Reviews with content warning for Abortion - The Lost Apothecary

Reviews tagging 'Abortion'

The Lost Apothecary by Sarah Penner

93 reviews

guardiangel07's review against another edition

emotional slow-paced

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

3.5

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

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

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

brookey8888's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

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

3.5

I really enjoyed this! It was a little slow and not what I was expecting so that’s why I’m not rounding up to a four. I just found the concept very interesting and the different timelines. I’m not going to lie, I did not care about the present timeline because if you know me you know I loathe cheating. I’m so happy she didn’t get back with that man. One part did make me gasp because what an idiot of a man. The ending actually did make me emotional and I teared up a bit.

Content Warnings

pinkupengu's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark emotional hopeful reflective sad 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

Content Warnings

tess_b_readin's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous lighthearted mysterious reflective 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? It's complicated

5.0

As far as cast diversity goes- you have the main characters being women of completely different age groups, who have had different struggles in their own lives, you have two different time periods being represented in the book, there is not much mention of race and while there are men in the book it is heavily focused on women characters! The main plot doesn’t really revolve around the main characters’ “flaws” but a main focus is how those flaws make them the person they are. Very good read!

Content Warnings