Reviews with content warning for Miscarriage - The Lost Apothecary

I was intrigued by the premise of the book. I struggled with the first half of the book. It felt a little too slow for me to the point that I almost DNF it a few times but decided to push on. The second half was a lot better for me. The pace was better, the plot was more engaging. I preferred the Nella and Eliza arcs better than the Caroline story.

I think I expected or wished for more cross-over between the two timelines apart from just the discovery of the vial. Frankly, I thought that the Nella-Eliza story could standalone without Caroline's story. Didn't really understand the need for Caroline's story in the grander scheme of the book.

Content Warnings

pinetree_reads's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional inspiring 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? It's complicated

4.0

At first I was unsure if I should read this book. The reviews here weren't the best but I still gave it a try.
And it was a great decision.

I really like the characters and the depth that they have to them. The Author really knows how to highlight the struggle of the woman who lived in this time.

It was heartfelt and emotional.
I hope Caroline gets to live her dream. I think she and Gaynor will have a great friendship - maybe even more.

The only thing I would say was not as good as the book was the marketing. I think the description leads a lot of people into reading the book with false expectations. It's not even clear that the path of not two, but three woman interwind. I think people would not be disappointed by the book if it was made clear that it would talk about the life of these three - in different times.

I'm not sure how Eliza survived but I'm sure glad that she did. I'm also not really sure what happens to Bella and her illness, but I hope the news article Caroline finds at the means that she got to live with Eliza a bit more.

Content Warnings

psychnp's review against another edition

Go to review page

hopeful mysterious medium-paced

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

4.5

Lorna Bennet, Lauren Anthony, and Lauren Irwin are great narrators

Content Warnings

chanlo1994's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark emotional inspiring sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

I've never had a book cause me so much anxiety before (for the character). So relatable, both in the realistic elements and mystical ones.

Content Warnings

arfog's review against another edition

Go to review page

mysterious

Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.75

It was interesting enough to finish, but seemed a little repetitive and the suspense seemed forced. Caroline seems to spend an unnecessary amount of time worrying about how she

trespassed into and area marked no trespassing, when it had no affect on anyone. And her bizarre conclusion to throw the bottle back into the river at the end, to keep part of her research a secret just for her, makes no sense for someone who wants to share the stories of regular women who are overlooked by history.

Overall, interesting enough to finish, didn't really love it though.

Content Warnings

berlinish's review against another edition

Go to review page

mysterious tense medium-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? No

3.5

Content Warnings

campredwood's review against another edition

Go to review page

hopeful mysterious

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

3.75

Content Warnings

eeamiller's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging dark emotional mysterious 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

3.0

I had seen this book around a few places and it falls squarely into a genre/story arc I enjoy - historical fiction with a dual present day storyline. I didn't listen super attentively to this book, but I listened closely enough to feel a little schadenfreude. This book is about an apothecary who uses her skills to help women off their deadbeat partners/husbands, and a present day woman (with a jerk husband) who is rediscovering who she is when their marriage starts to fall apart through her inviestigation into this apothecary's story. I didn't mind a little vigilante justice in my life. Everything wraps up with a neat little bow (at least for the women). It was enjoyable on audio because of the fully cast narration. I don't tend to like dual timeline books on audio because I can't flip around to remember who was where doing what, but the full cast narration helped that.

Content Warnings

More...