The Lost Apothecary: Reviews by 2021 Reading Challengers

[Winter, Group Reads]

Tell us what you thought of the book! You can leave your review here. Even if you read the book outside of the group, please feel free to let us know what you thought of it.

Please make sure to mark your spoilers by typing "[spoiler]" at the start and [/spoiler] at the end but replacing the []s with <>s.

[TerryJane, Challenges]

Not really a review, but I just finished reading/listening to The Lost Apothecary today, and I thoroughly enjoyed it! I'm so glad it was selected. 😊

[Danielle]

I second that one! It has been on my wish list for a while and I managed to find a copy just in time! But I flew through it in a few days!

Absolutely loved this book, was a bit historical, but also current day and flowed together really well. The characters were very relatable, and it just made me want to explore London - hopefully some day!

[TCampbell]

I flew this book. Loved the 1791 thread, though the modern day one was engaging too.

[John]

3 out of 5 stars

It's a story about women asserting their place in history, which is a worthwhile topic. But it engages you to this idea through the dramatic conceit that women did this by poisoning the men that oppressed them.

I mean, they did, and it's entertaining to read about, but I have to wonder if the book really cops up to this, especially with the weird way its 1791 plot ends.

Full, spoiler-free review.

[patricia]

Pat It is a story of how two women responded to being betrayed. Women were property in 1791 and could not leave a husband as the children were his as was the very clothes the woman had on. Nella was only giving poisons to women who were abused and betrayed. Caroline is a modern woman and can leave her cheating husband whose abuse was subtle. She did not poison him.

[Shari]

3 out of 5 stars

This was just an okay book. It was on my tbr list so I joined the group read. While I liked the book, not sure that I would recommend it to anyone.

[Dorothy]

patricia wrote: "Pat It is a story of how two women responded to being betrayed. Women were property in 1791 and could not leave a husband as the children were his as was the very clothes the woman had on. Nella wa..."

My review of this book:
I found this book a fascinating source of information about apothecaries and their practices in 19th century London. Nella has an apothecary shop hidden in a dark alley. She has inherited her trade from her mother and both help only women. Nella however has a different practice from her mother's. She helps women by prescribing poisons so that wives can get rid of husbands who are cruel or unfaithful. Against her better judgement, she takes on an apprentice, Eliza, who has come on behalf of her mistress who wants to rid herself of her husband. In the present day, Caroline is in London, ostensibly on an anniversary trip with her husband of 10 years but shortly before leaving the US, she finds he is having an affair and embarks on her holiday without him. Intrigued by a group of people she sees pottering in the mud of the Thames, she joins the group who are looking for artifacts left by the river as the tide runs out. There she finds a vial with the engraving of a bear on it, and with the help of a friendly librarian at the British Library, she researches its origin and traces it back to Nella's apothecary practice. The pace of the story telling is good and encourages the reader to continue to find out more about the apothecary. (less)

[Megan]

Really enjoyed this story! It has mixed povs with an alternating timeline. That can be hard for some authors, but in this book they blended seamlessly. All of the three characters were interesting in their own right, so none of the povs was stronger or more interesting than the other. Loved all the topics it brought up. My only critique was it could have ended a touch better with a little more explanation. Really great debut! Definitely worth reading! 4.5 stars

[patricia]

Patricia I finished this book on the 10th. How the women responded to betrayal is very much the story. Nella wes betrayed twice by the same man. Caroline shines a light "on old truths hidden in dark places" And comes to realize it is not okay to bury one's self and dreams. Fascinating story.

[L Y N N]

I loved this! And just a debut novel! Am definitely looking forward to more from Penner in the future! I love historical fiction mysteries! One of my faves! I adored the twists and turns. And I liked the somewhat 'happily ever after' ending(s)!

[Veronica]

Overall I enjoyed this book and gave it 4 stars. I am a fan of Historical Fiction, and the connection to the modern day made it even more interesting. It immediately piqued my interest when the book started with a historical map of London.

(view spoiler)[ I was satisfied with the ending though it did scare me at some points. When Eliza jumped off the bridge initially, I was shocked that the story would resolve with her death. I'm glad that ended up not being the case and we found this out through the present-day character. The story also pulled a few things I thought were clever and didn't predict- like finding out James poisoned himself (hide spoiler)]

[Dorothy]

Unfortunately I listened to this on audio. I would have liked to see the map,