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ballousclues's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
fast-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
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ - phenomenal. highly recommend to all
My friend recommended this book to me recently since she read it and loved it. I didn't expect to fall in love with the story like I did. This book does an excellent job of reminding us that sitting in our own discontent doesn't do anything to aid us and that sometimes a leap of faith is necessary. The book follows the parallel lives of women in two different time periods and draws light to the similar stories they are writing. The story heavily focuses on character development and has a clear plot. The book was an easy read for me and the writing was well done. I could see there being a second book! It would be fun to get a bit of a follow up on Caroline through a bonus chapter or something.
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SPOILER
Like I said, I didn't expect to love this story as much as I did. It made my heart very happy that Eliza's potion worked as she had intended for it too and that she was able to share her success with Mr. Pepper. I like that the book leaned heavily into "we are all writing our own story" and that if we settle into our own discontent, we can't be surprised when it comes around to bite us. I love that the book allowed for Eliza, and maybe Nella, to continue on with their lives and gain a better hand in life from their run in with the law. I also really liked how the book talked about Caroline's toxic relationship. I think many folks have had a partner that has threatened, or attempted, suicide as a way to gain control in the relationship. I appreciated the message that you are more than what you may give yourself credit for and it's never too late to pursue your passions.
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SPOILER
Content Warnings
Moderate: Suicide attempt, Miscarriage, Abortion, Infidelity, Misogyny, Murder, Pregnancy, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Chronic illness, Infertility, Cancer, Vomit, and Grief
This book heavily talks about the inability to conceive, or successfully carry a child to full term. The book also talks about infidelity and the fallout from cheating in a relationship. I would pass a word of caution to anyone who has strong grief around children or the concept of pregnancy.shugentobler's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
informative
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
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, and Sexual assault
moon_peach's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
You follow 3 women (1 being a girl) and their stories. They have all been hurt by men in some way.
Nella being betrayed by her lover begins creating poisons for any woman that is betrayed.
Eliza is a 12 year old sent by her employer to obtain a poison for her husband. We pretty quickly discover he'd been lusting over her.
Finally Caroline discovers her husband's infidelity just days before their 10 yr anniversary. She takes what should have been an couple's vacation to London where she starts to unravel the mysteries behind a vial she finds that leads her to the "lost apothecary"
There's a couple twists in the book that are shocking and satisfying.
Nella being betrayed by her lover begins creating poisons for any woman that is betrayed.
Eliza is a 12 year old sent by her employer to obtain a poison for her husband. We pretty quickly discover he'd been lusting over her.
Finally Caroline discovers her husband's infidelity just days before their 10 yr anniversary. She takes what should have been an couple's vacation to London where she starts to unravel the mysteries behind a vial she finds that leads her to the "lost apothecary"
There's a couple twists in the book that are shocking and satisfying.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Miscarriage, Vomit, and Death
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide attempt
julbel's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
mysterious
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? It's complicated
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Suicide attempt, Pregnancy, Misogyny, Abortion, Sexual harassment, Death of parent, Death, Child death, Grief, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Murder, Suicide, Miscarriage, Medical trauma, Infidelity, and Infertility
Moderate: Pedophilia
paigecrichards's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Death, Infertility, Miscarriage, and Suicide attempt
reka111's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
First, there was trust. Then, there was betrayal. You cannot have one without the other.
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.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide attempt
Moderate: Toxic relationship and Death
Minor: Miscarriage, Vomit, Sexual assault, and Grief
abigailhaagen's review against another edition
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.0
This book felt like it couldn't decide what tone it wanted to go with, so it threw in a bit of everything. Sad, dark, lighthearted, contemporary, historical... and the characters didn't seem particularly fleshed out either. I didn't root for anyone except Eliza. And nobody had a strong moral code in this book; characters seemed to switch between being ok with crime and not ok with it, without any particular reason. The writing was also mid; lots of telling instead of showing. And I don't think this book is particularly historically accurate, based on other readings about the 18th century I've done. But it wasn't awful to read, and I liked the premise of the poisonous apothecary. So not a bad book, but not a great one either.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Chronic illness, Suicide, Vomit, Murder, Infidelity, Gaslighting, Death of parent, Infertility, Miscarriage, and Suicidal thoughts
Moderate: Emotional abuse and Toxic relationship
Minor: Adult/minor relationship and Blood
ahoijules's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
2.0
Eine gute Idee, die leider nicht gut umgesetzt wurde.
Ich empfand das Buch als furchtbar langatmig mit vielen Beschreibungen und Erklärungen, die nicht nötig gewesen wären, um das Buch zu verstehen. Ich hatte Probleme mit den Protagonistinnen warm zu werden und fand keine so richtig spannend. Auch dauerte es bis gut zwei Drittel des Buchs bis die Handlung langsam an Fahrt aufgenommen hat.
Das Ende fand ich furchtbar kitschig, die letzten 25 Minuten des Hörbuchs habe ich auf 1,5-facher Geschwindigkeit gehört, damit es endlich zu einem Ende kommt. Es stört mich außerdem wahnsinnig, dass so getan wird, als könnte man sich mal ganz easy in Cambridge immatrikulieren 😂 ich bin außerdem ziemlich sicher, dass die Masterarbeit thematisch nicht in die Anglistik gehört 😅
Ich empfand das Buch als furchtbar langatmig mit vielen Beschreibungen und Erklärungen, die nicht nötig gewesen wären, um das Buch zu verstehen. Ich hatte Probleme mit den Protagonistinnen warm zu werden und fand keine so richtig spannend. Auch dauerte es bis gut zwei Drittel des Buchs bis die Handlung langsam an Fahrt aufgenommen hat.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Grief, Murder, Infidelity, Pregnancy, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Vomit, Medical content, Miscarriage, Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, Death, and Infertility
junglejelly's review against another edition
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.
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.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Suicide attempt, Gaslighting, and Vomit
Moderate: Infidelity, Death, Toxic relationship, Pregnancy, and Miscarriage
Minor: Alcoholism, Grief, Chronic illness, Death of parent, and Sexual assault
cowahbull's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
2.0
Not my cup of tea. I'm personally not a fan of multiple pov in first person.
The story was interesting but rather slow paced and I didn't find that I liked any of the characters very much. Eliza was the only person I was rooting for.
The bond and relationships between women was lovely to see but it went a bit too far. It had almost no male characters and almost all of them were evil; hurting the female charcters for their own gain or pleasure and manipulating them. It's possible to tell a positive story about women empowering women without becoming anti-men, this book didn't quite manage that.
I may have listed a dozen reasons I didn't like this book but overall I had a good time reading it. The audio book had different readers for each chapter/charcter so it was more immersive. Good story!
The story was interesting but rather slow paced and I didn't find that I liked any of the characters very much. Eliza was the only person I was rooting for.
The bond and relationships between women was lovely to see but it went a bit too far. It had almost no male characters and almost all of them were evil; hurting the female charcters for their own gain or pleasure and manipulating them. It's possible to tell a positive story about women empowering women without becoming anti-men, this book didn't quite manage that.
I may have listed a dozen reasons I didn't like this book but overall I had a good time reading it. The audio book had different readers for each chapter/charcter so it was more immersive. Good story!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Toxic relationship