320 pages
English language
Published June 19, 2021 by Harlequin Enterprises, Limited.
Hidden in the depths of eighteenth-century London, a secret apothecary shop caters to an unusual kind of clientele. Women across the city whisper of a mysterious figure named Nella who sells well-disguised poisons to use against the oppressive men in their lives. But the apothecary’s fate is jeopardized when her newest patron, a precocious twelve-year-old, makes a fatal mistake, sparking a string of consequences that echo through the centuries.
Meanwhile in present-day London, aspiring historian Caroline Parcewell spends her tenth wedding anniversary alone, running from her own demons. When she stumbles upon a clue to the unsolved apothecary murders that haunted London two hundred years ago, her life collides with the apothecary’s in a stunning twist of fate—and not everyone will survive.
Nothing too heavy plot-wise, but the format was fun and there was enough 'mystery' in the story to keep me engaged. A great holiday read.
Content warning (Review includes spoilers)
I wanted to like this book, but I'm not sure I do. It all just went a little too smoothly for Caroline, the present-day main character - there were so many lucky "coincidences", and at times it got just non-believable. (You're telling me that in 200+ years, no one has found the apothecary's secret shop, located in an area of the city that clearly saw some tearing-down and rebuilding, two world wars, and plenty of people having been around, living and working in the closest vicinity, yet the main character is supposed to be the first person since 1791 who goes there, immediately finds the secret door handle, and gets inside? Come on.) I didn't really care about the present-day mc and her marriage problems, and I think the whole book would have been better and much more enjoyable if it omitted her and just focused on the historical part, expanding on Nella's and Eliza's story and leaving Caroline out of it. I give it three stars because it wasn't a bad book; if you want a fast read that doesn't demand much attention or thinking, go for it.
CW: murder/suicide, illness/death, miscarriage.
The only reason I finished this book is because I have insomnia.
It was an enjoyable book, but some of the dialog was stilted (surprisingly the present-day speech, not the 18th century ones), and a couple motivations escaped me.
I found this book to be interesting, going from the historical and present day. Like most that read this book, I enjoyed the historical part more, but I like alot of historical fiction anyway.
It was a good read to me.
Many thanks to TBC for the chance to read this book
Abandoned book... Can't keep reading this "my only purpose in life is to be a mother" junk....
The morals in this tale are warped, perhaps beyond the pale of reasonableness. That aside, the story & plot are very interesting and thought provoking. As a genealogist, I, also, found the historical dimensions of the story intriguing.
Quick listen and I like that it teetered between historical fiction and present day London, though it relied on a bit too much coincidence and magic for my taste. A bit too pat of a wrap up.
The story as such, ok, not bad.
But that the police let her call her alibi on her own and brief her herself? What kind of police are they?
That she potentially destroyed 230 year old items by touching them without gloves and throwing them back into the river? What kind of historian is she? And how did nobody stumble upon the apothecary's lair in 200 years? Was the house with the cellar never sold?
James being the most controlling, unhealthy partner ever? Who would even go to those lenghts? How did she never notice?
This book would probably have benefited from being proofread by a historian or researcher or something. It just feels not fully thought through at times.
This was a captivating story about sisterhood, friendship, and women supporting women. It was fast paced and gripping from start to end. Though it was a bit one-note, I thought it was overall enjoyable.
On paper, this book ticks all the boxes of an excellent story. Great construction, good writing, great pacing, and good character development. However the themes of the book were just so heavy handed that it was almost boring to read despite doing everything else fine. The overall theme of the book is women supporting women. All the women in the book were either great or redeemed, and all of the men of the book were pretty much trash. That's great, I love that. I can get down with that. However, it seemed that just about every chapter it had to be spelled out how important it was for women to support women. For some reason the …
This was a captivating story about sisterhood, friendship, and women supporting women. It was fast paced and gripping from start to end. Though it was a bit one-note, I thought it was overall enjoyable.
On paper, this book ticks all the boxes of an excellent story. Great construction, good writing, great pacing, and good character development. However the themes of the book were just so heavy handed that it was almost boring to read despite doing everything else fine. The overall theme of the book is women supporting women. All the women in the book were either great or redeemed, and all of the men of the book were pretty much trash. That's great, I love that. I can get down with that. However, it seemed that just about every chapter it had to be spelled out how important it was for women to support women. For some reason the author felt it necessary to both show and tell this central theme over and over again. It required no critical thinking of the reader. I found my eyes glazing over as I took in all of the information at face value. I didn't need to think about it twice, and at the end of the book I thought to myself "well that was nice."
This is a good story, but what you see is what you get. Don't expect anything particularly thought provoking because what you're supposed to think is spelled out for you in the pages over and over again.
I really had no idea what to expect from this book. It was picked by one of my Cocktail Hour co-hosts as a replacement for one 2 of the 3 of us couldn't get into at all so it was happening one way or another. And since I had a few more days on my Scribd subscription, what did I have to lose?
The Lost Apothecary covers two time-frames and three points of view: two from 1791 and one modern day. I'll say right off that I started out with the ebook version and was enjoying it but ended up switching to the audio version because I had lots of time during the day because of reporting... I wish I had more eyeball time with this one because the thing that I liked the least was the narrators. You might not have a problem with that but it was irritating …
I really had no idea what to expect from this book. It was picked by one of my Cocktail Hour co-hosts as a replacement for one 2 of the 3 of us couldn't get into at all so it was happening one way or another. And since I had a few more days on my Scribd subscription, what did I have to lose?
The Lost Apothecary covers two time-frames and three points of view: two from 1791 and one modern day. I'll say right off that I started out with the ebook version and was enjoying it but ended up switching to the audio version because I had lots of time during the day because of reporting... I wish I had more eyeball time with this one because the thing that I liked the least was the narrators. You might not have a problem with that but it was irritating for me. I eventually got over it but it did take a while.
Overall, I loved the idea of the apothecary and enjoyed Caroline's research during the modern era to uncover the mystery. It was fun and I wanted her to find the truth. Nella and Eliza deserved to be remembered. The way it all worked out was satisfying for the most part. I'm not going to lie, I had a really hard time believing the reasoning behind keeping the ledger but, as my wife loves to remind me, it's pretend...
It’s fine and entertaining enough but I honestly can’t figure out what it’s trying to say. Whatever it is I don’t think I agree with it.
The premise sounded strong and promising, but I can't help but feel a little disappointed at how things played out. It wasn't thrilling enough to be a thriller or mysterious enough to be a mystery, and while I really enjoyed the historical setting, it just wasn't enough for me to rate the book much higher.
This book covers two different points in time: Caroline in present-day London who is trying to make the best of an anniversary trip despite her marriage being on the rocks, and the dual viewpoints of Nella the apothecary and her brief young assistant Eliza in the 1790s. Nella has been a secret dispenser of poisons, with a very strict set of rules about who they can be used on. This personal code is called into question with one very particular client, and the book largely centers around the buildup and resolution of this one particular …
The premise sounded strong and promising, but I can't help but feel a little disappointed at how things played out. It wasn't thrilling enough to be a thriller or mysterious enough to be a mystery, and while I really enjoyed the historical setting, it just wasn't enough for me to rate the book much higher.
This book covers two different points in time: Caroline in present-day London who is trying to make the best of an anniversary trip despite her marriage being on the rocks, and the dual viewpoints of Nella the apothecary and her brief young assistant Eliza in the 1790s. Nella has been a secret dispenser of poisons, with a very strict set of rules about who they can be used on. This personal code is called into question with one very particular client, and the book largely centers around the buildup and resolution of this one particular case. Caroline, in present-day London, stumbles on the mystery of these two individuals through finding a relic from Nella's shop while out on a spur of the moment mudlarking trip, and spends the rest of her trip unravelling the details while also trying to figure out how to move forward with her personal life.
I have to admit that I was not interested or invested in Caroline's viewpoint at all. She felt a bit bland, and her personal struggles with her marriage and life choices felt tired and not all that compelling. I feel like she existed solely to tell the reader the story of Nella and Eliza, and her personal struggles only existing so the reader can draw obvious parallels between the two points in time.
I also was disappointed at how Nella and Eliza's story played out. I was expecting something a bit darker and mysterious given the premise of a female apothecary who poisons men, but very little of the business of being an apothecary was shown. This just didn't quite scratch the I-want-to-read-about-poisonings-please itch I was expecting it to.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
