Reviews tagging 'Blood'

The Lost Apothecary by Sarah Penner

127 reviews

wizardingwisteria's review against another edition

dark inspiring tense 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? It's complicated

4.75

This was my first audio book and I'm glad it was.  I loved the fact that each character had their own dedicated narrator.  The narrators were fantastic.  Each voice fit each character perfectly.

As someone with a BA in history and conflicted feelings about grad school I related to Caroline quite a bit, especially during and after her historical investigation.  I found all three women to be compelling in their own ways.  The relationships that blossom in this book are fantastic.  The side characters are also great.  (I had a massive crush on Gainer the entire time). 

I took the .25 off because, while the ending was overall satisfying, I didn't totally love it.  There is a moment where it seems like

Caroline is going to get back together with her (dumbass) husband.  Thankfully they didn't, but I didn't like how close that call was.

 

Aside from her relationship,

I didn't understand why Caroline threw the glass bottle back into the river.  If she planned on writing her dissertation on the apothecary, then that bottle is an incredibly valuable artifact that would greatly help her research.  She had pieced the story together.  She understood the significance of that bottle.  And she tossed it?

  I feel like the author sacrificed an authentic moment for a plot point that served as symbolic representation for Caroline in the end.

Overall a great read with a mostly satisfying ending.  I could see myself listening to this one more time.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Pregnancy, Miscarriage, Suicide, Blood, and Murder

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship and Child abuse

kabaoyang's review against another edition

adventurous lighthearted medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Minor: Sexual assault, Vomit, and Blood

hrewannabe's review against another edition

dark emotional informative mysterious 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

4.75

I ended up reading this in one sitting on a car ride and was utterly entranced. As a historian who has done a rather alarming amount of research for the time period that half the book is set in it was a wonderful read! The work that the main character goes through is exhilarating and I love her growth. The mystery aspect was very engaging and you really feel like your rediscovering your own passion with the her. You can really tell that the author took her time with researching and trying to make the story feel like it could have slotted neatly into our own world as something real. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infertility, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Blood, Murder, Abortion, Death, and Child abuse

Moderate: Classism and Pedophilia

The secondary characters (aka the "historical" cast) deal with a variety of issues of which the solution is a lot of death. It is a very frank look at what women through out history have faced and the way they've taken matters into their own hands when faced with issues like infidelity, pedophilia, child abuse and the like.

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

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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

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.

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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

booking_along's review against another edition

emotional informative mysterious sad medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Blood, Murder, Vomit, Terminal illness, Injury/Injury detail, and Death

cwerber's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.0

I enjoyed the story set in the past very much, but the parallel story set in the present? Well, it was okay. There was something about Caroline that didn't sit well with me. However, I found Nella and Eliza compelling characters, even if I wanted to know more about them, I'd never really get any more. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death and Blood

Minor: Death of parent

theinkwyrm's review against another edition

adventurous inspiring mysterious medium-paced

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

3.0

An enjoyable time while I was reading it, but not an all-time fave. 

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Content Warnings

Minor: Miscarriage, Blood, and Sexual harassment

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.

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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

bambifaun's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective slow-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infertility, Grief, and Medical content

Moderate: Child death, Infertility, Infidelity, Medical content, and Miscarriage

Minor: Pregnancy, Abortion, Blood, Death, Grief, and Murder