Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'

The Lost Apothecary by Sarah Penner

134 reviews

emcheym's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad fast-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

3.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Abortion, and Death of parent

junglejelly's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad fast-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

2.5

At first this book got me hooked and I adored the writing, especially the how the characters were written. However, the writing was too cliché and repetitive for me.

Someone of the writing near the end was a bit clumsy and the characters stereotypical. But Penner knows exactly how to write mysteriously and have you hooked, I needed to know what happened to the two 18th century characters, and this alone is what kept me reading.

Overall a below average book for me hence the rating.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Vomit, Suicide attempt, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Death, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Toxic relationship, and Pregnancy

Minor: Alcoholism, Chronic illness, Sexual assault, Grief, and Death of parent

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: 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

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 

---

Content Warnings

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

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

Minor: Blood

Specific trigger content re: abortion/miscarriage/pregnancy:

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.

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.

---

Content Warnings

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

theimposter's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious sad 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

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Domestic abuse, Miscarriage, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, and Sexual harassment

sea_tea_books's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional informative mysterious tense

5.0

I could not put this down. Ironically, the author wrote of one of the main characters, "she wasn't a witch, and this wasn't Harry Potter," but I disagree. According to the author, this story was about "embracing magic" (or "magick" as spelled in ye olde times). There were whisperings of a hidden, magical world—similar to the wizarding world with Snape's potions class, as well as the more shadowy realm of Dark Arts, Knockturn Alley, and Borgin and Burke's. And that is precisely what drew me into this story and kept me captivated.

All that aside, this story had a mystery that slowly unraveled between past and present perspectives. Loved the twist at the end! I've already reserved the author's next story from my library/Libby. 

5 ⭐

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Death of parent, and Murder

Moderate: Infertility, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, and Abortion

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

phoenixlovesbooks's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad 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

4.25

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Sexual assault, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, and Murder

Moderate: Violence, Vomit, Grief, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail

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

---

Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Medical content and Sexual harassment

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