The Lady's Guide to Celestial Mechanics by Olivia Waite

Description From Good Reads:

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?

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My Review:

So I used to be absolutely obsessed with historical romance novels. My favorite historical romance series is the Pink Carnation series by Lauren Willig. I haven't read one in a while as I haven't found one that makes me want to root for the male lead, so when I finally was able to get my hands on this book, I was so excited. Almost scared about being excited because I didn't want to get my hopes up.

Well let me tell you.....this book went above and beyond my expectations. The characters were well fleshed out. I enjoyed getting to know them and seeing them grow throughout the book. The plot made sense and wasn't thwarted by stupid misunderstandings. I enjoyed it from start to finish.

At first, I was worried about Lucy's character. Nothing wrong with people having a temper or rash personality, but sometimes that becomes their only personality trait. This was not the case here. Sure she made a spur-of-the-moment decision to show up on Catherine's doorstep, but then she thought through her life and goals as well as her decisions thoroughly. I am not super interested in Astronomy, but the passion from this character made me wish the book Lucy was writing was real so that I could read it. She was also not afraid to admit when she was wrong as well which I really liked.

Catherine, I absolutely adored as a character. She was super kind and scared to move forward with her life but she found her own strength to not let life stop her. I enjoyed seeing her going from being embarrassed by her hobbies to then being proud and trying to show the world what she can do. I also loved experiencing her realizing that she could love a woman. It was so cute and refreshing. I legit could not stop grinning while reading this book.

I thought the romance was very cute but also freeing. There was no pressure or this feeling of that their love and relationship were taboo. Sure it was acknowledged that they had to keep their relationship a secret, but there were little to no feelings of shame. There was no angst which I really liked. My only complaint is that I do feel that they fell in love a little fast. There wasn't clear notice of how much time was passing in this book, but it still felt a bit rushed. Otherwise, it was beautifully done.

Even the side characters I felt were well thought out even if they didn't appear for too long. The book as a whole felt very well-rounded. I'm sure you've guessed by now that I highly recommend this book. Especially, if you're looking for a good wlw love story. I originally borrowed this book from the library, but I am definitely going to buy my own copy and the second book in the series!