Reviews tagging 'Homophobia'

The Care and Feeding of Waspish Widows by Olivia Waite

19 reviews

mishmoshroom's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted relaxing medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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blewballoon's review against another edition

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emotional funny lighthearted reflective relaxing medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This was just as good as The Lady's Guide to Celestial Mechanics, the first entry in this series. I know the cover is absolutely awful, but the book is really so good. The writing is clear and transporting. I loved having the protagonists both be a bit older. The friends to lovers romance is perfectly drawn out and satisfying, but there are also a lot of other topics discussed in the story that are handled with nuance and maturity such as the importance of easy access to divorce, the risks and rewards of standing up to authority and abuses of power, balancing personal principles with being practical and cautious, recognizing and responding to microaggressions and homophobia, and more. I also learned a lot about bees. I listened to this on audiobook and the narration was excellent.
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3frenchtoast's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful informative lighthearted slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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kylieqrada's review against another edition

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emotional funny lighthearted reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Twas good! I didn't love it as much as the first in the series, and the political plot was a little confusing because I didn't really know what was going on. But Agatha and Penelope were pretty cute. 
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stevie_in_the_stacks's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful lighthearted slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes

4.0

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jessthanthree's review against another edition

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hopeful lighthearted slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

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netflixismyroommate's review against another edition

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emotional informative slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

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syntaxofthings's review against another edition

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emotional lighthearted reflective slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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qraveline's review against another edition

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3.0

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morebedsidebooks's review against another edition

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slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix

3.5

 The Care and Feeding of Waspish Widows by Olivia Waite is a greatly detailed sapphic historical fiction romance set in England during a restless political period of 1820-21. The shadows of murder plots against the British cabinet and a royal tug-of-war between King George and Queen Caroline loom in pubs and printing houses a like. Politics, state censorship, decency societies, and the subject of the institution of marriage and women’s positions in England abound. Though most of the anxiety with much twisting of gloves, tugging on cuffs, clutching of skirts and twitterpated hearts is all part of a very slow burn between Penelope Flood (pan with a preference for women), a beekeeper with a marriage of practicality to John (the actual romantic partner of her seafaring brother Harry), and Agatha Griffin (bi), a serious and bit too traditionalist widowed printer. In their forties the two women meet when Agatha finds a large beehive in her warehouse during one of the regular business trips outside London. After Penelope rehives the bees to a more suitable spot on the property the two women strike up a correspondence, then friendship, but also harbor a powerful mutual attraction while carefully ascertaining how or if to do anything about it. As the methods to take on the trials that present themselves for these women and those they care about.  Though the story develops over more than a single season, this second volume in the Feminine Pursuits series is the sort of book to read on equally languid and long summer days emulating the atmosphere of beautiful gardens, the pastoral countryside and lots of bees. 
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