Reviews with content warning for Sexual assault - The Lost Apothecary

Honestly, even though this book used to be a DNF for me, I liked it immensely now. It was so lifelike, and I would even say modern, in a word, brilliantly written.

The characters were lovable, each in their own way (well, except for James, he was more of a toxicer) little Eliza was a staple of my heart, but Nella was still my favourite. The tremendous helpfulness, acceptance, and struggle that burned within her was extremely inspiring.

Although the plot ran on two time threads, it was not confusing, the events followed each other nicely, it was understandable and simple. Basically, it took place over a few days (both modern and past) so I think the time was right. I really liked the wording, it was a bit like reading a diary, and even the first-person POV didn't bother me. The end was closed nicely, albeit slightly open.

Overall, I really liked it and recommend it to anyone who loves history and poisons, but doesn't want anything big.

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basimmons2020's review against another edition

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emotional mysterious slow-paced

2.75

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katelynprice's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious medium-paced

3.5

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katosta8815's review against another edition

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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? Yes

5.0

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junglejelly's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious sad fast-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

2.5

At first this book got me hooked and I adored the writing, especially the how the characters were written. However, the writing was too cliché and repetitive for me.

Someone of the writing near the end was a bit clumsy and the characters stereotypical. But Penner knows exactly how to write mysteriously and have you hooked, I needed to know what happened to the two 18th century characters, and this alone is what kept me reading.

Overall a below average book for me hence the rating.

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mattiedancer's review against another edition

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adventurous hopeful mysterious medium-paced

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

3.0

Writing: 3⭐️/5

The writing was fine, adequate, presentable. A few times Penner had some really stunning lines, but mostly the writing did what needed to be done without too much flare or finesse. A lot of sections for backstory were lengthy, giving us a bit of information by flashback and then overexplaining the emotions of the situation. But overall the writing did enough to not get in the way.

Characters: 3.5⭐️/5

I think the characters in the historical sections were much more fascinating than our modern-day protagonist. While I appreciated that Caroline had a lot going on, I also felt like her half-telling of the story made me lose a bit of interest in what was going on. I loved her research-heavy mind, but it felt stunningly unbelievable the way in which she pursued her research so easily after so long. And, while the characters were interesting, they felt a bit surface at times, almost as though we never got a true glimpse of their whole beings.

Plot: 3⭐️/5

Okay, so the concept? Super cool. The execution? Maybe that’s where I got lost. I loved everything about the apothecary. I even loved the slow unravelling of clues from Caroline’s side, but I also felt like that was the only thing that felt super fleshed out. All the details in the novel felt muddled, as though they were unclear and unformed. I also think that the end kind of undid some of the feminist points made throughout the novel, leaving kind of a sour taste in my mouth at the end.

Who Should Read This Book?

Fans of historical books that have a split POV with modern perspective
Someone looking for a cool concept over everything else
Fans of witchy history who are looking for an easy read

Content Warnings?

Pregnancy, adultery, murder, sexism, misogyny, rape, sexual assault, sexual harassment, violence, abuse, child abuse, child death, death, death of parent, self-harm, suicide, suicide attempt, suicidal thoughts, terminal illness, poison, gun violence, medical trauma, classism, injury, injury detail, fire, pedophilia, incest, infertility

Post-Reading Rating: 2.75⭐️/5

I just… wanted more? I liked the concept so much but I think everything else fell pretty flat.

Final Rating: 3⭐️/5

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dopabean_reading's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional mysterious reflective slow-paced

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

3.0

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jkohls's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious reflective fast-paced

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

4.75

I think this was a very easy read. I found the book grabbed my interest very early. I sometimes struggle with the flashback books but I got into the grove with this one quickly.

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