Reviews with content warning for Emotional abuse - Lessons in Chemistry

I wanted to like this, but I have to admit, this one fell flat for me for a few reasons. The read was quite tedious at times and I think the author was trying extend a sense of female empowerment, but it didn’t feel authentic. There was little depth to the story—no true plot or character growth to captivate the reader. The characters were stiff and the feminist morality was not relatable.

I think it would have benefited the story to truly allow the characters to exist in their space. I kept forgetting that the storyline takes place in the 1950s, only to be reminded by Elizabeth saying something completely absurd. I want to be immersed in the time era and I want characters with complexity, faults, and things that make them grow.

There was very little world-building and I felt a big disconnect with the characters—a beautiful chemist who makes chemistry a successful cooking show, a pre-schooler who acts like a 35 year genius, and the dog POV was a little strange. The nerd stereotype was over utilized and it was challenging to emphasize with the characters.

The love story between them didn’t seem very genuine. They met and they fell in love. It didn’t seem to go much deeper than that.

Also, the religious element threw me off. It was very emphasized, but it didn’t do anything to propel the plot line or character growth. It just felt uncomfortable.

There was some good parts of the book, but I did not laugh at the wittiness and I was unable to relate to the characters.

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jaduhluhdabooks's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional informative inspiring reflective sad tense medium-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

5.0

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friendofdorothea's review

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emotional hopeful inspiring reflective fast-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? Yes

4.75

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nightingale25's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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cheryl_gager's review against another edition

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challenging emotional inspiring reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

I really enjoyed this book, more than I thought as it is not my normal genre and style of book. I did struggle to get lost in it the way that makes me love a book, but the writing was so easy and compelling I could not like the book. A lot of the book made me angry and frustrated, with the sexism and misogyny, especially knowing that this is what women truly faced during the 1950s and 1960s and what some women still experience in some industries. I liked Elizabeth a lot and the way she influenced those women and made them believe in themselves and see themselves as something more made me so happy. I really liked the dog as well, though reading about what he was thinking and feeling was a bit weird and then made me loose that bit of connection. Overall, I would recommend this book as it did a really good job at tackling the subject and looking back at sexism at that time, but it did not give me what I want from a book and that is a me thing rather than the books problem.

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vixenreader's review against another edition

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dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.25

Although a few things tie together in a nice bow, the strength of the cast of characters, especially our protagonist, and the themes of truth, change, and perseverance make this novel a crowd-pleaser.

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arrow3002's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Lessons in Chemistry is a tale of a bad ass woman working against a very prejudice world, and I am absolutely here for it. It was such a fun read, and I really enjoyed the way Bonnie was able to tell Elizabeth's story through all the different chapters of her life. Throughout the book it will occasionally switch to a different character's perspective, and I found myself quite enjoying the change in pace. It added a lot more to the narrative instead of confusing the reader in the guise of character development. The women empowerment, that is the main driving force behind this book, was beautifully done. There were many points where I felt that gender discrimination was handled in a very elegant yet profound way that I don't see often. There is so much in this book that makes it a genuinely great read. I devoured the book in a couple of hours and was left feeling very satisfied with how everything played out in the end. Also, Elizabeth and Calvin’s relationship had my heart absolutely melting, and let’s not forget the absolute legend that is Six Thirty. I fell in love with all the characters and felt such a strong connection with each and every one of them, which is a very hard to accomplish. Despite all the good, there were a couple of personal issues I had with the book that kept it from being a 5 star. I will start of by saying I am bias when it comes to the topic I will be bringing up, and I understand that everyone will have a different opinion, and that is more than totally okay and welcomed. But I felt that there was a strong anti-religion message continued throughout the whole entirety of the story, specifically anti-Catholic. There were a lot of times that I felt like I was being ridiculed for my beliefs and a lot of the stereo types often circulated about the catholic church were very much present in the book. I will not deny that the things that occur in the book definitely do happen and are not right in ANY way. But if you are a person of faith, there is a lot said in the book that you will probably find very hurtful due to the point of view the author is coming from. I am a huge believer in the power behind science and how important it is to the betterment of everyone, but I also hold my religious beliefs at the same importance. I totally believe that you can rely on science AND God at the same time. Again, I understand where the author and the main character is coming from, and in no way invalidating their beliefs or experience. It just took away from the enjoyment I was having with the book so much so that I felt a need to comment on it. If you do not like the book then stop reading it and move on, but it is a point I want to acknowledge for those who are religious and want to read the book. Again, other than my problem with how the church is portrayed, the story is an empowering and inspiring tale of a women in STEM and had me feeling empowered by the end of it. I will definitely suggest this book to anyone who comes to me asking for a fun and witty read that will keep them from wanting to put it down.

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