Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.97 AVERAGE
3.97 AVERAGE
uraveragelizard's review against another edition
3.5
Cute and hot! I enjoyed the musings on science and art. Some beautiful passages, but I think I got bored of the regency vibes and pacing/plot
grandmahandma's review
2.0
DNF at 71% I tried ok? I tried but I just couldn’t finish it. The characters were all over the place, the plot was all over the place and the protagonist was just unlikable. My main problem was that as it was set in historical times and based on a lesbian couple there was all this ANGST about it being forbidden. But for some reason, everyone figured out they were lesbians?? And they were all okay with it as they were also ALL GAY??
If you want your world to be some utopia where everyone’s gay I’m fine with that! Just stick with the theme.
If you want your world to be some utopia where everyone’s gay I’m fine with that! Just stick with the theme.
stargazerlily4's review
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Complicated
4.25
if you wanna spend time on a lesbian period romance, this is the one.
dynamicdevon's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
5.0
Lush, romantic writing. Characters whom we get to see deepen their relationship even after they've gotten together. Art and science and craft as art. The slow healing of trauma through tenderness and creating a safe haven together. Sticking it to misogyny in science. Beautiful quotes. I couldn't put it down. Even though I don't care for the trope towards the end, it was soon over and didn't detract much.
Catherine's youth was long past, and she wasn't sure she had anything to show for it but a handful of heartbreak.
Every generation had women stand up and ask to be counted - and every generation of brilliant, insightful, educated men has raised a hand and wiped those women's names from the greater historical record.
There was nothing truly vital in it, nothing nourishing to the heart or the mind or the soul. When I look back, the wonder is not that we parted - it's that we managed to hold on as long as we did.
So I started thinking: maybe being an artist is also really about the work. It's not about standing up and trumpeting one's own genius to a throng of adoring inferiors, agog with admiration. Maybe an artist is simply one who does an artist's work, over and over. A process, not a paragon.
kimdokjaa's review
3.0
cute conceptually but meh. i had a lot of fun with the beginning and end, but the middle definitely dragged. i know they were resolved quickly, but all the unnecessary misunderstandings got old very fast. i felt like catherine & lucy got together too quickly, and, trying to not let the romance take too much of a backseat for the rest of the story, waite just threw in miscommunication after miscommunication
alassea's review against another edition
5.0
I came across this by accident, and what a lucky accident it was.
I loved this book for so many reasons, one of which is it is an actual happy lesbian romance, and it is well written. I know, my bar may be too low when those are my criteria.
I love the main characters, the only small annoyance is everyone referring to Catherine as old, she's 35 for heaven's sake. But I may be a bit touchy on the subject. Well-rounded characters with history and reasons. I loved that the plot was about science and women being recognized (or not).
And I thought the romance was well done.
If there's anything I felt was missing, it's an afterword with the facts about recognized women of science in the era, such as Herschel that one of the other reviewers mentioned. The fact that she wasn't included make me wonder how much was accurate and how much was not from the actual era and the science.
I'd still read it again.
I loved this book for so many reasons, one of which is it is an actual happy lesbian romance, and it is well written. I know, my bar may be too low when those are my criteria.
I love the main characters, the only small annoyance is everyone referring to Catherine as old, she's 35 for heaven's sake. But I may be a bit touchy on the subject. Well-rounded characters with history and reasons. I loved that the plot was about science and women being recognized (or not).
And I thought the romance was well done.
If there's anything I felt was missing, it's an afterword with the facts about recognized women of science in the era, such as Herschel that one of the other reviewers mentioned. The fact that she wasn't included make me wonder how much was accurate and how much was not from the actual era and the science.
I'd still read it again.
codeknitter's review
4.0
It's fun. The consideration of art and science is lovely, and this is a pleasant escape book.
jlwhitty's review against another edition
5.0
What a delightful, sweet palate cleanser after all the hetero fantasy smut I've been reading lol Simple, to the point, just enough conflict, soothing, and I loved it.
jfremd's review
emotional
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0