Reviews with content warning for Rape - The Lost Apothecary

Reviews tagging 'Rape'

The Lost Apothecary by Sarah Penner

32 reviews

amyrose16's review

Go to review page

adventurous hopeful 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

3.5

Content Warnings

mattiedancer's review against another edition

Go to review page

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

Content Warnings

jkohls's review

Go to review page

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.

Content Warnings

sallytiffany's review

Go to review page

dark mysterious 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? No

5.0

I really enjoyed this. A lot of complex storylines all meeting together in a very satisfying turn of events, the history and storyline was really well done. It was captivating.

Content Warnings

elisahec's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous inspiring mysterious reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Loveable characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

Content Warnings

mbmayo's review

Go to review page

adventurous emotional mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
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

This book is told from multiple perspectives. Caroline's story is set in the present day, while Eliza and Nella's story takes place primarily in 1791. The two stories are connected by a physical object, a small glass vial from Nella's apothecary shop that Caroline finds two centuries later in the River Thames. Like many stories told like this, some perspectives are more interesting than others. Caroline drove me nuts with her choices.

From the very start, she uses the example of giving up her application to Cambridge's history program as an example of her husband pointing her away from her dreams towards more "reliable" "safe" choices. As though there are no universities offering graduate history programs in Ohio. She also talks about boxing up her novels, because as we all know responsible adults don't read old Victorian books! We never hear anything good about James, no indication as to why she married him and stayed married for 10 years. I feel like this was a missed opportunity from the author to make me care about the relationship.

Also, as she works through the mystery, she keeps fantasizing that if she solves it maybe someone will give a job as a historian researcher. This line of thinking would make sense if she were the twelve year old in the story, but she's thirty something. At the end of the book, she applies to Cambridge in a night. Truly I should not have expected realism by this point in the book, but as someone who has applied to undergraduate and graduate level programs, it takes more than a few hours. But of course she gets in.

I also don't understand why she threw the glass vial away (I assume something about closing that chapter of her life.) or why Eliza ends up with twins at the end (women wanting babies is a present theme in this book, but I don't recall it being important to Eliza).

Content Warnings

beastly_bat's review

Go to review page

adventurous dark emotional informative inspiring mysterious reflective sad 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

Content Warnings

eleanor029's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.5

I liked this book. It was a lovely story with a great concept. Though at times a bit cheesy, especially in Caroline's chapters, I coudn't stop listening to the audiobook, mostly because I am a historian myself and needed to know how it played out. It was so slow moving at times though, and parts of it felt very much dragged out .

A few things really bothered me. Firstly, the fact that Caroline just walked into the British Library. You do have to register for a library card, otherwise you won't even get into the reading rooms. It could've been a little sidenote, as in "The half hour to register for a library card seemed excessive, since I just had a question, but somehow my curiosity won." or something like that. Caroline even asks Gaynor at some later point in the book whether she needs to register with the library to request something. That really bothered me, since I myself have used the British Library while on holiday in London.
Furthermore, I am in two minds about the ending. I like how Caroline moves to the UK and pursues her passion, but I don't appreciate the open questions. Did Nella live? (Likely not, but still...). Did Caroline go back to the Apothecary Shop? Did she talk to the owners of the building and get permission to really look around there? What happened to it? (Okay that last one is hard to answer in a novel). Did she ever find out Nellas identity and where did she get further information from?
I loved how before, the research process was quite transparent, though exaggerated (who has so much luck, please) for the story.
Lastly, I hated that Caroline threw the vial back in the Thames. I get the sentimental aspect of putting Eliza's secret back, but omg noooo, why would you do that. You can keep a secret without throwing the objects that sparked your research into the depths of a river. Come on, Caroline.

Anyways, I think this is a great book for history nerds and students. Though it was infuriating at times I will buy it for a friend so we can talk about it.

Content Warnings

elenaakers's review

Go to review page

dark emotional medium-paced

Loveable characters? Yes

3.25

Content Warnings

spootilious's review

Go to review page

adventurous dark sad medium-paced

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

2.0

Read: December 13, 2022

Title: The Lost Apothecary

Author: Sarah Penner

Genre: Historical Fiction

Rating: 2/5

Review:

I really wanted to love this book. I went into it excited about the history, adventure and the numerous female main characters. What was there not to love regarding a story about a woman who runs an apothecary that helps women murder men that have jaded them?

First thing I noticed is that present day main character is extremely melodramatic and puts far too much of her self-worth on whether or not she can have a baby. Then Nella, one of the main characters in the late 1700s is mirrored in this… along with one of her clients. It felt as if each of these women portrayed themselves as useless if they could not have a child. I suppose this makes sense in the 1700s for the wealthy but rubbed me the wrong way.

One the opposite side, every man in this story (with the exception of the bachelor that goes mud larking and the bookshop attendant (that may or may not end up murdered, so I rather not count him)) are all described in disgusting manners and are outright manipulative, feral, or aggressive. While I understand why this is the case I would have liked to see one (supporting) male character to cling to and be reminded that not all men are that terrible.

I also found the story to be extremely predictable along with the ‘happy’ ending that felt far too unrealistic. It wasn’t HOW everyone was saved but rather that they were saved. I think the story would have had more substance if there were consequences to the actions of our main characters rather than these happy endings (specifically Eliza and Nella).

Overall, the 2-star rating is taking into account that I can see why others like it. The premise is good, the message of choosing yourself, and your passion, over what society would force upon you is great. The book has a steady pace and is easy to read. Those that want to get into historical fiction or just enjoy slice of life reads would enjoy this. It is simply not for me.

Quotes:

N/A

Content Warnings

More...