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A review by forsan
The Lost Apothecary by Sarah Penner
adventurous
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
I was definitely drawn into this book by the cover and the blurb--a female apothecary in eighteenth-century London dispenses poisons to female customers, in order to kill men in their lives. The book is dual-timeline, jumping back and forth between the late 1700s and the present day.
Unfortunately, while I still think that the premise is really intriguing, this book really didn't work for me. I think that there were a few main reasons for this. For one, the writing didn't really click with me--I think I went in expecting a bit more atmospheric of writing than I felt like the book ended up having. The jumps between the different timelines were also very short, and I felt like I could have benefited from having longer between jumps.
Secondly, I really don't think that the present-day story added much of anything to the story. I mean, I see how the author was trying to contrast the story of the modern-day character, Caroline, with the older one, but I really would have been much happier without her perspective. (Her story also really, really heavily revolves around marital infidelity/an unhappy marriage, and I just didn't like reading it. It's also extremely convenient, and I really struggled to think that it was very plausible.)
Further, a substantial number of the plot points in the book fundamentally resulted from misunderstandings that could so easilyhave been cleared up with a one-sentence explanation. This was definitely true of some pretty major plot points in the 1700s timeline, and I also deeply don't understand why Caroline decided to be secretive about her actions in the modern-day timeline.
With all that being said, though, I am definitely aware that this is a debut book, and I still want to underscore that the premise of this book was and still is really fascinating. While the plot didn't deliver for me, I do think that it might work for some people.
Unfortunately, while I still think that the premise is really intriguing, this book really didn't work for me. I think that there were a few main reasons for this. For one, the writing didn't really click with me--I think I went in expecting a bit more atmospheric of writing than I felt like the book ended up having. The jumps between the different timelines were also very short, and I felt like I could have benefited from having longer between jumps.
Secondly, I really don't think that the present-day story added much of anything to the story. I mean, I see how the author was trying to contrast the story of the modern-day character, Caroline, with the older one, but I really would have been much happier without her perspective. (Her story also really, really heavily revolves around marital infidelity/an unhappy marriage, and I just didn't like reading it. It's also extremely convenient, and I really struggled to think that it was very plausible.)
Further, a substantial number of the plot points in the book fundamentally resulted from misunderstandings that could so easilyhave been cleared up with a one-sentence explanation. This was definitely true of some pretty major plot points in the 1700s timeline, and I also deeply don't understand why Caroline decided to be secretive about her actions in the modern-day timeline.
With all that being said, though, I am definitely aware that this is a debut book, and I still want to underscore that the premise of this book was and still is really fascinating. While the plot didn't deliver for me, I do think that it might work for some people.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Medical content, Miscarriage, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide attempt