The Care and Feeding of Waspish Widows
Ratings15
Average rating3.8
“It’s a real pleasure watching this friendship between two women in middle age blossom and evolve . . . Entertaining, intelligent and emotionally rewarding.” —Kirkus Reviews, starred review When Agatha Griffin finds a colony of bees in her warehouse, it’s the not-so-perfect ending to a not-so-perfect week. Busy trying to keep her printing business afloat amidst rising taxes and the suppression of radical printers like her son, the last thing the widow wants is to be the victim of a thousand bees. But when a beautiful beekeeper arrives to take care of the pests, Agatha may be in danger of being stung by something far more dangerous . . . Penelope Flood exists between two worlds in her small seaside town, the society of rich landowners and the tradesfolk. Soon, tensions boil over when the formerly exiled Queen arrives on England’s shores—and when Penelope’s long-absent husband returns to Melliton, she once again finds herself torn, between her burgeoning love for Agatha and her loyalty to the man who once gave her refuge. As Penelope finally discovers her true place, Agatha must learn to accept the changing world in front of her. But will these longing hearts settle for a safe but stale existence or will they learn to fight for the future they most desire? Praise for book one of the Feminine Pursuits series by Olivia Waite: “Waite delivers a luscious gem with The Lady’s Guide to Celestial Mechanics . . . a bittersweet read that will make your heart ache, bursting with genuinely funny, remarkable surprises.” —Entertainment Weekly “Simply stellar in every way.” —Booklist, starred review “Waite delivers a sweet lesbian romance with a hint of spice, fitting into the decorum of the era.” —Library Journal
Series
Featured Series
3 primary books#2 in Feminine Pursuits
Feminine Pursuits is a 3-book series with 3 released primary works first released in 2019 with contributions by Olivia Waite.
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(3.5, rounding up.) I love a good slow burn, but holy cow, this was glacial. I think I was at something like 65% of the way through before they kissed? I did enjoy both MC's journeys - Agatha letting go of her old life in London and Penelope finally starting to live for herself. I also learned some history in this! Most of the time, Regency romances just use that era as a setting to mean “empire dresses and lots of balls and The Season” (which is not a complaint, I love that stuff too), but this has no one with a title (except the villain) and actual political persecution, which is much more in line with most people's experiences during this time. Don't get me wrong, “realism” in any historical romance isn't a thing, but a perspective that's focused on working-class people is absolutely refreshing.
(Side note: this cover is the most awkward thing I've ever seen. The models don't even appear to be in the same room, let alone sitting on the same piece of furniture. Neither model looks overcome by passion, more like they're fighting to not sneeze, and they're both probably twenty years younger and quite a bit thinner than the descriptions of the characters they're supposed to be representing. I ‘m all about a cover with real people, but ... if you don't want to use models who are accurate to the characters, that's not saying much great about whoever's doing the selection here.)
I was getting annoyed with YA protagonists for being so immature and teenagery and then I was like lol you dummy take a break and read a grownup book. And then I did and I was like wow look at these responsible women! Small business owners! Upstanding community members! Humane beekeepers! Being reluctant to discuss their feelings due to propriety but ultimately working it all out! Truly I loved to see it.
