Reviews with content warning for Suicide - The Lost Apothecary

Reviews tagging 'Suicide'

The Lost Apothecary by Sarah Penner

191 reviews

peggyhepburn's review against another edition

adventurous emotional inspiring mysterious fast-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? Yes

4.75

“You are not searching for a thing so much as you are searching for an inconsistency of things, or an absence”.

A gorgeously written feminist tale set in two different eras; 1871 and 2021, and I truly found myself in love with both eras of the story.

Starting with 1871, the characters are so rich, you want to know more about them and I was sat at the edge of my seat throughout the latter half of their story.

Then we have 2021, which I struggled to get into at first, but as soon as Caroline found herself enamoured with the lost apothecary I was sold, and I kept wanting to tell her everything I knew about the past events to aid her discoveries.

Suffice it to say, I really enjoyed this book. It warmed my heart, and it was wonderful seeing how two stories, set decades apart, intertwined…and I’m not ashamed to say I shed a tear when I finished this.

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carriewnettles's review against another edition

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mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Loveable characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

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asanders88's review

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adventurous reflective sad tense 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? No

5.0

I'm not sure why I let this book sit on a shelf for so long! The twists and turns at the end had me captivated!
The story follows a centuries ago apothecary full of poisons and secrets and the clues she left behind for a present-day woman, going through her own struggles, to find.
While I did find the book a little slow in the middle, the ending more than made up for it!

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wizardingwisteria's review against another edition

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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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nadroj's review

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adventurous emotional inspiring mysterious fast-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

4.75

I love the way Penner is able to transport and immerse readers into an earlier time without it feeling too jarring or foreign.

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an_a_list_alias's review

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hopeful 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

3.0

Interesting premise and easy read, could be a tad faster at times. I believe the POV of the twelve year old could have been written better, too much telling (I.e 'in my TWELVE years of life...') instead of showing (acting or thinking like someone of that age).

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julbel's review against another edition

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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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temeade's review

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adventurous mysterious 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? Yes

4.0

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pinkleph's review against another edition

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medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Diverse cast of characters? No

3.5

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mmesa1020's review

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emotional sad slow-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

3.75

I listened to this as an audiobook and it felt QUITE slow, especially the ending.

The plot was relatively good, but I felt that the writing style made the story drag on during certain parts of the book.

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