This book has a lot of lovely descriptions and character sketches, but overall it feels more as a vehicle for feminism 101 speeches than a character driven story. The world of the book (and the feminist speeches) don't feel as historically grounded as for instance The Calculating Stars by Mary Robinette Kowal. Also, the main character(s) are impossibly good at pretty much everything. Because of this, it felt more like a sort of alternate history.

Lessons in Chemistry deals with some pretty serious stuff (

rape, death of a partner, gender discrimination, issues with parents

) in a book that felt to me very superficial. I do think the writer can write really well, I just wish she had written something where the tone of the book and the characters were more in line with the seriousness of the things that happen.