Reviews tagging 'Suicide attempt'

The Lost Apothecary by Sarah Penner

245 reviews

acarolinabelle's review

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adventurous emotional hopeful 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? It's complicated

4.25

Dual timeline, history, thriller, with a touch of fantasy. The story follows an apothecary in old London with a dark secret. 

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invisibri's review

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adventurous dark emotional 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? It's complicated

4.5


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mairi99's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious tense 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? N/A

4.75


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gottbooks's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful lighthearted mysterious reflective 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

5.0

I really enjoyed this book. This story gave me Eat, Pray, Love vibes with the current day main character taking some time away after a fight with her husband. Additionally, there are mystery thriller vibes from the events in the late 1700s. Kept me engaged and interested through its entirety. 

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brennacathleen's review

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mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No

3.5


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becaboo24's review

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lighthearted mysterious slow-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? Yes

2.0

This book was just -meh- for me. There were so many cringey moments (too many to count) and it had so much potential for being an interesting read. Gaynor was the only character I actually liked (Nella was interesting but for some reason I found her... ✨ boring? ✨) who didn't suffer from desperately-wanting-to-have-a-baby syndrome because apparently the only options for women are to settle down and have babies or have a successful career. Oh, and also little Eliza thinking her period was happening because of ghost revenge, that was something else.

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cheyarsen's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No

4.0

I really enjoyed this book! A lot more than I thought I was going to, based on the rating. I love the fact that it took us through the POVs of Caroline, Eliza and Nella and how it tied each of these women together, despite not really having anything in common.
I especially love how the end tied it all together with Caroline realizing that she found Eliza’s tincture bottle, it really just brought it all full circle.
Overall a fun read and would definitely recommend! 

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singingshooter's review against another edition

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mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No

3.0

Okay, had a hard time loving/rooting for these characters

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dani__gomezz's review

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adventurous emotional 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

3.75

I enjoyed this read! It’s fun and thought provoking, yet still a relatively light read. I loved the characters, especially Nella and Caroline. The parallels between timelines were really fun. I did not love the dialogue because it was kind of clunky, but the prose was light and very enjoyable and engaging.

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ballousclues's review

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adventurous challenging emotional hopeful informative inspiring mysterious reflective sad 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? Yes

5.0

 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ - phenomenal. highly recommend to all 

My friend recommended this book to me recently since she read it and loved it. I didn't expect to fall in love with the story like I did. This book does an excellent job of reminding us that sitting in our own discontent doesn't do anything to aid us and that sometimes a leap of faith is necessary. The book follows the parallel lives of women in two different time periods and draws light to the similar stories they are writing. The story heavily focuses on character development and has a clear plot. The book was an easy read for me and the writing was well done. I could see there being a second book! It would be fun to get a bit of a follow up on Caroline through a bonus chapter or something.
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SPOILER
Like I said, I didn't expect to love this story as much as I did. It made my heart very happy that Eliza's potion worked as she had intended for it too and that she was able to share her success with Mr. Pepper. I like that the book leaned heavily into "we are all writing our own story" and that if we settle into our own discontent, we can't be surprised when it comes around to bite us. I love that the book allowed for Eliza, and maybe Nella, to continue on with their lives and gain a better hand in life from their run in with the law. I also really liked how the book talked about Caroline's toxic relationship. I think many folks have had a partner that has threatened, or attempted, suicide as a way to gain control in the relationship. I appreciated the message that you are more than what you may give yourself credit for and it's never too late to pursue your passions.

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