’s a woman. Their faith in one another was wonderful to see and the evolution of their relationship as they felt the effects of that faith was beautiful.
Plus, the writing was gorgeous and there were some great twists. I am very much looking forward to the next book in this series!
CW: sexism, past emotional abuse, past death of parent, toxic marriage, anxiety
A romance to savor. Beautifully written, and a passionate defense of women’s work and contributions to the advancement of the sciences, art, and knowledge. And then there’s the quiet reminder that we all need to lift each other up along the way.
This book was just lovely. Like that’s the best adjective for it. It was somehow both quiet and fierce. Because that’s how the book is, it can seem very light and lovely and quiet and ephemeral as both leads are contemplative and very thoughtful and very kind, but all the passion is still there. It’s still radical, it still pushes us to think about art and science and whose contributions get celebrated and recognized and whose don’t and why. It still lets us shift our perspective and see the whole of society the whole of the world different, but it does so in an almost deceptively quiet, deceptively delicate way. The love story is beautiful and real and hopeful. The writing is lovely. But what makes this most special is that delicateness and that voice and that heart in it all that is completely unique but just so quiet and passionate, and lovely and fierce.
I wasn’t sure what a same sex romance would be like but it was an interesting read. Lots of sexism in the scientific community of the time, much of which is still alive today. If you can look past the fake society names, it’s an interesting story (spoiler) without a kidnapping! Nice to see some diversity.
F/F historical romance featuring a character who loves math and space. The writing is lovely, the story solid, and the characters well-drawn. I’m so excited for the rest of the series.