The Lost Apothecary by Sarah Penner

Title: The Lost Apothecary
Author: Sarah Penner
Genre: Fiction, Historical Fiction, Thriller
My Review Rating: ★✰✰✰✰
Goodreads Synopsis:
A female apothecary secretly dispenses poisons to liberate women from the men who have wronged them – setting three lives across centuries on a dangerous collision course.

Rule #1: The poison must never be used to harm another woman.
Rule #2: The names of the murderer and her victim must be recorded in the apothecary’s register.

One cold February evening in 1791, at the back of a dark London alley in a hidden apothecary shop, Nella awaits her newest customer. Once a respected healer, Nella now uses her knowledge for a darker purpose – selling well-disguised poisons to desperate women who would kill to be free of the men in their lives. But when her new patron turns out to be a precocious twelve-year-old named Eliza Fanning, an unexpected friendship sets in motion a string of events that jeopardizes Nella’s world and threatens to expose the many women whose names are written in her register.

In present-day London, aspiring historian Caroline Parcewell spends her tenth wedding anniversary alone, reeling from the discovery of her husband’s infidelity. When she finds an old apothecary vial near the river Thames, she can’t resist investigating, only to realize she’s found a link to the unsolved “apothecary murders” that haunted London over two centuries ago. As she deepens her search, Caroline’s life collides with Nella’s and Eliza’s in a stunning twist of fate – and not everyone will survive.

Na-budol ako. I honestly thought it was interesting, and I was excited to dive in.

Now, I don’t know what really happened. I just didn’t like it. But please do not let this rant prevent you from trying it out. I genuinely think there’s beauty in this book that just isn’t for me or that I wasn’t able to find. I’m giving it a second try and re-read this time with the ebook. I am trying soooo hard to understand the good and bad reviews from other readers and weigh the pros and cons so I am able to grasp what truly happened in the story.

We were following stories set in two time periods – 1790s and the modern day. Written in three POVs, the book was kind of confusing especially when you got caught or when you paused in the middle of one chapter. We had Nella’s POV, the apothecary who made potions/poisons given to women and strictly to be used only on men for whatever reason. I saw an article that this story was supposed to be a “celebration” of women’s bond but I’m not sure how to agree. We have Eliza’s POV, Nella’s kind of apprentice or something but if I got it right she also had this partner whom she want to poison as well (??) – yes, we have here a lot of women of anger that wanted to kill their guy partners, well that is kind of the gist. And before I forget, Eliza is 12? Or 15? Okay I think I already lost it but she’s relatively young and wanted to kill a person? Or not? I said it, it confusing. We also have the POV of Caroline, the woman from the modern or present day who graduated with amazing degrees but was not able to find a job which then discovered her life’s purpose when she found a vial with an interesting figure then made a huge effort to trace where it came from and what it contained. And oh yes, she had a husband that also was cheating on her similar to any other guys our girls in the whole book were.

I finished the book via the audiobook version so I thought I was just confused because was listening during a motorcycle ride so my focus was kind of split. But I tried reading one chapter and I couldn’t really understand it. Or it’s just too deep for me (??) or I don’t know. I didn’t pick this, but this is one of the books on my reading challenge so I thought I needed to complete, but if it weren’t I’d throw it to my DNF folder. And yes, I am not a professional book reviewer, just a simple leisure reader same as the majority of this kind of books’ target market.

I think the book was overhyped, so I went online and looked for good reviews. I found their comments very generic, while the YT rants, I can ~intimately~ relate with as if they were reading my mind. Kudos though for the synopsis and every book descriptions from everywhere, you got me interested and almost excited. Plus the cover is pretty, I give you that. Kudos to the artist.

The concept was really good though. I thought if the author just gave it more realistic and logical twists if not surprising ones the whole book would be one of the bests. I just don’t buy most parts of the book or I don’t understand the way our characters are thinking. It’s like I wanted to dive in but these characters keep putting on a floater on me.

view my vlog reading the lost apothecary

characters

atmosphere

writing

plot

intrigue

I am using the CAWPILE rating system, though please remember a reader’s taste may change from time to time, so I’m not sure if you can trust me here unless this was a recent read. Leaving my ratings anyways because this was totally how I felt the time I read this book. *winks*

I was in Tagaytay when I read most parts of this book (missing the day my Kindle was delivered huhu). We spent our two days there celebrating my friend’s wedding, enjoying coffee, foodtripping, and of course, a little bit of cold away from Manila. One perfect place to enjoy reading (and yes coffee).