Reviews tagging 'Classism'

The Lost Apothecary by Sarah Penner

29 reviews

mattiedancer's review against another edition

adventurous hopeful mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Writing: 3⭐️/5 

The writing was fine, adequate, presentable. A few times Penner had some really stunning lines, but mostly the writing did what needed to be done without too much flare or finesse. A lot of sections for backstory were lengthy, giving us a bit of information by flashback and then overexplaining the emotions of the situation. But overall the writing did enough to not get in the way.

Characters: 3.5⭐️/5

I think the characters in the historical sections were much more fascinating than our modern-day protagonist. While I appreciated that Caroline had a lot going on, I also felt like her half-telling of the story made me lose a bit of interest in what was going on. I loved her research-heavy mind, but it felt stunningly unbelievable the way in which she pursued her research so easily after so long. And, while the characters were interesting, they felt a bit surface at times, almost as though we never got a true glimpse of their whole beings.

Plot: 3⭐️/5 

Okay, so the concept? Super cool. The execution? Maybe that’s where I got lost. I loved everything about the apothecary. I even loved the slow unravelling of clues from Caroline’s side, but I also felt like that was the only thing that felt super fleshed out. All the details in the novel felt muddled, as though they were unclear and unformed. I also think that the end kind of undid some of the feminist points made throughout the novel, leaving kind of a sour taste in my mouth at the end.

Who Should Read This Book? 

• Fans of historical books that have a split POV with modern perspective
• Someone looking for a cool concept over everything else
• Fans of witchy history who are looking for an easy read

Content Warnings? 

• Pregnancy, adultery, murder, sexism, misogyny, rape, sexual assault, sexual harassment, violence, abuse, child abuse, child death, death, death of parent, self-harm, suicide, suicide attempt, suicidal thoughts, terminal illness, poison, gun violence, medical trauma, classism, injury, injury detail, fire, pedophilia, incest, infertility 

Post-Reading Rating:  2.75⭐️/5

I just… wanted more? I liked the concept so much but I think everything else fell pretty flat.

Final Rating: 3⭐️/5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Incest, Infertility, Infidelity, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

taliatalksbooks's review against another edition

dark emotional tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

The Lost Apothecary by Sarah Penner was just as good, if not better, than I expected it to be. I tried not to let all the praise surrounding the book skew my reading experience, but I can now say it was definitely well earned (not to mention how much I LOVE the cover). Historical fiction is not a favorite genre of mine, but I loved the way this story was discovered through researching the past and filling in the pieces. I think this was a really clever framework and it made the women of this story feel as though they were interacting, even if they never could have possibly met. I love a story with a good vigilante character, and this book certainly delivered. If you haven’t had a chance to read this historical fiction gem, definitely add it to your TBR. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, Incest, Infertility, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Grief, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Murder, Pregnancy, Sexual harassment, and Classism

fkshg8465's review against another edition

emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Entertaining enough but the modern day protagonist lacks adequate substance.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infidelity, Suicide attempt, Murder, and Classism

nelldiaz's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

Enjoyable mystery/ historical fiction

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infidelity, Grief, Suicide attempt, and Murder

Moderate: Child death, Death, Miscarriage, Medical content, and Pregnancy

Minor: Classism

mariamj's review against another edition

adventurous challenging inspiring mysterious reflective sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

The beginning was a bit slow but when it picks up, it  picks up! This book was such a pleasure to read. I love the historical accuracy of the events that occurred in this book and I love that the story behind the apothecary. Looks truly can be deceiving and the truth was bittersweet. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Miscarriage, Grief, Death of parent, and Murder

Moderate: Infertility, Terminal illness, Blood, Vomit, Suicide attempt, and Classism

Minor: Alcoholism and Alcohol

kelisabeth's review against another edition

adventurous emotional fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexism, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

crystal83087's review against another edition

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Death, Infertility, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Murder, Pregnancy, Toxic friendship, and Classism

vedpears's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.0

This book is somewhat difficult for me to rate. I liked the characters, loved the setting, and enjoyed the pace and motion the story was told through. I could easily imagine myself bustling along with the characters. I enjoyed the portrayal of someone of higher class status completely mucking things up for themselves and everyone around them because they felt entitled to something. 

However, the book completely got muddled up because Penner decided to use that awful story telling element - drama ensues because characters refuse to say one simple line that would clear up the whole misunderstanding! I hate this with a passion, so automatically loses 2 stars for that. 

Another star is lost because Caroline doesn't make sense/is not well written and she takes up half the pages. She is passionate about history so when starting her life over, she decides to pursue... literature? Police are cautioning her to better safeguard toxic substances and she instead worries about how she doesn't have a child to worry about poisoning? It seems Penner was hinting that James was manipulative and employed gaslighting and emotional abuse when interacting with his wife, so Caroline should be written with that in mind. She was angry and was sharp with James. When he said "you're the one who tore up your college application," Penner should have had Caroline react how a woman in that relationship would have reacted at that point. If she is fighting to get away and divorce him, she would be arguing with him or making him see that he made it into an ultimatum. In regards to her relationship with James, Caroline was simply not fleshed out enough. She was angry enough to flee the country just to get away from him. She would definitely still have that anger and react accordingly upon seeing him. Poor writing.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Toxic relationship, Blood, and Murder

Moderate: Drug use, Vomit, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Pregnancy, and Gaslighting

Minor: Classism

blissofalife's review against another edition

hopeful mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Not a long read, I appreciated the lack of fluff and how Penner kept the plot moving. Multiple POV can be jarring, but she made it seamless.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Infertility, Miscarriage, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, and Murder

Moderate: Classism

Minor: Body horror, Child death, Infidelity, Suicide, Terminal illness, Blood, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Sexual harassment

vanesst's review against another edition

adventurous dark fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Infidelity, Suicide, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Child death, Chronic illness, Infertility, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Gaslighting, and Classism

Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Medical content, Abortion, and Alcohol