Reviews tagging 'Chronic illness'

The Lost Apothecary by Sarah Penner

67 reviews

inconsistantly_sarah's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious slow-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Infertility, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Medical content, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, and Pregnancy

erikalv97's review against another edition

mysterious medium-paced

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

3.5

I was really excited to read this book, so I had high hopes for it, while it wasn’t exactly what I expected, it was not a bad read.

I don’t particularly enjoyed the “present” story, but I enjoyed the eighteenth century one. 

Overall, it’s a book with a great concept and it had some plot twists that surprised me

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Infertility, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, and Gaslighting

allycat21's review against another edition

emotional inspiring lighthearted mysterious 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Infidelity, Misogyny, Murder, Pregnancy, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Chronic illness, Infertility, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Medical content, Death of parent, and Alcohol

lauramcc7's review against another edition

dark informative slow-paced

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

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infidelity, Miscarriage, Blood, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Chronic illness

selenatothemax's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful informative sad medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Chronic illness, Death, Infertility, Infidelity, Pedophilia, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Domestic abuse and Classism

Minor: Vomit

ambb's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Pedophilia, Toxic relationship, and Pregnancy

Minor: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Blood, Vomit, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment

kitkatkick's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious sad medium-paced

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

3.0

The premise of this book was certainly interesting, but the execution was a lot less exciting than I had hoped. The story bounces between three points of view: Nella, the murderous apothecary herself; Eliza, a 12-year-old girl who has suddenly found herself in Nella’s company; and Caroline, a soon-to-be-divorcee on a soul searching trip in present-day London.

Having all three points of view felt unnecessary. The story could have better been told with either Nella and Eliza’s different views on the actual apothecary shop, or with a contrast between Nella’s view and Caroline’s discovery of her. Having only two viewpoints would have probably given a lot more room for the characters to become likable, as well. I started reading this book because I was interested in the apothecary premise, but Nella and Eliza’s story is so rushed and plot driven that I ended up more interested in Caroline’s story, which wasn’t even mentioned in the summaries I read beforehand.

My last qualm is that it’s yet another book that projects itself as telling a woman’s story but ends up only telling the story of how a man affected said woman. Both Nella and Caroline’s storylines revolve around how men did them wrong and how those wrongdoings changed their lives. Nella’s apothecary shop is revealed not to be her way of rebelling and helping fellow women, but moreso a long game of revenge against her former lover. And through most of it, she comes off as scornful of most of the other women she interacts with. What could have been a new twist on women helping women simply became another story of “a woman scorned.” 

Overall, I wouldn’t call this a bad book. I can tell there are some people who will probably love it. But it wasn’t quite what I expected, and not what I was looking for, either.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Death, Miscarriage, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Murder

Moderate: Infertility and Sexual harassment

One of the main characters is tricked into a forced miscarriage

buckaroo97's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective 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? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Death, Infertility, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Vomit, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Gaslighting

therainbowshelf's review against another edition

dark emotional sad 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? Yes

4.0

Excellent! I loved the dual timeline. In the present, a woman recovering from a painful life shock stumbles upon an unexpected history mystery. In the past, a woman dealing in poisons to help women lives out said history mystery. Definitely not my usual kind of book, but I’m glad I read it. Content warnings for infidelity, poisoning, miscarriage, sexual assault, suicide, and death.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Death, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Suicide attempt, Murder, Pregnancy, and Abandonment

Moderate: Sexual assault

Minor: Classism

Poisoning, death of a spouse

cptnstphy's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Blood

Moderate: Chronic illness, Infertility, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Grief, Abortion, Murder, Pregnancy, Abandonment, and Alcohol

Minor: Police brutality, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism