Book Review: The Lost Apothecary

“The Lost Apothecary” by Sarah Penner is a great book for both lovers of historical and contemporary fiction. She masterfully blends the timelines to create a moving story about heartbreak and vengeance. Along with unlikely friendships forged by women in times of crisis. The story is told through her three main characters bringing a richness of each personal perspective. You feel the emotions of these unique women as they make some challenging choices in their lives. I enjoyed meeting each of these characters and walking with them through London.

Please be aware that there are some mild references to sexual abuse in this book. Sarah approaches this subject gently and without any graphic references.

“The Lost Apothecary” is about how Caroline Parcewell finds a vial in the Thames river that pulls her into a 200 hundred-year-old mystery. Her own personal life is in upheaval. She is looking to both find a distraction and find herself. Her chance finding the vial awakens a part of her long forgotten. Nella Clavinger is an apothecary that has been helping women of the late 1700s find justice that the law cannot provide them. Her fight for vengeance has drawn other women with similar needs to her door with the newest being twelve-year-old Eliza Fanning. Eliza will turn Nella’s carefully built world into disarray while Caroline looks to uncover their secrets.

There are many things to love about this book, including the beautiful cover art and title page. The historical aspects are wonderfully researched and layered into each character’s story. Sarah turns London into her fourth character and the cities transformations are lovingly exposed during the story. We get to experience the same city at two different times periods from multiple different perspectives. Yet, Sarah, also gives Caroline her own story and struggles. She isn’t just a narrator for the past but a connection between the then and now. Nella and Caroline’s stories are connected just like so many women who have been wronged by the man they love. Yet, each has its own unique circumstances and challenges. Exploring the theme about how all women struggle with love and self-actualization. How the question of motherhood can make us choice to live a life different from what we may had envisioned for ourselves.

The main issue I had with this book is it being written in first person. This brings a different cadence to the writing. Sarah moves you back and forth through time and the stories by switching the character almost every chapter. This causes a slight jarring feeling until you have learned each of the unique voices. It took me a couple of chapters to find the rhythm of the book. Her character and story development draw you in so that you soon forget the unique pacing. It does give Sarah the opportunity to share with us not just what is happening to these women but how they felt as it was happening. Almost like a couple of friends telling you about their adventures together.

I give this book 5 out of 5 stars. The writing is lovely. The character development was so beautiful I found myself almost crying at the end of one of the chapters. If you like reading first person books than this is defiantly a book you will enjoy reading. There are plenty of twists throughout this book to keep you turning the pages to see what will happen next. The stories of Caroline, Nella and Eliza are not easy and yet relatable to anyone who has been in love and lost it. This is not a romance book, yet the themes of love and motherhood are envisioned and explored in many ways throughout the book. Sarah Penner’s storytelling keeps you flipping all the way to the end.