The Lost Apothecary - Sarah Penner

Goodreads rating: 4*

I picked this book to read on my way down to London a couple of weekends ago purely because it was a smallish hardback that I thought would travel well in my bag, little did I know that the story would actually be set in the very same city. The premise was really intriguing and I could tell that the author had done a lot of research into the geographical area in order to write this novel.

I loved the idea (in principle) of women looking out for other oppressed women, despite the fact that this lead to the murder of countless men. Some parts of the story early on were a little predictable, but I was still gripped by both the past and present-day storylines. I liked Eliza as a character, even though she was a little immature and her naivety got her and others in trouble. Nella's backstory was an utterly tragic one, and to be quite honest, it's rather unsurprising how things ended up spiralling for her and the hidden apothecary.

I also felt truly sorry for Caroline and the awful position she was left in after finding out about her husband's infidelity - I really disliked James' character as he came across as a manipulative, gas-lighting narcissist, and that was before he intentionally poisoned himself to get sympathy! I was so relieved that Caroline wasn't pregnant in the end and that she was able to follow her dreams, plus what better way for the apothecary's customers to be remembered than by Caroline's proposed research project.

The book had me going for a while, thinking Eliza had died - I'm so glad that both her and Nella survived - and although it wasn't quite five stars, it was still a good, easy read. As a side note, I also enjoyed the little added extras at the back of the book with herb details and harmless recipes.