Rachel L's Reviews > The Lost Apothecary

3.75 stars

Three women, two different centuries. Present day in London we have Caroline visiting from the United States, who finds a mysterious bottle washed up from the River Thames. In the 18th century we have Nella who runs an apothecary that deals in poisons for women to use against men who wronged them, and Eliza, her unexpected new customer. All three women have dilemmas they need to work out, and all of them may find themselves in trouble before they know it.

I went into this book mostly blind, so I think that helped my enjoyment of the story as I’ve read many people thought it would be different based on the description. I would say this book is a mix of historical fiction and women’s fiction. I actually really liked the present day portions over the ones in the past, but I think that’s just because they were faster paced. Also I really liked Caroline whereas I didn’t love Nella or Eliza. I think I’m the opposite of most readers of this book, everyone else said the modern day portions should be cut out. Maybe I’m weird! I liked it.

Definitely glad I listened to the audiobook of this one, it helped keep the pace and tone going forward. I can see how if someone read it instead of listening, it would be boring. It’s a slower pace than most books.