This book was so entertaining. I was drawn into the story from the beginning and was involved until the end. The characters were complex and interesting. I found the story to be well paced and engrossing throughout the whole book. I was invested in the couple throughout the book and felt all the emotions through both the highs and lows of the story.The side characters were such an integral part of this story as well. This is the love story i needed to read at this time. If you want an entertaining and well written book this is it for you

Unfortunately, I've decided to DNF this book. It was much too slow for my particular taste when it comes to romance. I felt like it could have used some editing down, especially in the moments where the reader is told the specific details of beekeeping and running a printing business back in this era. To some, that may be interesting but I went into this book looking for a romance which I still hadn't seen even an ounce of 40% of the way through. I understand a slow burn but this was somehow even slower.

Olivia Waite has a talent for weaving historical timelines into her novels. This novel is so much more than your average historical romance. Waite builds intricate settings against the backdrop of political uncertainty.  The characters are thoroughly developed and have a full life outside of the romance. Because of how much Waite packs into a novel, it is lengthy. She takes her time building the novel bit by bit, but it's always worth it in the end.

Oh be still my gay heart! Historical F/F romances are absolutely my favorite thing right now, and this one did not disappoint. The relationship was so cute! I am so glad that this is becoming a more popular subgenre.

So I hate petty dictators in books and this one has one so up front that was a negative for me. 

The writing just like Waite's other Feminine Pursuits title was excellent. I loved that the characters were older women! We need more of those! The characters really pulled the story along so having well written, likeable characters was important to the book. The plot outside of their relationship was meh but the story focuses in on their relationship enough that it didn't bother me as much as it might in other stories.

Olivia Waite writes lovely historical romances with believable, strong characters that represent interesting facets of society, such as beekeeping. The level of detail makes the novels enjoyable. This story was intriguing (I found myself looking up information regarding apiaries and beekeepers) and the sincerity of the characters and their lives and loves had me cheering for their relationship.

Widow Agatha Griffin has got a lot on her plate trying to keep her deceased husband’s publishing company with higher taxes from radical publishers like her son. When she finds a swarm of bees in her warehouse, it’s the last thing she needs. Seeking the consult of a friend, Penelope Flood is recommended to come handle the bee issue. Penelope exists between two worlds, and when the exiled Queen returns to England, so does Penelope’s husband, and she’s torn between her growing feelings for Agatha, and the man who gave her refuge.

This wasn’t a bad romance book by a long shot, but I just couldn’t get into it. I never became as endeared to the characters as I’d hoped. I always root for the romantic leads, but I wasn’t super into their stories. I did enjoy the last quarter of the book, though, and appreciated Penelope’s divided loyalties and her duty to those she loves.

Overall, a pretty typical bodice ripper. If you’re looking for a historical romance that’s not straight and is set in the less glamorous times of London, definitely give this one a shot. It’s one of an ongoing series, so there should be more at some point.

The Care and Feeding of Waspish Widow follows a village beekeeper, Penelope, and Agatha. She’s the love interest (wags eyebrows). They meet because, as in all the fun romances, things get chaotic when two love birds meet.

Sometimes, I get the sense as a Queer romance reader that I’m always expected to love every f/f romance (particular to historicals since that’s often what I love to read *sigh romance*). Some books have pacing problems. That's definitely this one, I'm sorry to report. The difficulty is that sometimes being Sapphic is not being able to find more books like this out there. Publishing, and a lot of other authors writing queer romance, like to believe that there’s a lot of sapphic romance if they write one or two once in a while. There’s not, though. I feel sorta bad this isn’t higher than a three star for me. The romance and the chemistry is kind of a dud for me? I just…kinda expect that there be chemistry. Obviously it worked better for other readers but I tend to like slow burns that actually do something with the tension between two characters.

My criticism is that some authors seem to confuse bad pacing with slow burn. That slow build up of getting to know each other. I would like that to have been in here but the pacing and lack of tension killed it for me. Mainly, the problem with this is that it is not as tight in its plotting and the author is weaving through sub-plots too much. Ultimately, it’s fine but kind of boring and not a real slow burn.

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.

In The Care and Feeding of Waspish Widows, Penelope is her village beekeeper, tending the hives. Meanwhile, printer Agatha lives in London but has a press in Penelope's town, and the two meet when bees invade part of Agatha's press. This historical was beautifully written, and it read like a true historical. So many historical romances have characters with extremely contemporary viewpoints, or outlandish plots. This one seemed very much of its time - the characters are concerned with what is happening with the King and Queen, and the sedition laws get people into very real trouble. I had read that this was a low angst read before going into it, and while there wasn't much angst in the romance, I was quite stressed at times when reading. I was worried about the queer characters and their intolerant neighbors, I was worried about those sedition laws, and I was worried about the very real tumult of the times. Despite that, I felt that Waite really gave me a satisfying ending - the characters have all grown, and while the times haven't changed, they're able to find their places. I enjoyed this book and am looking forward to going back to read the first in the series.

I loved this book so much. I was already primed to love it, because A Lady's Guide is one of the best historical lesbian romances I've ever read. But this one, this was beautiful and it got lesbian rep completely right. I loved that the main characters are older (being older myself). I love that it wasn't a coming out for either of them. I love that they notice each other's competence and also older, lived in bodies and find those qualities sexy. I KNOW these women. And I love them. So thank you, Olivia Waite. Thank you thank you thank you.

This sweet and slow moving romance between two women in their 40s is a low-angst read. I loved the Lady's Guide to Celestial Mechanics, but the overlap between the two books is minimal. I think this would work as a standalone. 

Warm, easygoing Penelope is equally comfortable in men's and women's clothes and is much more attractive than she appears on this cover. Agatha is a pragmatic widow who didn't notice she was lonely until she befriends her local beekeeper, and discovers trousers are mighty comfortable. Both women have had previous relationships with other women, so this isn't a coming out story, which I loved. But as they start to build a friendship while tending hives together, they get to play the age-old game of figuring out if the woman they want, also wants them back. 

I have to admit, I found the beekeeping scenes exceptionally boring. Apparently I am a horrible person who just wants to eat honey, enjoy a well-pollinated garden, and not read about how to make those things happen. Even women moaning while taste-testing honey is apparently not enough to get me excited about bees. 

However, I enjoyed the cozy scenes of village life, and Penelope's circle of friends, and the backdrop of historical politics.

4+ Stars for this second in series, my second by Waite. I could see upping the rating on a reread.

For all the HRs that use the Regency period as a fairy tale background, a story that uses history as integral to the plot feels fresh and original. This is one of those stories. After reading the first in series, I was looking forward to another by Waite. I thought some of the pitfalls that first book had, where it could get off track and wordy in descriptions, were avoided here. It struck the right balance between detail and story flow.

Agatha and Penelope are two middle-aged women lonely in love. Agatha is a widow and Penelope is independently living as wife to an absent husband in name only. Agatha is introduced in the first book. She runs a press, and when visiting her warehouse outside of town, she needs the help of a local bee expert when a hive makes its home in one of her presses. A friendship develops through correspondence and feelings and desires deepen. I found the reading of their growing intimacy cathartic. It was essentially the story of two lonely souls finding each other.

The historical context was set in the time when Queen Caroline returns to England, and King George IV seeks divorce. There is social unrest and sides forming in support of both. The way this is shown and some scenes related to it were clever and interesting. It makes you wonder why more stories do not feature these types of settings and backgrounds. I find it much more interesting than ballrooms and house parties. It's not the first I've read with some consideration to this historical setting (two books come to mind), but there are loads of HRs set around 1820 that take no account of the news of the day. 

The reason this is at 4 stars and not more is because it took me a long time to get through. This is no fault of the book. I'm just not reading much at the time. I overall thought it was lovely, but I think I will need to reread to evaluate it as a whole better.

<i>Thank you to the author and the publisher for a chance to read and review this story. This is my honest opinion.

This second novel in Olivia Waite's Feminine Pursuits novel lives up to the expectations set by Lady's Guide to Celestial Mechanics. The writing is excellent and the different perspective in historical romance from the typical M/F aristocracy was refreshing. Don't get me wrong, I love those books too, but it's nice to have some change of pace.

This is a slow burn F/F historical romance between a beekeeper and the owner of a print shop. Emphasis on slow burn with lots of quiet pining. Penelope and Agatha meet when a swarm of bees decide to make their home in one of Agatha's warehouses and she needs it removed. They form a seemingly unlikely friendship that slowly grows closer and blossoms into love. Watching the relationship develop between these two was very sweet.

Geez, there were SO many plot lines in this book! 

On the one hand, I love that Olivia Waite is writing smart f/f historical romances, and that should definitely be commended. I enjoyed the two main characters and the lovely slow burn romance we had going on, plus the bee keeping aspect of the plot was everything! But, here's where the negatives come in. There were several chapters about King and Queen's marriage problems, relationships with side characters, etc, and I JUST DIDN'T CARE. I found myself zoning out quite a bit because of all of this extra stuff that definitely didn't need to be included in the book. 

**Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for providing an e-arc in exchange for an honest review**

3.5 stars! I enjoyed this one, but didn't necessarily love it as much as the first. 

Firstly, I loved the fact that this book has two middle-aged women as MC's. I've never read a romance with a middle-aged woman, but I think it's so important to show that not everyone falls in love at a young age, or that it's okay to fall in love with someone else after you've been married & separated or married & widowed. There's a slow-burn romance between them that is fitting for the time period but I didn't necessarily love reading 300 pages before they got together. The yearning was well written, but I kind of wish there was more? I'm a sucker for some good yearning. This just felt like another ye olde romance, and I would have preferred more of them actually being in a relationship and sneaking around like teenagers (but as 40 year old women) y'know? 

I think overall, there were too many plot points, though. I really loved the beekeeping - I could honestly have read about that forever. I also thought the other plot points surrounding families and relationships were interesting and I would have liked to see more development there rather than trying to involve political aspects of the time period? I don't think it was out of place or anything, but it felt like the addition of politics this way was just a bit much to go with everything else neatly. I understand all the talks about marriage and divorce in a political way, and I think that was done well, but I didn't care to read about the King and Queen and ended up skimming a lot of those sections. 

I'm definitely still anticipating the next book!

Well written, well characterized, and a fun read from page to page - Olivia Waite's "The Care and Feeding of Waspish Widows" is a definite read for fans of sapphic romance.

This book was an exhausting experience. It was entirely to long with entirely to many subplots and a way to many evil or disappointing men. I felt exhausted just listening to it. It would have been easier if one plot point about sedition was focused on rather than multiple because it pulled the plot in to many directions and by the time I got to the end with the Vicar I just was so tired. The vicar went from being mildly annoying about his sister and the will to putting the heroines gay husband in the stocks! There was just way to much going on. 

I think this is less of a slow burn and more of two women who realize that they've been a relationship the entire time and then are like oh shit lets get it on right now immediately after kissing at 75%. It felt more like a historical that happened to have a queer romance subplot than an actual romance. 

I look forward to the next on in the series that hopefully isnt pulled into 10 different directions.

I went into this book expecting a fun, enjoyable story with interesting characters and wonderful romance. I got all that and so much more. Agatha is very business oriented and pragmatic. Penelope is a beekeeper who runs a little wild herself. Then you add in Agatha’s son and Eliza and Penelope’s husband and her brother and the vicar and Lady Summerville and it all comes together in a way that kept me engaged and wouldn’t let me put the book down. I especially appreciated the social justice aspect of the story. All in all, I loved everything about it!!

I think this author may just not be a good match for me.  I liked her first book better, but that one also had the same problems this one does--way too slow burn and more philosophizing than action.  For people who prefer a slow and tender romance, this author and this book might be a great fit.