A review by jayisreading
The Lady's Guide to Celestial Mechanics by Olivia Waite

hopeful inspiring medium-paced

3.75

The Lady’s Guide to Celestial Mechanics is a novel I never would have considered reading, only because it’s well within intersecting genres that don’t interest me (more specifically, historical fiction/romance). I was challenged by a friend, however, to try reading this book and not be too judgmental about it. The romance aspect was not my cup of tea, but I can see why this friend recommend the book to me. Olivia Waite pleasantly surprised me with underlying feminist themes in Regency England, giving much power to the women in this book. Oh, and of course, lots of positive queerness between women and a great acknowledgment that queer people existed throughout history.

Waite also writes beautifully. I certainly found it enchanting, especially considering so much of the book focuses on the stars, and she weaves metaphors in so well in relation to them.

I did have one gripe, which was that I couldn’t quite tell how much time had passed between chapters. It would be mentioned, but it almost felt like an afterthought. It made the relationship between the two protagonists, Lucy and Catherine, feel rushed. I also think it affected some of the relationships that these characters had with others, but not to the point that it ruined the overall reading experience.

Romance genre elements aside (which, again, I really wasn’t the biggest fan of, but I’m trying not to let that affect my overall impressions of the novel), I enjoyed this more than I thought I would. This is definitely a must-read for folks who do like queer romance and historical fiction.

(And spoiler warning: The twist at the end was simultaneously delightful and annoying in that it kind of felt like a cop-out.)
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