Reviews tagging 'Mental illness'

The Lost Apothecary by Sarah Penner

11 reviews

sea_tea_books's review

adventurous dark emotional informative mysterious tense

5.0

I could not put this down. Ironically, the author wrote of one of the main characters, "she wasn't a witch, and this wasn't Harry Potter," but I disagree. According to the author, this story was about "embracing magic" (or "magick" as spelled in ye olde times). There were whisperings of a hidden, magical world—similar to the wizarding world with Snape's potions class, as well as the more shadowy realm of Dark Arts, Knockturn Alley, and Borgin and Burke's. And that is precisely what drew me into this story and kept me captivated.

All that aside, this story had a mystery that slowly unraveled between past and present perspectives. Loved the twist at the end! I've already reserved the author's next story from my library/Libby. 

5 ⭐

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Death, and Death of parent

Moderate: Mental illness, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Infertility, and Abortion

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Pedophilia, and Child abuse

taliatalksbooks's review

dark emotional 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? It's complicated

3.75

The Lost Apothecary by Sarah Penner was just as good, if not better, than I expected it to be. I tried not to let all the praise surrounding the book skew my reading experience, but I can now say it was definitely well earned (not to mention how much I LOVE the cover). Historical fiction is not a favorite genre of mine, but I loved the way this story was discovered through researching the past and filling in the pieces. I think this was a really clever framework and it made the women of this story feel as though they were interacting, even if they never could have possibly met. I love a story with a good vigilante character, and this book certainly delivered. If you haven’t had a chance to read this historical fiction gem, definitely add it to your TBR. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Infidelity, Incest, Suicide, Sexual harassment, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Pregnancy, Murder, Miscarriage, Infertility, Gore, Death, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, Sexism, Classism, Abortion, and Grief

lyfeistrip's review

adventurous emotional hopeful mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.75

---

Content Warnings

Minor: Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Murder, Mental illness, Grief, Emotional abuse, Abortion, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Pedophilia, Sexual harassment, Infertility, Incest, Domestic abuse, Child death, Cancer, Miscarriage, Medical trauma, Infidelity, Vomit, Terminal illness, Suicidal thoughts, Sexism, and Death

lemonwrlds's review against another edition

adventurous medium-paced

• Loveable characters? Yes

2.5

---

Content Warnings

Minor: Chronic illness, Death of parent, Drug use, Suicide attempt, Death, Grief, Infidelity, Medical content, Medical trauma, Miscarriage, Murder, Child abuse, Police brutality, Sexual harassment, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Mental illness, Pregnancy, and Suicide

sharlapeggy's review against another edition

adventurous challenging mysterious 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? No

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Vomit, Death, Pregnancy, Child death, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Mental illness, Drug use, Infertility, and Animal death

allycat21's review

emotional inspiring lighthearted mysterious medium-paced

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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gaslighting, Infidelity, Pregnancy, Murder, and Misogyny

Moderate: Alcohol, Chronic illness, Death of parent, Infertility, Infidelity, Medical content, Mental illness, and Miscarriage

kbairbooks's review

challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad 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

4.0

I swear I have been reading so many dark books recently and it’s messing with me a little bit so I’m gonna try and pick up some lighter things for a little bit to lift me out of this mood. This story was told from three different perspectives and had three different narrators and I enjoyed that it was a dark feminist dual timeline story about betrayal and murder and coming to terms with Feelings and the important things in life and the people that matter but also damn that plot twist at the end

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Vomit, Gaslighting, Infertility, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Suicide attempt, Grief, Murder, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Gore, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Abortion, Blood, and Infidelity

Moderate: Classism, Sexism, and Sexual assault

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Rape, Alcohol, and Alcoholism

meghansarmiento97's review

dark mysterious reflective 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

4.25

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Gaslighting, Grief, Infidelity, Violence, Infertility, Miscarriage, Suicide, Vomit, Blood, Death, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Mental illness, and Medical content

frantically's review against another edition

dark emotional slow-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

1.0

the main character is a wannabe historian who insists on only studying "real people", the ones history didn't care about — the nobility historian in me is absolutely shocked that all of her favourite historical figures were apparently just imagined

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Grief, Infidelity, Murder, Suicide attempt, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, and Terminal illness

Moderate: Chronic illness, Miscarriage, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Mental illness and Death of parent

jaynovara's review

mysterious 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? It's complicated

2.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Grief, Infertility, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Murder, Pregnancy, Self harm, Toxic relationship, and Infidelity