The Lost Apothecary

The Lost Apothecary is a tale told to readers through the perspectives of different women. Apothecary Nella from 1791 and historian Caroline in the present day are the main characters. Both women have dealt with infidelity in their relationships, and separate losses over children. While their tales are not one for one the same, the heartbreak they endure is a common thread throughout their narratives.

This novel relies heavily on the literature side of writing, giving readers a surface level understanding of the two women’s situations. The reader is told through first-person what they are experiencing, but the emotional side is left up to the reader's imagination. The audiobook narrator added emotion to the women’s stories, but the reader is still told more than shown what they are going through.

As Nella reveals the truth behind her choice to make poisons, Caroline begins to discover the truths about her marriage. Both women deal with deceitful men, and in their way take a stand against them. There is a shared grief between the two women and this common theme is carried within the tale. While Nella tells the reader about the man who influenced her life, readers will see firsthand the gaslighting and deception Caroline must face.

The Lost Apothecary is a fictional novel for those who want to read about finding oneself after infidelity and the desire to have a family. Sarah Penner also makes sure to include the themes of womanhood and remaining true to yourself instead of what others want you to become.

I've had this book on my shelf for a while. I've read mixed reviews about it. But I'm very happy I finally read it. I enjoyed the writing. I enjoyed the dual timelines and how they intertwined. It was also a quick easy read. The only thing I didn't like was the last chapter and how it actually ended. But overall I thought it was a good read

Honestly, because it sucked. First, I'd like to say that I love the idea of this book. Women going to a secret apothecary in the 1700's to kill their abusers, love it. I also loved the character Nella, the woman who ran the apothecary. Beyond that, not much was good. All of the problems were caused by miscommunication. Eliza using the labeled bottle... smh. There was so much set up of her being a clever young girl and this mistake felt like her going out of her way to create issues. And I was frustrated beyond belief that no one would simply state that what she was experiencing was the menstrual cycle. I get that it was the 1700's and people didn't talk about these things, but still. And almost every single character was OBSESSED with the idea of being a mother. It was their main personality trait. Lastly, Caroline's abysmal technology use. “I opened my Internet app”... no. Also her flashlight died WAY TOO FAST. I'd guess she was in that room for no more than 15 min by how upset she was at the speed her phone died. If having your flashlight on for 15 min drains your battery from 100 to 0, you either have an IPhone3 or the worst up to date modern smart phone I've ever heard of.

I obviously do not know if things get better in the last 100 pages, and if they do I'm sorry, book, for being rude. 

Love London, love history; this was formulaic.

Most all readers I know are reading this, and let's be real - it's that darned beautiful cover. The story is great too, which is the cherry on top of a female-centric, empowering, and magical cake that I devoured! This book truly fulfilled all my female empowering/inspiring magical needs, complete with potions, magic, and amazing characters.

Not so bad I didn't finish it. But it felt like it was trying so hard to be anti-men without having the proper meat to justify it, and I just didn't like the main characters enough to feel like it was a good cause. There was only two decent men in the whole story, and one was promptly swapped out for his daughter. The other was barely in the story as well.

Nella is very self-important and thinks a bit too highly of herself. She's okay with risking the lives of women by preserving her ledger filled with their names and never sees it that way, despite everything that happens, and Eliza directly calling this out.

Caroline seems to only have ever interacted with her husband, James, as far as men go. (It's possible she doesn't interact with women much either, tbh.) At one point she considers going out to walk the streets of London but the thought of passing men wearing suits reminds her of James, who she's distancing herself from at that moment. That makes no sense to me. A lot of Caroline's motivations don't make sense, and some of her conclusions also seem a little too convenient. It took me out of the story several times.

Eliza was the best character, but probably should have been cut. The whole bit of her being motivated by believing her first period is a vengeful ghost haunting her, and she went through three adult women failing to explain what a period is to her, until the very end... What a frustrating plotline. Honestly I don't have a lot of patience for “my first period” plotlines because they're usually handled poorly. But I usually see male writers doing it, so was surprised to see it here.

Other than the characters, I don't like reading long passages of characters discussing how to Google what they're looking for. PLEASE just summarize sections like this. Also please avoid flashbacks when you're using the character chapter structure, where a character is the lead voice for the chapter and it alternates. I'm already jumping around mentally, I don't want flashbacks.

Honestly I think what I was hoping for was more schmoozing on the part of Nella. A bit more of picking up newspapers to see the news of a man dying of a “heart attack” or “sudden illness,” or hearing gossip on the streets, etc. Maybe sometimes she has to talk to men and put on a face to hide her contempt for them. But Nella is completely isolated; she's a secretive apothecary who really doesn't talk to people outside of the brief visits from women requesting poisons. She decided all men are awful based on her experiences with one (1), which WAS a pretty bad experience, but like. Does that justify exclusively poisoning men and refusing to EVER poison a woman, no matter how bad that woman is? I really don't get your character.

3.5 rounded up to a 4

Great bones, loved the karmic angle, being largely introspective for character scenes paired really well with the content to set the tone, but the story did feel a bit tedious at times dragging on with some internal thoughts but then not letting pivotal moments breathe and make an emotional impression on me. Enjoyable enough to recommend to friends, but not so much that I will read it again.

Nella is an apothecary living in the 1790s in London, secretly providing poisons for women who have problematic men in their lives after being cruelly treated herself. She has sworn to never harm another woman, only men. Eliza is a 12 year old girl in the same time who has just begun getting unwelcome attention from her mistress???s husband. And Caroline is an American vacationing in London in present day, having just caught her husband cheating on her. She is taking time and space to herself to reevaluate her life and relationship.

While in London, Caroline finds an old glass vial with a bear etched on it and decides to research its story and history. Her story of discovery, of both the bottle and herself, is interwoven with the tale of Nella and Eliza as they meet and form an odd friendship amidst Nella???s dangerous and forbidden occupation.

First of all: Most. Beautiful. Cover. Ever.

Some of the plot devices stretched credulity, such as how easy it ended up being for Caroline to discover the true story of this lost apothecary from one single, unlabeled glass vial. And Caroline???s attitude about some things was annoying. (She had dreams of going to college, but when she got married James didn???t want her going to Cambridge so??? she just didn???t go to college. Are there no colleges in America?) The characters??? development was enough to keep me interested though, and the plot fast paced enough that I was willing to suspend my criticisms to see what happened next. I wouldn???t necessarily categorize this book as either character or plot driven; it does a decent job of striking a balance between the two.

I deeply enjoy books that jump back and forth between past and present like this. It reminds me of the way Susanna Kearsley weaves different timelines into a narrative. And seeing the similarities and contrasts in women???s lives in the two periods was really enjoyable. All three women are in situations or lives where they have little to no power, and the story is about them finding ways to exert it or take it back.

The ending was??? well. It did feel maybe a little too convenient.
Is the lost apothecary a serial killer? Well, yes. Are we still rooting for her? Also, yes. Overall I enjoyed this book and I think it was a really solid debut novel.

It normally annoys me when books go back and forward in time - but it does make sense and work in this book.

This is not everyone's cup of tea, but to those that look for a historical book, with a bit of sorrow and reality, this is up you alley (or Back Alley

I LOVED THIS BOOK!!! It's a perfect book for the cosy Autumn season when you want to curl up in bed with a cup of coffee or anything hot and just read and read. I loved reading the stories both from the present and from the past and see how they intertwined. The characters were amazing, especially Eliza. Gonna recommend this to everyone!

It's an easy and entertaining beach read, but nothing about the book stood out. It lacked depth but I enjoyed the story. The ending was predictable and nicely wrapped everything up in a cute, heartwarming way.

Well-written with an interesting plot, but overall, just really depressing.

This was more a 3.5 for me honestly; I think my expectations were too high. The cover is so lovely and the subject (apothecaries, herbs, alchemy) is one I find so interesting–and I think that's what tripped me up!

The story itself is familiar, a woman in the present investigating some women in the past with whom she feels a connection/shares similar issues. In this case, the issue is crime and cheating husbands–which eventually rang a little hollow to me, like it had been overplayed, perhaps. It's not unbelievable at all, but I also didn't strongly relate to any of the female characters, so it kind of came off as a “some people (mostly men) are awful and some people (mostly women) are victims” story. Again, not untrue by any means. But it felt a little flat.

I don't mean to scare people away–I think if you like women's coming-of-age/quarter-life crisis stories, historical women's fiction, or atmospheric drama, you'd definitely enjoy this. It was just a little out of my wheelhouse, I think!

Ugh she threw the bottle into the river.
Caroline I rather dislike you, sigh.

I found Nella dramatic, Eliza -admittedly fittingly- naive, and Caroline continuously irritating: boring, predictable, inept.

This is how I feel about Caroline: woman avoids processing potential life altering news to chase dreams of being a historical true crime solver.

The only reason I finished this book is because I have insomnia.

Overall, this book was just okay. I was interested in Eliza and Nella's chapters set in the past rather than Caroline's set in the present day. Caroline, at times, felt poorly written just to create the needed drama to advance the plot forward. Certain things just happen to fall in place just so Caroline can have a confrontation with the police at one point. I really disliked the convenience of it all. The ending was pretty well written, however, for Nella and Eliza. For Caroline, though, it was just another set of confusing decisions.

2.5. Nella could have been so much more.

boring tbh

This book suffers from Julie & Julia Syndrome--Nella and Eliza's stories in the past are infinitely more fascinating and have higher stakes than Caroline's story in the present. Every time I had to go back to the present, I couldn't wait to get back to the past.

I couldn't have cared less for Caroline's stunted Eat Pray Love odyssey across London, except when she went urban exploring and had that contrived misunderstanding toward the end. Gaynor was a more interesting character in the present than Caroline by a mile, and I would've loved to follow her in her daily research and discoveries instead.

The book was well-written, but I can't give it more than three stars due to the disappointing Caroline storyline.

I would give this book 3.5 stars. I'm not fond of Caroline because I found her to be annoying. If she was a real person, it would be safe to say that her personality is one where she is trying to make herself the main character, feeling a heightened sense of importance and destiny because she happened upon the apothecary vial. Also, I think everything was just a bit too convenient for Caroline where I did not feel any suspense or concern that she would not accomplish her goal, so it was not enticing to read about. I would think the book would be better if it was just told from Nella and Eliza's perspectives, as I was much more fascinated with their stories. I enjoyed their point of view up until the end when the ending becomes implied. I understand that that was the intention, that history is still history and there is no way to know 100% of everything that happened, but how the story glossed over how Eliza survived a high fall into icy cold water did not make sense. Sure, she drank her magic potion, but that was for getting rid of bad luck, not surviving frostbite. How she survived and made her way back to the Amwell house soaking wet without being caught were completely ignored, and that makes the ending unsatisfactory for me because it simply does not make sense. I am willing to accept magic as the answer, but that's not the direction this book was going. Oh well. Interesting and easy read, would recommend because of the suspense but would not reread.

More of a 4.5 really.
With that cover I expected something more “magical” but in reality any magic was only incidental to the stories.
I really liked all the POV characters and the simple beauty of the story, all in all it was a solid, easy to read and appreciate book.

this book was a fun ride! i don't read historical fiction much but to my surprise i wasn't bored not one bit. this novel captured my attention and didn't let it go, not even for a second!

The only stunning twist at the end of this novel was that I actually listened to the entire audiobook.

Yikes. Someone come save me from myself.

The premise has so much promise. And while I enjoyed the book, it is not one that I will go back to read.

There are 3.5 main characters:

Caroline: the typical “I was perfectly perfect and happy until I wasn't” mid 30s woman

James: (the .5) the shitty husband of Caroline

Nella: the apothecary turned poisoner which SOUNDS like a complex plot but it isn't

Eliza: the 12 year old girl who probably ended up with a ton of trauma from all of this but seems to have turned out perfect.

The plot had interesting moments - mostly with Nella and Eliza. I could have done without the Caroline/James story arc (or lack thereof). There was zero growth or interest there for me.

This ended up being a quick read, predictable, unrelatable and unremarkable.