Summary
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GENRE
TROPES
AO3 TAGS
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?
Hot Takes
What We Liked
Jems
There was so much I loved about this book!! The writing was absolutely gorgeous for starters, and the characters were all unique and off the beaten path for regency romances in the best way possible. I could go on and on about how much I loved the language describing the clothes alone, but what really endeared me to this story was that centered on both the MCs growth and personal realizations in addition to the romance. Neither Lucy or Catherine were the same women that started the book: both found their true callings, happiness, and resiliency together in the most beautiful of ways.
What We Didn’t Like
Apers
I will start by saying I read this book twice, as I’d already read it before we began this venture, so it’s a good book! However, there were a couple of tropes that I don’t super love, even in a historical. I’ve never liked miscommunication tropes (it all started with 11th grade English when we read Othello) and the whole business with Pris had me reading quick to get through it. Neither thing were enough to have me put the book down entirely, even on a second read, but if I was going to read it a third time, I’d likely skip those parts entirely as they don’t really add to the story in a fundamental way.
Review
Apers
Fitting that I, avowed space nerd, would be writing the star review for this book lol. I rated it 4.5 stars when I read it in 2022, but we don’t have half stars here so 4 it is. This is a perfectly good book, excepting the two minor plot lines I didn’t like, which are what knocks a star off the top for me. It’s definitely a book I would recommend to a patron asking for this type of book, so if that’s you, go for it! Those tropes might not be as big of a deal to you.
Jems
I’ll be honest, the first couple scenes had me thinking this was going to be a lighter spice book. But as time went on, I found myself having to stop to fan myself and make that Shrek face (you know the one) at the page! The love and exploration of all the pleasures of shared intimacy made the spicy scenes erotic in the truest sense of the word, and they always left me feeling that this could be a real love that people shared. The way both characters trusted each other as they tried more dominant or submissive roles in the bedroom was touching as it was hot!
