Reviews tagging 'Medical trauma'

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

---

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

taylortome's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad fast-paced

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

3.5

A lovely little story about an apothecary turned deadly and it’s *downfall*. This story is more than what it seems. It is a journey for all characters as they discover themselves and their truths. It is written with multiple POV throughout different timelines. It is cohesive and concise and comes together well in the end. I did find it difficult to identify with and love the characters, though I understood the meaning of taking one’s own journey to discover themselves and what they truly find fulfilling in their lives. 

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Infidelity and Miscarriage

Minor: Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Child abuse, Misogyny, Blood, Child death, Domestic abuse, Medical trauma, Murder, Pregnancy, and Toxic relationship

meenakshisathish's review against another edition

dark inspiring mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.0

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Blood, Medical trauma, Toxic relationship, Murder, Grief, and Miscarriage

lyfeistrip's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.75

---

Content Warnings

Minor: Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Murder, Mental illness, Grief, Emotional abuse, Abortion, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Pedophilia, Sexual harassment, Infertility, Incest, Domestic abuse, Child death, Cancer, Miscarriage, Medical trauma, Infidelity, Vomit, Terminal illness, Suicidal thoughts, Sexism, and Death

gummifrog's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• 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

I'm glad I listened to this book on audio because I think I would have struggled reading it physically. I loved the historic portion of this book, I enjoyed the characters of Nella and Eliza and I wanted to see more of them. 

I actually felt the modern day story was enjoyable if you consider that Caroline was meant to be the overall protagonist of the book - her life and journey is shaped by the joy of discovery based on this one tiny piece of history. It's about the idea that even the smallest thing can have an impact on someone hundreds of years from now, that our legacy ripples through time in ways we can't predict.

That being said, I have never wanted a character to leave her husband more quickly. Caroline and Gaynor are my ultimate OTP from this book, you can't change my mind.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Abortion, Terminal illness, Suicide attempt, and Miscarriage

Moderate: Infidelity, Pedophilia, and Murder

Minor: Infertility and Medical trauma

crystal83087's review against another edition

---

Content Warnings

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

robin_reads's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes

4.0

This book is about Caroline in present times finding a remnant of an apothecary from two hundred years ago. She pieces together the history during her stay in London, while her own life is being turned upside down. 
The second POV is of the apothecary, Nella, in 1791 and how she is running her shop and how a 12-year-old girl changes everything.

It was slow to get into but once it did, I was hooked. I loved to learn what really happened in 1791 vs. what Caroline thinks has happened. 
I think I know why so many people didn’t like it because it’s focused on a rather unpopular trope for a while. 
The audiobook was lovely to listen to. The different characters and timelines were easily distinguished. 

---

Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Death of parent, Gaslighting, Medical trauma, Vomit, Terminal illness, and Suicidal thoughts

lemonwrlds's review against another edition

adventurous medium-paced

• Loveable characters? Yes

2.5

---

Content Warnings

Minor: Chronic illness, Death of parent, Drug use, Suicide attempt, Death, Grief, Infidelity, Medical content, Medical trauma, Miscarriage, Murder, Child abuse, Police brutality, Sexual harassment, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Mental illness, Pregnancy, and Suicide

tanyafrey's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious fast-paced

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

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Blood, Murder, Suicide, and Terminal illness

Minor: Medical trauma, Grief, Chronic illness, Miscarriage, Death, and Sexual assault

xandra_evelyn's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

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

4.0

Really great read, I couldn't put it down!! I definitely enjoyed the Eliza/Nella storylines better than Caroline's. In fact, Caroline bothered me a lot. I liked her ending, but she didn't act like a real woman...to the point I actually checked to see if the author was actually a man (for examples, see spoiler). I also wish the ending had been a little clearer on what happened to Eliza/Nella.

Spoiler

 Examples of Caroline not acting like a real woman:
1. Planning her 10 year anniversary trip when her period is due. Like, women know these things...they'd plan NOT to be on their period then. Also, she then eluded to wanting to make a baby on the honeymoon, and even IF a woman wanted to have sex on her period, she definitely wouldn't be making a baby. That's not how women's bodies work. I'm wondering if she wasn't expecting her period at first and then the author changed it...but that should have caught that in editing.

2. Not taking a pregnancy test. I get the author wanted to build suspense, but a normal woman would just take it. even if it was negative, the author could still have built suspense with a late period, because until you get the period or get a positive test, there IS a slight chance you might be pregnant. (For those who don't know, positive tests are like 100% accurate, but negatives have some wiggle room).

3. Keeping Eliza a secret at the end. No one - especially woman, who are so often invisible - deserves to be erased from history. As a woman AND a historian, I would never have kept a story of an interesting woman to myself. I don't think any woman would.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse

Moderate: Body horror and Blood

Minor: Pedophilia, Medical content, Medical trauma, Miscarriage, and Misogyny

Emotional abuse: Caroline's husband Blood: a character struggles with an illness and spits clots of blood Pedophilia: Eliza's employer comes into her (she's 12) and begins to touch her stomach, legs, and thighs before a commotion interrupts him. It doesn't seem he raped her, but it's implied he did so with a previous maid. As awful and scarring as this would be, it was not detailed in graphic ways and so I put it low on the list. Medical trauma/content: it's about poison, so there's a fair amount of medical issues that happen Miscarriage: memory of a character, not graphic. *Not on other users' reviews: idk why people put body horror. Other than possibly the effects of the poisons, but it's not graphic