Told in dual storylines, this book left me completely mesmerized and spellbound! Such beautiful writing, a terrific story and engaging characters.
Note: I was granted access to both the ebook and audio and chose to go with the audio.
Thank you so much!

Thank you NetGalley, Sarah Penner, and Harlequin Books for allowing me to read this ARC.
-- Shared review from the audiobook as I used both format when reading. ----

Nella runs an apothecary in 1790s London that formerly belonged to her mother; although, she has changed the purpose of the apothecary after a former lover used her substances against her. Now, she runs the apothecary to help women (and the poisons are only used on men). Eliza, a young farm girl, works as a servant for a wealthy couple, and she meets Nella when the wife sends her to collect a poison. A unique friendship is formed between Nella and Eliza as life experiences and knowledge are shared. In current day London, Caroline is on an anniversary trip, alone, when she finds a glass vial while mudlarking in the River Thames. As the book unfolds, the characters discover the power of secrets, the importance of friendships, and how to be true to themselves in a world that often revolves around men. While I loved the unique storyline of this book and thought the character development was great, I wish the author would have included more facts about the poisons that were commonly used during this time as this information often felt a bit underdeveloped.

I read this book using predominately the audiobook, but I did switch over to the ebook some. I love historical fiction, and I thought the dual narratives were done quite well. In terms of the audiobook, I liked that the narrator noted the character and timeframe (day/year) at the beginning of each chapter as this makes it much easier to follow the dual timelines! In addition, the narrators did a great job telling the story of Nella, Eliza, and Caroline with the necessary emotion and emphasis. However, Nella's narrator spoke much slower than the other narrators. So, while I listened to Eliza & Caroline on speed 1.25, I needed to hasten Nella to 1.5 to keep the same pace.

I finished this book in a day it was that good. And look at that cover! It's gorgeous. Heres my review:

I love dual timeline books and The Lost Apothecary did not disappoint. This book is told from the point of view of three women. Nella and Eliza from the 1790's London and modern day American Caroline on a trip to London.

Nella runs a hidden apothecary shop that sells poisons to women in need of ridding themselves of troublesome men in their lives. After running this shop for roughly two decades she meets 12 year old curious Eliza and forms a friendship. The chapters narrated by Nella and Eliza tell the story of how the Apothecary shop came to be and how it came to its end.

Caroline is on a trip to London that was supposed to be her 10th anniversary trip with her husband. Days before they depart for London she learns he has had an affair and so she chooses to go to London on her own to try and make sense of her life and marriage. While there she discovers a glass vial while on a mudlarking tour that sends her down the path of a historian that she abandoned when she got married. While researching she finds clues that tell about the Apothecary killer and eventually finds the Apothecary itself untouched for 200 years.

The story really picked up about half way through. Each chapter is told from the point of view of each woman and the end of each chapter left you wanting to know more. I finished the book quickly because couldn't put it down!

Solid historical/contemporary dual storylines. The action dragged a bit at the 2/3 mark, and I would have liked more descriptive details, but an enjoyable read overall.

This was one of my most anticipated books of the year. I love historical fiction, I love a good mystery, and I LOVE angsty female avenger tropes :)

This is definitely a genre-defying book. While it is clearly historical fiction, and CLEARLY meticulously researched, it had some thriller vibes while reading. To me, this just had a much faster pace than typical historical fiction.

This story follows 3 different women's storylines and how they all connect, even over more than 200 years. I love the way this was written, and how unapologetically feminist the story was. While I had trouble relating to to the characters (especially Caroline, the one from modern day) I was engrossed in all their stories and needed to know what happened to them.

My only critique here is that I could have done with a bit more darkness. The idea of a secret apothecary serial killer who only helps to kill bad men - AMAZING. I would have preferred a bit more insight into these bad men and how they met their end. BUT, I imagine the average reader might not be as twisted as I am....

I definitely recommend this book if you like historical fiction/mysteries and are looking for something unique, and I DEFINITELY recommend this book if Hannah was your favorite character in Dexter ;) IYKYK

The dual timeline takes place in the 1790's and present day London. Caroline has arrived in London on a 10 year anniversary trip on her own, after finding out her husband was having an affair. After trying out 'mudlarking', she finds an old apothecary vial. She goes to the British Library to investigate the origin of this lost apothecary.
We meet Nelly, an apothecary in the 1790's who dispenses poisons which must never be used against women. Twelve year old Eliza comes to her on behalf of her mistress.
I really enjoyed how Sarah Penner wove the stories of the three heroines together. It was fast-paced, with strong characters and wonderful descriptions of 1790's London.
Thanks to NetGalley and Harlequin for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

#TheLostApothecary #NetGalley

I liked the premise of the story and the historical storyline. As happens often with dual timeline novels, one timeline was better than the other; in this case, I felt like the story happening in the present was not as interesting and not even necessary. Too often both storylines were bogged down by over-explanation of the characters' every boring thought and their reasoning which could have been inferred. I don't typically get too hung up on accuracy of historical details, but was struck by the unlikelihood of a maid entering a home through the front door. That seems like a pretty careless and obvious error. I am really interested in historical fiction like this that tells the stories of ordinary people, but overall this one ended up being kind of disappointing.

The Lost Apothecary follows three narrators, Caroline, Nella, and Eliza. Caroline is in the present time, investigating the story of Nella the apothecary and her young friend Eliza, who lived in the late 18th century. While Caroline is learning about their story, she is coping with complications in her own life and finding some odd similarities between her life and the other two women. This book is beautifully written. The style of switching back and forth between time periods and narrators makes it a hard book to put down. The characters and the setting were well developed, which made for a fantastic debut novel.

Thank you NetGalley and Harlequin/Park Row for this ARC in exchange for my view and opinion. It was one of the most fascinating and detailed insights into a sinister side of historical fiction.
Caroline is on her 10 year wedding anniversary trip in London, but alone. After discovering her husband is cheating on her, she needed time to think. While mud-larking in the River Thames, (a new term for me) she discovers a blue medicine vial with a small bear etched into the glass. This takes her on a scavenger hunt to the library to research for the origin of this intriguing find.
With 3 person POV and a span of 200 years this story is delicately tied to a silent secret network of well disguised poisons, vengeance and a clue to unsolved apothecary murders 2 centuries ago. The very discreet business is ran by Nella and open only to female clientele with a mission. She continues this sinister avail with a 2 rule focus: 1. The concoctions can only be purchased by women.
2. The names of the victims and the ones carrying out the deed must be recorded.
The apothecary is hidden away in a back alley behind an intriguing wall of shelves that even the keen eye would miss. With mixtures of remedies for healing, one slight change of an ingredient can turn purposely fatal.
When 12 year old precocious, Eliza, meets Nella under her Mistress's orders for a vial of poison, things become complicated and all involved are in danger of being exposed.
The suspense and story telling is fascinating. The way the author interacts the characters' stories is flawless from present to past. As sinister as it all appears, it will leave you finding female heroines on different terms of strength and commitment to themselves and others. I'm only sorry the story ended.

Interweaves the present-day story of a woman who ends up taking her tenth wedding anniversary trip alone and a late 18th Century Apothecary who aided women in poisoning the men who wronged them

Book Review

This story follows two timelines and 3 strongly developed female characters of various ages, in the city of London.

As the title suggests, this is a story about an apothecary. It’s also about the woman who runs it, as her mother did before her. We learn why the woman has made the switch to only making poisonous concoctions, (and only to kill men) though her mother had trained her to help women get healthy. The other timeline is a woman in modern times, who has been betrayed by her husband.

Off the bat, I have to applaud the depictions of libraries and librarians in this book, as well as the acknowledgment that a simple Google search will only get you so far in your research. I suspect our author used libraries for researching this book, or at least has an appreciation of libraries. The only unbelievable part was how above and beyond the librarian went- she really put herself out there!

And research is what our (modern day) main character is performing, in order to discover the history behind a small glass apothecary bottle she has found. We go back and forth in time to discover the secrets of the apothecary. The book is paced nicely, and there was a part about 3/4 through that made me curse aloud, “Oh Sh**. That’s not something I usually do when reading!

There’s some touchy subjects in here, so be forewarned- loss of a baby, sexual abuse, and of course...murders by poison.

Thank you to Netgalley, who sent me this book in exchange for an honest review.

Caroline flees to London, on what was supposed to be an anniversary trip, upon learning of her husband’s affair. While doing some soul searching, Caroline finds an empty apothecary bottle which ignites the historian in her. She uncovers a mystery from the 1700’s. Her journey though past and present kept me from putting this book down! Debut author Sarah Penner does an outstanding job of intertwining the lives of present day characters, with those from 200 years ago.
*thank you to NetGalley for the arc!

Caroline is reeling after discovering her husband had an affair and embarks on their London anniversary vacation alone. While meandering through the city she discovers mudlarking -- a hobby of discovering objects in the mud of the Thames. The first meaningful find Caroline has is a small vial with a bear etched on it.

The vial comes from an apothecary in the late 1700s run by Nella, the daughter of an herbalist. Her mother created cures for maladies, but Nella expanded the business and also sells poisons for women to escape evil men.

Eliza is sent by her mistress to procure poison for the man of the house when his wandering eye lands on the twelve-year-old servant. Eliza is enchanted by the apothecary and asks Nella to teach her more about poisons.

The story is told in turns by Caroline, Nella, and Eliza as their lives and connections with the apothecary unfold. Before the story ends, each woman must confront the dangerous consequences of their actions.

Recommended for fans of historical fiction, especially Anglophiles and those who enjoy historical women's fiction.

Currently writing this while sleep-deprived at work because I had to stay up to finish this book, and was too excited to sleep afterwards. Once I hit about the halfway point, it was impossible to put down.

The story takes place in two time periods, the 1700s and present day. While there was quite a bit of overlap between the two storylines in the beginning of the book, they do not take long to separate into unique stories that are both equally engaging, and feed into each other just the right amount.

I did however find the beginning of the book not nearly as engaging. I got the sense the author was trying to be mysterious by withholding some details of the characters' pasts for a couple of chapters, but the information seemed predictable to me once fully revealed. The end however was a complete surprise for me, so what didn't work in the beginning ultimately worked out in the end. I would advise that if you're on the fence with how you feel in the first part of the book, stick with it because the payoff is well worth it.

3.5 stars from me. I enjoyed the story and especially love the back and forth between time periods. But, Caroline really annoyed me. She was whiny and I did not relate to her at all. The little twist at the end was so great though.

What can I say, this book has everything. Prestige, mystery, suspense, history. This was a fantastic book! I loved every minute of it.

"The Lost Apothecary" is part historical fiction, part mystery, and part women's fiction. An 18th century apothecary—a poisoner of men who've done wrong—and her apprentice anchor the historical storyline, and a modern day historian who has learned her husband has cheated on her carries the "now" storyline. Despite the seemingly dark topic of vengeful poisoning, this book is a light and easy read that has dramatic flair through its three POVs. Great debut by Sarah Penner, whose prose evokes London past and present and three women seeking their purpose and how to fulfill it.

It’s 1791 in London and in a secret apothecary shop on Back Alley we meet the mysterious proprietor, Nella. Nella uses the same ingredients her mother before her used for good to help women kill men that have wronged them. When Nella meets a young charge (Eliza Fanning) seeking help for her mistress, neither knew how much their chance encounter would change their lives. Intertwined is the story of Caroline, a woman on a London vacation for her 10th wedding Anniversary. Unfortunately, she’s on that vacation alone. With time on her hands and a background degree in history, she is suddenly knee deep in a mystery after she discovers a very old blue apothecary bottle while mudlarking near the River Thames. What’s the story behind bottle?? She quickly delves in to find that out. Through her search, she not only finds out the answers to her questions about that little blue bottle, but also the answers to some much needed questions involving her own life. What a riveting, magical debut novel!! Completely unique and with a cast of unforgettable characters this book was extremely difficult to put down!!

I loved, loved, LOVED this book. It was SO good. My attention was caught from the first page and I read it in less than a day. When I wasn't reading, I was thinking about the book and wondering how long till I could get back to it. It was very easy to get attached to the characters and easy follow their story as the point of view changed from chapter to chapter. A 100% clean read.

This was an amazing debut book and I can't wait to see more from Ms. Penner.

LOVED this debut from Sarah Penner. I am a historical fiction aficionado and this has all the makings of a five star historical fiction read. The mystery. The dual timelines. The intrigue. I couldn't put this one down. If you like Fiona Davis' historical fiction, I think you will LOVE this one! Cannot wait to recommend this to our audience. Thank you for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review!