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becca_w_'s review against another edition
- 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? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Child death, Incest, Infertility, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Body horror, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Pedophilia, Sexual content, Violence, Vomit, Police brutality, Medical trauma, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Abandonment
ems_rxlibrary's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
This novel is, at its core, a story of a woman scorned. Nella is an apothecary who learned everything she knows from her mother. They treated womenâs ailments up until a man came into Nellaâs life and turned it upside down. Now she helps women murder their adulterous husbands via poisons.
Caroline has just found out an awful secret about her husband right before their 10th anniversary trip to London, so rather than cancel, she takes the trip on her own. On her first day she stumbles upon a mysterious vial with an engraving on it and decides to investigate it. While doing so she uncovers the secrets of the past.
I loved Nella and Elizaâs storyline. Carolineâs wasnât my most favorite, but I did like how it aligned with the past narrative.
For being a debut novel I felt the writing was pretty strong. I sometimes feel that debut novels suffer from clunky dialogue or robotic storylines, but this one didnât. I also appreciated the content at the end- the apothecary of poisons was just fun to read.
Graphic: Infidelity, Toxic relationship, Suicide attempt, and Murder
Moderate: Cursing, Incest, Miscarriage, Pedophilia, and Vomit
hiddeninfantasy's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Moderate: Alcoholism, Death, Emotional abuse, Incest, Infertility, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, and Alcohol
eldritch_flower's review against another edition
- 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
Anyways, in this book we follow 3 POVs:
1. Nella - The woman who runs the man murdering apothecary in the 1700s.
2.Eliza - The 12 year old girl who's super cool with murder and acts way older than 12 in the 1700s
3. Caroline - Out modern day 'historian'
The book weaves their narratives together. It's medium-paced and easy to read(and listen to, the audiobook was really well done). And the plot can be summed up with "Lots of ladies who want to get pregnant don't get pregnant, men are murdered, and they all make the DUMBEST decisions."
And with all that, it was still interesting and I was able to at least finish the book. I'm sure this book is someone's favorite, but it's not mine. I feel like the concept is amazing, but the execution could have been so much better
Graphic: Incest, Pedophilia, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Suicide attempt, and Murder
Moderate: Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Infertility, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Toxic relationship, Medical trauma, and Death of parent
miagic_tome's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
I was worried the content warnings would be too much for me but ended up being quite digestible with little-to-no active, graphic description of tough topics but more a retelling of them by the characters.
Graphic: Death and Infidelity
Moderate: Incest, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide
Minor: Pedophilia and Vomit
nehanaomi's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Graphic: Infertility, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Medical content, and Medical trauma
Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, Emotional abuse, Blood, Grief, Abortion, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Emotional abuse, Incest, Pedophilia, and Sexual assault
marinable_books's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Graphic: Child death, Death, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Grief, Suicide attempt, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Incest, Infertility, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Blood, and Medical content
korinnagarcia's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Moderate: Chronic illness, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Blood, Suicide attempt, and Murder
Minor: Incest, Pedophilia, and Sexual assault
sennaje's review against another edition
- 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
4.5
Graphic: Infertility, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicide, Blood, Vomit, Grief, and Murder
Moderate: Incest and Abortion
theespressoedition's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
There was something really interesting about trying to unravel the mystery of Nella and Eliza - through the eyes of Caroline - while simultaneously reading their story as it happened. This is where the audiobook really made it an extra special experience since all three points of view were narrated by different actors. It made the story feel more rounded.
I was really drawn to Caroline. I kept wondering what would happen next in her story, even though Nella and Eliza were sort of the primary subjects. It was so interesting to see how she originally went on her holiday alone to escape her cheating husband and then wound up unraveling this incredible mystery of the lost apothecary. It made me want to make my way to London to discover some of the secret rooms behind rooms!
I look forward to reading this book again in the future and continuing to learn from it. It featured three incredibly fierce women, a heavy dose of mystery, a tiny bit of magical realism, and such beautiful writing!
Graphic: Child death, Death, Miscarriage, and Murder
Moderate: Infertility, Infidelity, Sexual assault, and Terminal illness
Minor: Incest and Suicide