The Lady's Guide to Celestial Mechanics by Olivia Waite

The Lady's Guide to Celestial Mechanics (The Feminine Pursuits Novels, #1)

by Olivia Waite

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 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?

Reviewed by Berls on

4 of 5 stars

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I'm really glad this book was selected for book club! As of late, I have not been a big historical reader, but this one was unique in that it's a lesbian romance AND it's centered on feminine careers in a man's world (even more so than today). My one disappointment? It's a series (trilogy so far) and I really need to read them all now (LOL - not really a bad thing!).

The characters are just super fantastic! Lucy is a scientist (astrologer) who worked with her father, doing most his calculations as he got older but was never credited. I loved the way she spoke - she knew how to be polite, but also strong and she knew how to use disguised verbal daggers. And then there's Catherine, the slightly older (~10 years) widow with money and freedom, but a painful history with M/F romance. She's never considered a F/F romance until Lucy shows up at her door, determined to translate a significant scientific work from French to English. Their romance is fantastic - there's an element of Lucy guiding Catherine, which is just perfectly done. And I loved the layers of jealousy, practicality, etc. that come into play.

Their career efforts are equally great. I loved watching them basically give the patriarchy a giant FU and blaze their own path. I loved the way the learned about themselves as artist and scientist - while also learning about others who have trodden their own, equally challenging paths. There were a couple unexpected and fabulous twists. And I'm very excited to see where these career efforts will lead in future books - as I *think* that's where the series will go.

I listened to The Lady's Guide to Celestial Mechanics, narrated by Morag Sims. Her narration was really great - especially when she had to introduce different class and area accents. This is the first time in a long while I've listened at less than 2x... I listened at 1.75. So not a huge difference and not because her performance was in any way lacking. I just needed to slow down a tiny bit for the accents, I think. I will continue to listen for sure.

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Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 11 April, 2022: Finished reading
  • 11 April, 2022: Reviewed