I thoroughly enjoyed this debut novel and was gripped by the intriguing storyline and plot twists that kept me guessing until the end. Set in both the eighteenth-century and the present day in London, the authors descriptive narrative really brought the setting and era vividly to life. In the eighteenth-century the story follows a mysterious figure named Nella, who’s name is whispered by women across the city. Nella runs a secret apothecary shop which supplies disguised poisons to use against oppressive men. When she gives such a poison to a twelve year old, who then makes a fatal mistake the apothecary’s fate is in jeopardy.
In the present day, historian Caroline Parcewell is running from her own demons and is spending her tenth wedding anniversary alone. Whilst looking into the unsolved apothecary murders that occurred in London two hundred years ago, Caroline discovers a clue. Caroline’s life then collides with Nella’s in a twist of fate, and one which not everyone will survive. This is an engaging and immersive read and I was hooked from start to finish. I did find that some of the language used, especially during the eighteenth-century, was a bit to ‘modern’, but it did not distract from the wonderfully written narrative and well defined characters. I enjoyed the dual timeline aspect to the story and thought this worked well. An enjoyable and engaging read and I look forward to reading future books by this author.

This was an uneven read for me. I alternated between greatly enjoying it and being bored. I occasionally got a little confused about what was happening in the historical timeline and I never fully understood why Caroline wanted to keep her find of the shop a secret. And I found her husband to be a complete a$$ - she should have dumped him a long time ago!

Ever since this book was released, I had it on my TBR. I mean, look at the cover and look at the blurb!

The story follows Caroline Parcewell who is in London on her tenth wedding anniversary. But she is alone; she has just discovered her husband's infidelity and wants some time away from him.

Another storyline follows Nella Clavinger in 1791. She is an apothecary who is known for dispensing deadly poisons. She has a few rules, though. She will not kill another woman and she will write the names of all the women she has helped. Eliza Fanning is a 12-year-old who carries out a deadly errand for her mistress but is so enamoured by Nella and her poisons that she wants to learn more about them all.

Caroline comes across a tiny vial while she goes mudlarking and she is intrigued by it. What follows is a journey of self-discovery for Caroline.

I liked the setting, especially the claustrophobic atmosphere of 1791. There are frequent mentions of the deadly poisons - half of which I was familiar with thanks to Agatha Christie. I was a bit disappointed at the ending.

I didn't like Caroline's character arc much, though. I felt Gaynor would have been a better protagonist as in some parts, Caroline's thought processes do not add up.

Her husband, James, is an entitled brat whose specialty is gaslighting. How much I hated him! But at times, Caroline and James seemed made for each other.

I had hoped to enjoy this book more (look at that cover again!) and I am sad to give it only 3 stars.

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC.

So... I liked this. I liked the pretend historical story but it never felt like any of it was actually based in fact. If you can read a story and appreciate it for a story then you'll probably enjoy this. If however you can't then things will probably annoy you. I read a lot of fantasy, I'm good at just accepting things as is.

I liked the relationship between Nella and Eliza, I liked the secret door and the poison ledger and I really liked the fact that Caroline gave her hubby the boot. He was a knob.

Sure you can get a Masters anywhere and yes she shouldn't have touched or indeed left historical artefacts like that and sure it's unlikely that the hidden shop would still be there BUT consider the ending where Eliza is survived by children and has a highly successful book shop. Perhaps the patch of Back Alley was saved ad infinitum.

I also loved the recipes at the back - definitely going to try the cookies!

I'm not usually keen on novels with more than one timeline but this did add quite a lot to this book. The stories were nicely interwoven and related to each other . Some parts I enjoyed more than others but overall it is a book I would recommend to friends

Its the 18th century and Nella’s apothecary shop is hidden away in a narrow alley in London however those that need her services know how to find it. Nella provides the poisons that women need to rid themselves of the oppressive men in their lives as she vainly tries to overcome her own hurt. The arrival of 12 year old Eliza sent on an errand by her mistress turns Nella’s life upside down and forces her out into the open.

Meanwhile in the present day Caroline is spending her 10th Anniversary in London away from her husband by choice. A chance encounter means she stumbles on a trail to the Apothecary’s secrets that reverberates in her own life.

I was completely drawn into this story and all three of the characters and while I wouldn’t say the writing rings true for the whole of the book this didn’t make a huge difference to how much I enjoyed it. I also liked the bigger themes that were covered such as women’s place in history. An enjoyable read.

I absolutely loved this, quite possibly my favourite book of the year so far. I found the themes were very engaging and it was executed well.
The plot spans two time periods of present day and 18th Century London and all the elements were right up my street, mudlarking, poisons, historical research and a very unassuming serial killer.
My degree was forensics and I have a keen interest in history indeed I have a collection of antique poison bottles. I am very aware of how commonplace such preparations were in households and also how easily this translated to a number of undetected and surprisingly easy murders in the past. I am also fascinated by mudlarking and loved the idea that the finding of one simple object sparked an interest and the imagination of the finder and developed into such a bigger discovery.
The way that the ethos of the apothecary leaked into the modern part of the story was ingenious and provided food for thought. The themes of trust, betrayal and revenge were strong threads running throughout as were others such as pregnancy and fulfilment in other ways eg work for women. I also liked the parallels between the past and modern storylines as shown by the three main characters eg Eliza’s mother was determined she find more to life rather be stuck on their farm and Caroline marries young and sacrifices her further education and advancement and settles for doing admin work at her family’s farm. The suspense of the tale is excellent and the three main female characters fascinating and well developed. A truly intoxicating experience.

This is a beautiful book combing 3 ladie's stories from the past to the present. This is a throughly unique tale that's beautifully written.

Although I loved the beginning, it quickly became wordy and bogged down with detail. I usually like details as it helps to absorb you in the story, but this was overdone and became too off putting. I therefore did not finish the book

I want to thank NetGalley, the author, Sarah Penner, and Legend Press for sending me a copy of The Lost Apothecary in exchange for an honest review.

The synopsis for this book sounded right up my street. I am a history graduate who adores historical fiction with a strong female lead. The plot sounded very badass and feminist, which made me very excited to pick this up. I had also already seen a lot of buzz on bookstagram - and the cover is absolutely gorgeous.

The Lost Apothecary blends historical and contemporary fiction together very well. I really enjoyed the parallels between the stories from the 1790s and those happening in the modern day. I thought the chapters ran alongside each other nicely and this was a clever way of further delving into the history behind Caroline’s discoveries.

I may be biased, but my love of history meant I very much preferred the chapters set in the 1790s. The young but strong-willed Eliza was my favourite of the three main characters but I also enjoyed uncovering Nella’s dark backstory. I think I struggled to connect with Caroline’s character the most.

One of my pet peeves in suspense writing is those glaringly-obvious foreshadowing sentences. It feels like such an easy and predictable (almost lazy - but I’m not sure if that word is too harsh) method of creating suspense. There were plenty of these in the beginning of the book, but I was glad to see that they stopped early on.

I also must confess that it infuriated me how easy Caroline’s research into the lost apothecary seemed to be. Everything fell into place really easily for her which, as a history grad, I know is not common at all. It was too neat and not very realistic.

I was initially frustrated that one of the three main characters does not have her story tied up with an ending. However, I do understand that this contributes to the larger message that this book was trying to portray. It is the reality of the histories of ‘unimportant’ everyday women. Most of the past we study was documented by men (for a number of reasons), and I liked that the book highlighted this and the potential fascinating histories that we may be missing out on.

Overall, I think this was a good debut novel. I think I did expect more from this book but I wasn’t entirely let down. It piqued my interest enough to consider picking up future books written by Sarah Penner, which I have no doubt will improve on the negative aspects of this one. I have given The Lost Apothecary a rating of 3/5.

First, the plot:
Set in London, England, the novel follows the stories of two young women 200 years apart. Nella is running her mothers apothecary shop in 1792, with a secret agenda. she helps to brew poisons that 'cure' the oppressed women around her, or more crudely, remove their main problem, men. When a young girl named Eliza first visits her shop, things begin to get a bit more complicated.
The more modern plotline follows a women named Caroline, who visits London, alone, on what would have been her 10th Wedding anniversary. She seizes the opportunity to go 'mudlarking' along the River Thames and soon comes across a small blue vial. from this moment Caroline begins her quest to discover the owner of the vial and the story behind it.
I have to be blunt in this instance. The Lost Apothecary, despite grabbing my interest with the description and the beautiful cover, did not live up to my expectations. Maybe I set them too high, however, as someone who is keenly interested in novels with a feminist agenda, a mystery, a poison related plot, and botany! (wow i was so excited for the botany) I felt the author combined so many exciting concepts in a way that did not do them justice. I think there was too much focus on the historical setting and not enough on the intrigue around the plot, creating a definite historical fiction novel, with suspense and thriller, but not a fantasy one. Personally, this book was not for me, however fans of well written historical fiction with suspense and murder, perhaps a slower read, then maybe you will have a better experience.
The split point of view was an issue for me, I was more invested in the historical plot and therefore found the modern day one tedious as I felt impatient to reach Nella's pov in the next section of the novel. Again this is a personal preference, and other readers may not have the same experience.
After having done some research on the novel i can conclude that those who listened to the audiobook had a better experience and judging from reviews, there were exciting and engaging readers that could potentially add to the excitement and energy of the story.
**Thank you to NetGalley for providing an complimentary copy of the novel**

I struggled to read this book and found it difficult to get into. It's a shame as I had high hopes for this.

Deep in the bowels of 18th century London an apothecary goes quietly about her trade helping those women who seek to hurt the men who betray them in so many different ways. Following the tradition set by her mother before her Nella uses her skills as a mixer of potions to help women on the understanding that the poison she gives never hurts another woman and that all her transactions are recorded in her ledger. A ledger which, if it fell into the wrong hands, would send Nella to the gallows.

There's a real sense of foreboding in this rather dark story of vengeance and retribution but the author brings it all to life with a lovely authenticity allowing a glimpse into the dark and dangerous world of 18th century London. I also enjoyed the dual time aspect of the story particularly in the modern day when we get to know Caroline Parcewell, an American on holiday in London, who is having to deal with the after effects of a ruined relationship where she has been hurt beyond repair. Caroline's quest to discover more about the lost apothecary is what knits the two halves of the story together. Whilst I found both time aspects fascinating I found myself looking forward more to Nella's story in the 18th century especially when the story takes a decidedly dangerous twist for her and her companion.

The Lost Apothecary is beautifully written dual-time fiction with a strong sense of atmosphere and a well defined plot.

Caroline has chosen to travel to London alone, on her 10th Anniversary after discovering her husband's infidelity. While there she joins a mudlarking group, finding an apothecary vial; this vial will uncover a hidden history, leading Caroline to also remember who she wanted to be and allow her to be brave, for the first time in a long time.

Penner writes this novel from three different characters' point-of-views, Nella and Eliza, who are set in the past and Caroline who is set in the present. Although this narrative is clever and well thought through, it was the switching of the POV's which I found a little frustrating and what I felt made this narrative a little slow.

This novel, for me, can definitely be described as a slow burn, it took me a while to get halfway through this novel, wanting more to happen, however, the second half of this novel I could not put down and finished very quickly.

I do think this novel is a good read and I did enjoy this at the end and I would recommend it to others.

I so wanted to like this book as I'd really loved the description and it sounded so up my street but in reality, we just didn't gel, I couldn't sink into the story line and I found the main character unconnectable, after that it fell all a bit flat for me, I tried multiple times to give second chances to no avail.

Many thanks to netgalley for my free arc in return for my honest review.

I didn't like this. I find it clunky and the prose never grabbed me. The cover is beautiful and I could see why other people would like it -- the premise is intriguing and a lot of fun -- but it was not for me.

In 1790's London apothecary Nella supplies desperate women with lethal preparations to poison the cheating, abusive men in their lives. In present day London, aspiring historian Caroline Parcewell makes a chance discovery that leads to the unraveling of a centuries old mystery.

I loved the premise of this book and in the main I found it an enjoyable read. The story of Nella the apothecary and her relationship with young Eliza kept me invested. I was less interested in the contemporary story and at times the parallels between Nella and Caroline felt too neat.

Thanks to Netgallery for providing a review copy of this book.

CW (as provided by the author):

infidelity, divorce ideation, bodily effects of poisoning, blood, recall of a past miscarriage, brief predatory behavior against an adolescent, brief suicide ideation.

I found this book very captivating and loved how the story linked all the women together, all at different stages in their lives but all adding to the story.
I found the amount of conversation regarding miscarriage and trouble conceiving quite heavy going sometimes, and felt it was unneeded to be brought up as often as it was.
Overall an enjoyable book which I will fondly remember.

This compelling story is set in two time frames; present time and the 1700s. The book is largely historical fiction, based on apothecary practices in London in the 1700s, namely a little apothecary hidden away down a London alley with very set practices and an American visiting London who does some research because of a little apothecary vial she found while mud-larking in the Thames river. Overall I enjoyed this one; it was well written, good character development and a story that moved at a good pace. This one would be enjoyed by readers who like books by authors such as Sarah Perry and other similar books. Thanks to NetGalley and the Publisher for a copy of this book.

The Lost Apothecary by Sarah Penner

Another book with multiple viewpoints and ‘Then’ and ‘Now’ storylines. Either there are an inordinately large amount of books with this structure being released or I just happen to be reading a lot of them recently.
I’ve felt a mix of confused/disappointed/jaded with a lot of these books, but thankfully, The Lost Apothecary, presented this type of formula really well.
The ‘Then’ and ‘Now’ storylines melded really seamlessly and so there was no confusion when switching between historical and modern.
I loved the characters, and particularly loved the work of the apothecary Nella (not necessarily the murder part, but the concocting of remedies/poisons).
A great read - not perfect- but very close.

* Thanks to Legend Press and Netgalley for the ARC.