Reviews tagging 'Chronic illness'

The Lost Apothecary by Sarah Penner

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

jkohls's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective fast-paced

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

4.75

I think this was a very easy read. I found the book grabbed my interest very early. I sometimes struggle with the flashback books but I got into the grove with this one quickly.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Terminal illness, Murder, Grief, Pregnancy, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Chronic illness, Incest, Infidelity, Child abuse, Violence, Child death, Medical content, Death, Infertility, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, and Rape

suchallie's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious medium-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? No

3.0

Good easy read, less magical vibes than I thought it would be and more dark and dusty Bridgerton-esque historical vibes 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Miscarriage, Suicidal thoughts, Death, Death of parent, Grief, Chronic illness, Murder, Drug use, Medical content, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Abortion, Child death, Sexual assault, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Blood

Specific trigger content re: abortion/miscarriage/pregnancy:

Spoiler

there is content of a forced abortion without consent

Also lots of content about infidelity and marriage troubles

anni_swanilda's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious slow-paced

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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Infidelity, Toxic relationship, Murder, Pedophilia, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Terminal illness, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Chronic illness, Gaslighting, and Grief

Moderate: Medical content and Sexual harassment

Minor: Animal cruelty, Death, Abortion, Animal death, Miscarriage, Pregnancy, Alcohol, and Death of parent

taryn_g's review against another edition

adventurous dark hopeful mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Suicide attempt, Grief, Suicidal thoughts, Death, Miscarriage, and Infidelity

Moderate: Sexual harassment, Blood, Death of parent, Chronic illness, Terminal illness, Child abuse, and Pregnancy

cyndi1966's review against another edition

emotional inspiring mysterious medium-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? No

4.0

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Content Warnings

Minor: Terminal illness, Grief, Infertility, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Suicidal thoughts, Medical content, Suicide attempt, Chronic illness, and Murder

ariel_marie's review against another edition

adventurous hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective 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? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infertility, Infidelity, Chronic illness, Miscarriage, Grief, Murder, and Pregnancy

Minor: Blood

evhanson's review against another edition

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? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abortion, Suicidal thoughts, Infertility, Miscarriage, Chronic illness, Death, and Murder

Moderate: Toxic relationship, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, and Sexual harassment

stacy_es's review against another edition

adventurous informative mysterious medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Death, Grief, Infidelity, Murder, and Suicidal thoughts

Moderate: Child abuse, Miscarriage, Pregnancy, Medical content, Blood, and Suicide attempt

andloveistoolong's review against another edition

dark hopeful tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Miscarriage, Murder, Infidelity, Grief, and Suicidal thoughts

Moderate: Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual harassment, Suicide attempt, Blood, Child death, Chronic illness, Infertility, Death, and Medical content

Minor: Pregnancy