Reviews tagging 'Medical content'

The Lost Apothecary by Sarah Penner

63 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

lisa_m's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix

3.5

This was an interesting story and I enjoyed listening to it. I definitely prefered the story of the apothecary and found myself wanting to skip the modern part of the story. The twist at the end was interesting and I definitely did not expect it.

Spoiler

Because it's two interconnected stories you pretty much already knew what happened with the Apothecary though. As soon as its clear that it still exists today you also know it was never found out. Because of that I didn't feel the anxieties of being found out. But it was a good story and especially if you're dealing with a cheating husband I think you'd really enjoy this story.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Grief, Murder, Pedophilia, Pregnancy, Blood, Death, Death of parent, Medical content, Miscarriage, Suicidal thoughts, Child death, Infidelity, Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, Vomit, and Sexual harassment

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

huntress's review against another edition

dark informative reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No

1.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual harassment, Sexism, Pedophilia, Suicide attempt, Death, Adult/minor relationship, Miscarriage, Blood, Alcoholism, Alcohol, Murder, Vomit, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual assault, Pregnancy, Misogyny, Infidelity, Infertility, Grief, Medical content, Abortion, and Death of parent

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: Suicide attempt, Grief, Infidelity, and Murder

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

Minor: Classism

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

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

blewballoon's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective tense slow-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

3.0

This wasn't bad, but it had a lot of tropes I'm a bit tired of. I wouldn't recommend this book to men, since most of them are portrayed in a cartoonishly villainous way. I find it boring when women character arcs are focused on motherhood/pregnancy, men, and not much else.

Spoiler

In a ridiculous example, A 12 year old girl's plot and decisions mostly revolve around not knowing what a period is and assuming the blood is caused by a dead man haunting her.

There are 3 POV characters, and I felt like they all over-explained what was going on. I feel like there should have been more trust in the reader to understand the nuances of the situations and emotions. I listened to this on audiobook and the narrators did a great job with their characters, though. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Infidelity, Miscarriage, Death, Grief, Medical content, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Suicide and Pregnancy