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emilinaballerina's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
I thought this was an interesting concept, but the characters felt fairly one dimensional and showed little to no growth throughout the novel. I found myself skipping pages at a time because the characters were so uninteresting.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Death
Moderate: Misogyny and Miscarriage
Minor: Child death
nanditha14's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This book felt surprisingly healing.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Grief, Misogyny, Pregnancy, Death, Domestic abuse, Infertility, Child death, Miscarriage, Murder, and Sexual assault
mxcarrion's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
A genuinely enjoyable read, female author and main character which is great. Fantastic if you want something intriguing and historical, but without too much backstory to remember. This was my first book getting back into regular reading, and I'm glad I chose it.
I will note it is fairly heteronormative.
I will note it is fairly heteronormative.
Content Warnings
Minor: Death, Infertility, Infidelity, Misogyny, and Murder
kelisabeth's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abortion, Alcohol, Classism, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Miscarriage, Murder, Sexism, Sexual assault, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Death of parent, Grief, Infertility, Infidelity, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual harassment, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide attempt
andloveistoolong's review against another edition
dark
hopeful
tense
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
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Chronic illness, Miscarriage, Murder, Infidelity, Grief, and Suicidal thoughts
Moderate: Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual harassment, Suicide attempt, Blood, Child death, Chronic illness, Infertility, Death, and Medical content
Minor: Pregnancy
lowwi_owo's review against another edition
adventurous
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? It's complicated
2.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Misogyny
xandra_lyn's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Really great read, I couldn't put it down!! I definitely enjoyed the Eliza/Nella storylines better than Caroline's. In fact, Caroline bothered me a lot. I liked her ending, but she didn't act like a real woman...to the point I actually checked to see if the author was actually a man (for examples, see spoiler). I also wish the ending had been a little clearer on what happened to Eliza/Nella.
Examples of Caroline not acting like a real woman:
1. Planning her 10 year anniversary trip when her period is due. Like, women know these things...they'd plan NOT to be on their period then. Also, she then eluded to wanting to make a baby on the honeymoon, and even IF a woman wanted to have sex on her period, she definitely wouldn't be making a baby. That's not how women's bodies work. I'm wondering if she wasn't expecting her period at first and then the author changed it...but that should have caught that in editing.
2. Not taking a pregnancy test. I get the author wanted to build suspense, but a normal woman would just take it. even if it was negative, the author could still have built suspense with a late period, because until you get the period or get a positive test, there IS a slight chance you might be pregnant. (For those who don't know, positive tests are like 100% accurate, but negatives have some wiggle room).
3. Keeping Eliza a secret at the end. No one - especially woman, who are so often invisible - deserves to be erased from history. As a woman AND a historian, I would never have kept a story of an interesting woman to myself. I don't think any woman would.
Examples of Caroline not acting like a real woman:
1. Planning her 10 year anniversary trip when her period is due. Like, women know these things...they'd plan NOT to be on their period then. Also, she then eluded to wanting to make a baby on the honeymoon, and even IF a woman wanted to have sex on her period, she definitely wouldn't be making a baby. That's not how women's bodies work. I'm wondering if she wasn't expecting her period at first and then the author changed it...but that should have caught that in editing.
2. Not taking a pregnancy test. I get the author wanted to build suspense, but a normal woman would just take it. even if it was negative, the author could still have built suspense with a late period, because until you get the period or get a positive test, there IS a slight chance you might be pregnant. (For those who don't know, positive tests are like 100% accurate, but negatives have some wiggle room).
3. Keeping Eliza a secret at the end. No one - especially woman, who are so often invisible - deserves to be erased from history. As a woman AND a historian, I would never have kept a story of an interesting woman to myself. I don't think any woman would.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse
Moderate: Body horror and Blood
Minor: Pedophilia, Medical content, Medical trauma, Miscarriage, and Misogyny
Emotional abuse: Caroline's husband Blood: a character struggles with an illness and spits clots of blood Pedophilia: Eliza's employer comes into her (she's 12) and begins to touch her stomach, legs, and thighs before a commotion interrupts him. It doesn't seem he raped her, but it's implied he did so with a previous maid. As awful and scarring as this would be, it was not detailed in graphic ways and so I put it low on the list. Medical trauma/content: it's about poison, so there's a fair amount of medical issues that happen Miscarriage: memory of a character, not graphic. *Not on other users' reviews: idk why people put body horror. Other than possibly the effects of the poisons, but it's not graphicsup3r_xn0va_maya's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.5
Unpopular opinion , there were so many parts of this book that were boring. I'm so disappointed.
The premise of this sounds so riveting but the execution just fell flat, the beginning and the end really dragged on. It was very boring. The cover of the book is also very beautiful, but this book is just not very exciting.
I finished this in two days because I wanted to finish the book in time for book club but I didn't like this very much. I read the whole thing because everyone kept praising this book and I thought to myself, "there has to be some reveal at the end that makes the boring parts of this book, worth the read." There was a reveal of sorts at the end but it wasn't good enough to warrant the book to drag on as long as it did. I really had high hopes for this one, I usually love historical fiction.
⭐️⭐️ 1.5/5 Stars
The premise of this sounds so riveting but the execution just fell flat, the beginning and the end really dragged on. It was very boring. The cover of the book is also very beautiful, but this book is just not very exciting.
I finished this in two days because I wanted to finish the book in time for book club but I didn't like this very much. I read the whole thing because everyone kept praising this book and I thought to myself, "there has to be some reveal at the end that makes the boring parts of this book, worth the read." There was a reveal of sorts at the end but it wasn't good enough to warrant the book to drag on as long as it did. I really had high hopes for this one, I usually love historical fiction.
⭐️⭐️ 1.5/5 Stars
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Death of parent, and Murder
Moderate: Miscarriage, Sexual harassment, Suicidal thoughts, Misogyny, Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Sexual assault
lillythebluepaladin's review against another edition
informative
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
“History doesn’t record the intricacies of women’s relationships with one another; they’re not to be uncovered”
I am so happy I started out 2023 with this book! I had a great time reading it, and I will absolutely give it a secure 4⭐️ review.
I really enjoyed all of our 3 main women. They were all really interesting, and I was rooting for all of them throughout the entire plot.
And the touch of having poison and food recipes at the end was really cute! I loved that a lot, especially as a gardener student 🌔
My only con of this book was the ending. Really hate being that type of person, but I think that there should have been a sadder ending for one of the characters, not gonna say who, but I am still really happy about the entire thing.
I am so happy I started out 2023 with this book! I had a great time reading it, and I will absolutely give it a secure 4⭐️ review.
I really enjoyed all of our 3 main women. They were all really interesting, and I was rooting for all of them throughout the entire plot.
And the touch of having poison and food recipes at the end was really cute! I loved that a lot, especially as a gardener student 🌔
My only con of this book was the ending. Really hate being that type of person, but I think that there should have been a sadder ending for one of the characters, not gonna say who, but I am still really happy about the entire thing.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Toxic relationship, Terminal illness, Misogyny, and Medical content
Moderate: Pedophilia and Sexism
authorbrittanibee's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
informative
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
I always enjoy a book that makes me feel a little bit stressed for the Main Characters or gets me so upset while reading it that I feel as if I need to throw the pages across the room in frustration. This book achieved both of those things for me, especially as I rounded the midpoint through to the end. There was heart and lessons learned and mysteries solved while others were just beginning to take shape.
I especially loved the two characters of Nella and Eliza. Both resonated with me deeply and I could have easily read many more chapters focused solely on the two of them. Honestly, I could easily have seen this book broken into two, the first with Nella and Eliza in the 1790s , and the second with Caroline in the present day.
The one main disappointment I felt from this book was it's ending. I just couldn't understand why Caroline would toss such an important and historical artifact back into the River Thames. I know that she said she wanted to keep Eliza's story a secret for only herself and that she didn't want the renown that might come from her divulging the truth that she was not the lost apothecary, but wouldn't that all come to light? And how was she protecting Eliza by erasing the part she played in helping Nella? Beyond this frustrating detail, I found the book enjoyable and an easy read to get throughly sucked in to.
I especially loved the two characters of Nella and Eliza. Both resonated with me deeply and I could have easily read many more chapters focused solely on the two of them. Honestly, I could easily have seen this book broken into two, the first with Nella and Eliza in the 1790s , and the second with Caroline in the present day.
The one main disappointment I felt from this book was it's ending.
Content Warnings
Minor: Infidelity, Miscarriage, Suicide attempt, Sexual harassment, Murder, Infertility, Misogyny, and Grief