Reviews tagging 'Child abuse'

The Lost Apothecary by Sarah Penner

56 reviews

megelizabeth's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix

4.0

"..the hardest truths never rest on the surface. They must be dredged up, held to the light and rinsed clean."

There's so much I loved about this book. The story is intriguing and well-paced, the characters are compelling, and the overall themes of female solidarity and the importance of history are super powerful. I loved both the unlikely friendships that develop between the characters who are together in time, and the sense of some kind of bond between those living centuries apart. There's a strong and haunting sense of place and time, a brilliant build-up of tension, and a satisfying ending.

Although I loved this on the whole, I did find some elements a little far-fetched and unbelievable, and found Caroline's character frustrating at times as some of her decisions just make no sense. I also wasn't a fan of the romance that's alluded to; it gets barely any page time and isn't a huge part of the plot, but it bothered me that the older character's age is never specified. It would've been so easy not to include it, so it bugged me that it was there at all if a key element wasn't going to be made clear.

I'd still recommend this, as it's such an interesting read and certainly one that will stay with me. It's heavy and often bleak - definitely check content warnings - but its subtle messages of hope and solidarity make it wonderfully bittersweet, and I'm keen to see what Sarah Penner comes out with next.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Animal cruelty, Vomit, Blood, Child death, Child abuse, and Suicidal thoughts

Moderate: Infidelity

laurynreadsbooks's review against another edition

Caroline spends the whole time discovering what the reader knew like six chapters ago. Reads like someone’s first novel, not in a good way.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder

Moderate: Pedophilia, Child abuse, Infidelity, Infertility, Toxic relationship, and Suicidal thoughts

booksbyantheia's review

emotional mysterious reflective fast-paced

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

4.5

AMAMOS.

Tres mujeres, secretos, salvación a través de la historia y PLANTITAS.

(Reseña en construcción)

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Blood, Death, Vomit, Suicidal thoughts, Infidelity, Infertility, Toxic relationship, Grief, Gaslighting, Child abuse, Suicide attempt, Sexism, Pregnancy, Murder, Misogyny, Medical content, and Miscarriage

Mentions of poisoning.

tetedump's review

adventurous dark mysterious fast-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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Child abuse, Suicide, and Murder

booktwinning's review

adventurous hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense 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

Moderate: Child abuse and Sexual assault

liesbethvv's review against another edition

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? No

3.5

I quite enjoyed reading this escape into the history of London, a woman turned to becoming a secret apothecarist selling cures and poisons at her female customer’s wishes. This book contains a dual timeline, and the current time storyline couldn’t quite capture my attention, the connections between the characters and with the past storylines felt forced and a little farfetched to me. I could have just done with the historical timeline, which was pleasantly written and transported me into the world of the characters. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Miscarriage

Minor: Child abuse, Suicide, and Infidelity

thirdtimesacharm's review

adventurous dark emotional informative 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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Terminal illness, Sexism, Grief, Medical content, Miscarriage, Murder, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Toxic relationship, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Infidelity, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Pregnancy, and Rape

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Blood, Child death, Death of parent, Child abuse, Death, and Adult/minor relationship

Minor: Animal death and Alcohol

evilyn's review

lighthearted mysterious medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abortion, Child death, Child abuse, and Domestic abuse

thriftybookworm's review

adventurous challenging hopeful mysterious fast-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

3.25

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Infertility, Miscarriage, and Child abuse

embersonthehearth's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious medium-paced

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

2.25

Not great, not awful. Easy to read, but the writing is not the best.
The story develops in two streams: past and present.
The past one is interesting, however it could take place anywhere at anytime. There is nothing that makes it relevant to the place and location.
The present one is just bad. The protagonist is unbearable even though we're supposed to be rooting for her, and the things she goes through are just plain ridiculous. Bored housewife meets Indiana Jones, but if he was a complete idiot.

The worst part is that the concept of the book is, if not unique, very interesting. Pity the story wasn't better developed.

I can see why the book is popular though, it's chick lit (which I actually like). It's easy to read, you want to know what happens next, and the characters are mostly women. For what it is, it's ok. Just don't sell it as an historical mystery.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Murder, Pedophilia, Pregnancy, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Chronic illness, Sexual harassment, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Vomit, Abortion, Child abuse, Classism, Death, Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, Gore, Grief, and Medical content