“Why did we suffer to keep secrets? Merely to protect ourselves, or to protect others?”
Genre: Historical Fiction
Actual Rating: 3.5 stars
Content Warnings: Discusses cheating, murder, poisons, miscarriages, suicide attempts, and insinuates about sexual assault.
“The Lost Apothecary” follows three different points of view: one in present day and two in 1791. Caroline Parcewell was an aspiring historian before she decided to follow a family life instead of a life in academia. On a now somewhat unwanted trip to London, she finds a small apothecary vial and is set on finding out where and when it came from. So in comes Nella, the owner of a hidden apothecary that at times delivers poisonous and deadly concoctions to and only to women intended to give them to men, and Eliza, a young costumer that was getting some poisoned eggs for someone else and who becomes Nella’s friend (?) following a few unexpected and unfortunate events. Will the mystery of the lost apothecary be reviewed in present day or will Nella’s secrets remain hidden.
I must admit I only grabbed this book because of the cover. I had been wanting to read it for a while just because it was so pretty but I am so glad that I actually got through it because the actual book was so much better than the cover. “The Lost Apothecary” was a fun and dynamic read, with different points of views and different timelines. Sarah Penner has done an exceptional job with this novel, AND YOU’RE TELLING ME IT’s HER DEBUT. That’s unbelievable.
I know I am singing the praise of this book while I actually only give it gave it a 3.5 stars, but the thing is that this book was wonderfully written, the characters were mostly well defined and likable, but in the end I felt like I was still missing something, and I hated that.
I would recommend this book to readers who enjoy V.E. Schwab books like “The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue” and to anyone who enjoys books told threw different timelines and points of view.
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andrea's galley 