A fantastic debut from Sarah Penner, The Lost Apothecary is a duel timeline story, interweaving the first person narrative of three characters. Caroline is visiting present day London, getting away from some troubles back at home. She stumbles upon something that leads her back to her to re-discover her love of history and research, which has been dormant since she graduated college 10 years earlier. The other side of the timeline is Nella and Eliza, in 1791 London. Nella is an apothecary, that caters exclusively to women and helps them solve difficult problems. I wish that Penner had explored the problems of her clientele a bit more deeply, especially since the nature of Nella's work is quite dark.
The Audiobook narrators, Lorna Bennett, Lauren Anthony and Laren Irwin, are all very good, and fit the characters very well. Thank you to Net Galley and Harper Audio for this Advanced Listening Copy.

I really enjoyed this audiobook. The narrator spoke clearly and the enunciated well. I felt like the narrator helped to bring the story to life. The story itself was great and drew you in with the character development and storyline. The on part that I had a little bit of a hard time with was following the timelines while listening to the audiobook and I felt that I would have done better with the digital/physical book instead.

I very much enjoyed this audio book from NetGalley. Great character development of three women in two different timelines. In current day, Caroline travels to England for what would have been an anniversary trip with her husband. She discovers that her husband has been cheating on her all while wishing for a baby. She gave up Cambridge and her love of history for him and has lost herself in the process. Finding a glass vial with a bear etching near the river Thames, Caroline begins research on the glass leading to the discovery of murders linked to this particular apothecary. Two centuries earlier, a young girl named Eliza befriends Nella, the apothecary owner. They work together in the back of a London alley selling poisons to women who have been wronged by the men in their lives. The story unfolds the deep hurt experienced by women and Nella's calling to help them. Women empowerment.

“Hidden in the depths of eighteenth-century London, a secret apothecary shop caters to an unusual kind of clientele. Women across the city whisper of a mysterious figure named Nella who sells well-disguised poisons to use against the oppressive men in their lives. But the apothecary’s fate is jeopardized when her newest patron, a precocious twelve-year-old, makes a fatal mistake, sparking a string of consequences that echo through the centuries.

Meanwhile in present-day London, aspiring historian Caroline Parcewell spends her tenth wedding anniversary alone, running from her own demons. When she stumbles upon a clue to the unsolved apothecary murders that haunted London two hundred years ago, her life collides with the apothecary’s in a stunning twist of fate—and not everyone will survive.”

I liked and disliked the dual timelines. I loved each individual story. Both were compelling in their own rights. Nella’s story is fascinating.

Caroline’s story is a little less compelling than Nella’s. I think her being dragged in for questioning because the paramedic found her notebook is far fetched.

The multiple narrators were great, especially with the dual timelines.

DISCLAIMER: I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Many thanks to the publishers, author, & NetGalley for the audio-ARC of The Lost Apothecary by Sarah Penner.

“For many of these women,” Nella whispered, “this may be the only place their names are recorded. The only place they will be remembered. It is a promise I made to my mother to preserve the existence of these women whose names would otherwise be erased from history. The world is not kind to us. There are few places for a woman to leave an indelible mark...”

The author skillfully uses dual timelines from three perspectives in this contemporary historical fiction. I’d recommend it to someone looking for a fairly fast-paced book with some mystery & characters facing a challenge. I was riveted and didn’t want to stop listening.

The 18th Century parts of the story have some of the gritty London feel I wanted the novel Things in Jars to have. And I felt like there were some intriguing, dark similarities between this poison-dispensing female apothecary Nella & the character of Eve Gardiner from The Alice Network. Plus the cover is gorgeous.

I really loved this book. Despite having already read it with my ears, I am still preordering a copy of the physical book, if that tells you anything.

I really liked the premise and the narrator on this audiobook. I wanted to love it, but the modern POV wasn't nearly as interesting as the one in the past. I almost wish the book had been historical POV the whole time and delved deeper into that storyline. Not a bad story by any means, it just felt inconsistent or like the two timelines didn't work as well.

Historical Fiction and a mystery all rolled into one? Sign me up! The Lost Apothecary Told from three different women’s perspectives and between two different time periods, The Lost Apothecary was an excellent read!

Caroline was suppose to be in London on her ten year anniversary trip but life had other plans for her. Instead of going on her planned itinerary she stumbles upon a a group of folks searching the Thames for old artifacts. Caroline joins in and soon finds a a glass vial with a small marking of a bear engraved on it. Now not only is Caroline uncovering the next steps of her marriage but also trying to unravel the mystery of the glass bottle.

Over 300 years before, Nella, who runs an apothecary for women maladies where she meets young Eliza. When Eliza enters Nella’s shop, on the instructions of her mistress, she quickly becomes Nella’s friend and hopeful assistant. When things to turn deadly the two women, one young and one old, must find a way to survive.

I extremely enjoyed the way the stories of both time periods were woven together. While Nella and Eliza both have their own point of views within the book, the way they seamlessly line up and talk about the same events but in such different ways was wonderfully done. Add in the present tale of Carolina and the transition between the two time periods is excellent.

Penner does an excellent job of evoke emotion from both the characters and the reader. There were so many men in this story that I just was so done with. Caroline’s husband in particular is just the biggest jerk in the history of jerk, but is also a fairly typical male in today’s society. While women’s rights have come along way in the past 100 years, our society is still dominantly a patriarchal one. Many of the same issues women in the 18th century experience are still experienced today, if not to a lesser degree. Without going down the rabbit hole, Penner really makes you think about the plight of women over the last few centuries.

I only have two negatives for this story, which dropped it down a star for me. I listened to this book on audio and while I loved the narrators for Caroline and Eliza, Nella’s was not my favorite. Since it’s the first narrator we are introduced to, I almost decided to stop listening but I’m glad I kept listening. I did however, enjoy that they used three distinct narrators since all of our leading ladies are extremely different in age and life situation. The ending also dragged a little bit and I felt it could have been compressed just a bit.

At it’s heart this is a story about women, friendships between women, women helping other women, and women looking to be remembered and create their own legacies. If you enjoy historical fictions or women’s stories, I highly recommend this book.


The Lost Apothecary comes out March 2, 2021. Huge thank you to Harlequin, Park Row, and Netgalley for my advance copy. If you liked this review please let me know either by commenting below or by visiting my instagram @speakingof_books.

Meet the characters:
Nella (1791) - Runs an apothecary to help women in whatever ails them, including a remedy of poison to those who have crossed them.
Eliza (1791) - A young servant of one of Nella’s clients who begins working with Nella in her shop.
Caroline (present day) - Visits London on what is supposed to be a 10-year anniversary trip with her husband, but after finding out he has cheated on her leaves him in the U.S. She discovers a buried treasure while mudlarking and starts investigating its past.

The unearthed treasure sets off a path for Caroline through learning historical facts, performing library research and investigating unsolved murders that haunted London over two centuries ago.

Great storyline alternating between past and present filled with secrets, vengeance and betrayal. I really enjoyed Caroline’s self-discovery and having a second chance of a life she thought had passed her by. The characters are strong, their stories powerful making this debut a must read or listen! Beautiful narration and easy to follow along.

I really enjoyed this audiobook. The Lost Apothecary has a great story line, it switches between past and present and the view point of the main 3 characters. I love how it ends! Also, there were 3 narrators so it made it super easy to follow along. I love the raspiness in Nella's voice, it suited the character perfectly. Definitely recommend this audiobook!

Thanks to NetGalley, Sarah Penner and Harper Audio for the ARC.

In the 1790s, bitter Nella runs a secret apothecary shop where she dispenses poisons to women who wish to rid themselves of cruel men. Young Eliza, a precocious 12 year old maid, picks up just such a prescription on behalf of her mistress and shoehorns herself into the inner workings of Nella’s shop. 200+ years later, Caroline, taking an anniversary trip minus one unfaithful husband, finds a mysterious blue vial half buried in the riverbed. Through diligent (and distracting) research, Caroline peels back the years to uncover the mystery of the murderous apothecary lost to time.

And I just loved it. Yes, this is a story about a super-sneaky serial killer, but it is not dark at all. This is a story about womanhood and what it means to be strong. These budding feminists, all at different points in their lives and with very different stories to tell, shake off societal expectations and reject the patriarchy in their own ways.

The Lost Apothecary is a totally satisfying double timeline story -- a rarity! Both timelines are given equal love and all three perspectives are fully engaging. It’s especially worth noting that the breaking points between chapters are well-timed. There are no cliffhangers, but the reader is left with enough big questions that the story pushes forward. Too often multiple-perspective stories break at the wrong places and frustrate the reader. Not this one. The writing style/voices changed appropriately with the time periods as well. No modern slang in the 1700s and nobody wears a corset in the 2020s. There’s a fantastic sense of continuity, parallel, and adherence to the original stories without mixing.

I listened to the audiobook version and had mixed feelings about the narration. One character grew a little flat as the book went on and one was much louder than the other two. I found myself adjusting the volume and speed between chapters.

Eliza’s obsession with Nella and the apothecary shop seemed a bit unlikely, to be honest, even with her desperation to find a potion to rid herself of a vengeful ghost. I was afraid that this book would become a fantasy with real magic and witches' brews, but that’s not the case at all. Yes there’s a bit of magic, but not THAT kind of magic. More like what people in the 1700s actually believed with a little twist of “well… maybe.”

The Lost Apothecary is a balm. It’s equal parts escapist fiction and inspiration. Three women with vastly different life experiences decide to dictate their own lives, even if that means the lives they expected to lead are lost to history.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

THIS. BOOK. I don’t even know what to say about this book. This is a phenomenal debut, and I believe this author will be be up and coming when she starts to publish more novels.

This book was so enthralling, I didn’t want to stop listening to it. I was sucked into the story, the plot, I was invested into the lives of the characters. I liked everything about this book. I listened late into the night because I needed to find out what happened.

The story takes place in two timelines, the 1790s and present day, London. I normally like one timeline or POV more than the other, but in this book I liked them both equally. The story and character arcs were both so different, but equally as enthralling.

Another thing I loved was that this book has strong heroines. It has some badass, strong women befriending other strong, badass women. Men are seen as the enemy and the women fight back against them.

Also, can we just talk about this stunning cover?! I think I need to buy a copy of this book for my shelves even though I rarely keep books I’ve read, because I loved the book and the cover is just absolutely gorgeous.

I will definitely be looking forward to this authors other works in the future.

This was an easy ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ book.

I got the opportunity to get an advanced copy of this book, but it is scheduled to release on March 2nd, so you don’t have much longer to wait for your own copy. Go buy it!

Disclaimer****
I want to thank Netgalley, Harper Audio and Park Row Publishing for my advanced audio copy. I was given a copy of this in exchange for a review, but the review and all opinions are my own.

3.5 STARS

Rule #1: The poison must never be used to harm another woman.

Rule #2: The names of the murderer and her victim must be recorded in the apothecary’s register.

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NOTE: I give the audio narration 5 stars (it was so well done and I though all the voices were perfect!) but the overall story didn't draw me in as much as I'd hoped.

THE LOST APOTHECARY is a slow burn, historical fiction about a secret apothecary in the 1700s that dispensed poisons to women wanting revenge, and the 21st century woman who sets out to investigate the unsolved "apothecary murders" that once haunted London.

My favourite parts of THE LOST APOTHECARY were from Nella and Eliza's POV's, as I found the narrative of the secret apothecary much more riveting than Caroline's. Although I like how the past and future sections eventually came together, I didn't feel nearly as invested in Caroline's crumbling marriage or her "journey to find herself."

Definitely recommend this book to fans of literary/historical fiction. Plus, that cover would look fabulous on any #TBR shelf!

Thank you to Netgalley, the author and publisher for my ARC.

The Last Apothecary was a stunning historical mystery that contrasted 1791 London with the current day. Thank you to Sarah Penner and Park Row Books for this ARC that comes out on March 2. I was instantly drawn in by the cover and knew this book would be delightful.

I had mixed feelings about this one as it was a bit of a rollercoaster. At the beginning i was having a hard time getting into it. Then towards the middle I was hooked, I really needed to know what happened. At the end I was disappointed again and it think it was mostly with how the storytelling was handled. The general premise I found interesting, im a sucker for historical fiction and old apothecaries seem interesting, but there are plenty of books that deal with this, some even i read last year like Magic Lessons, which deal with historical magic and potions beautifully. The story is told in the viewpoint of three characters, Caroline, Nella and Eliza. I can conclude and say that most of the things I didn’t enjoy about the book had to do with Eliza’s narration. I was mostly annoyed at her naivety when she was narrating and then at the end I felt that there was a total lost opportunity of giving her final version of the events. If we weren’t going to get that, then they book would have been so much better in my mind if we only had the narration of Nella and Caroline and the story of Eliza be deducted from those other viewpoints. Also if this was going to be a about Caroline’s discovery, shouldn’t the whole book be through her discovery? In general there were a lot of question marks in my book as to how the telling of the story was handled. However I enjoyed the strong female perspective, an the fact that it dealt with three women in different times having to face difficult decisions. How their interactions and disappointment with the men in their lives lead them to take drastic and interesting life choices.

The Lost Apothecary by Sarah Penner is an intriguing dual timeline mystery, alternating between present day and 1791 London. The story begins 200 years ago with Nella, an apothecary at the back of a dark street called Bear Alley. She makes potions to help woman with various “women issues” including dealing with their abusive husbands. Also narrating chapters from that era is 12 year-old Eliza, who becomes enchanted with Nella’s shop after she is sent there to obtain a poison for her mistress.

In present-day London, Caroline Parcewell is on a tenth wedding anniversary trip alone, after discovering that her husband cheated on her with one of his coworkers. She decides to go on the trip without him to find herself and to decide what direction her life should take. Having studied history in college, but not using her college degree in her current meaningless job, she attends a mudlarking group on the shores of the River Thames. While there she finds an old apothecary glass vial with a little bear on it. The historian in her can’t help but investigate where the glass vial came from and she soon forms a friendship with a woman who works at the British Library.

I really appreciated how the author wove details about the past into the narrative as Caroline uncovers what happened so long ago. Just as a string of unfortunate events put Nella and the women whose names are recorded in her journal in danger of being exposed, so too is Caroline’s way of life threatened when her husband arrives unexpectedly.

What made the story even better was listening to it via audio, which is narrated by Lorna Bennett, Lauren Anthony, and Lauren Irwin. Having three different voices for the women in the story helped me keep their stories straight and brought the characters to life. Thank you, NetGalley and Harper Audio, for letting me listen to this compelling story that provided me with many hours of entertainment!

I really enjoyed this book in the audio version. The narrators were good and it held my attention very well. I love how the author wove past and present together with fabulous twists and turns along the way. I identified with Caroline's character felt like I was right there with her when she was researching the history of the bottle she found.

I was looking forward to hearing a story about an apothecary-a subject that has always intrigued me. However, I was disappointed by the attempt to intertwine Caroline’s story with the last apothecary. The narrator for Caroline sounded monotone and it was hard to connect with her character. The character of Eliza was age 12 but her narrators voice was too mature.

Reading Notes:

- A little long in the beginning to get to the facts. Infidelity. I think the writing style may not completely jive for me.
- Audiobook note: I keep forgetting how old Eliza is supposed to be, purely because the narrator’s voice is too old.
- I am loving the dual timelines, though. It’s working really well. Interspersed and doled out in just the right way.
- Still, there’s nothing specifically wrong with the book but the various characters just aren’t “speaking” to me the way I hoped.
- I’m trying to be completely objective, and I can see that the bones of the characters are interesting and dynamic. So don’t be put off by my experience. I really do think that the book deserves a better reader than I.
- This turn of the plot around 75% in is making me angry. And I finally figured out why. I had been imagining a different scenario entirely; another way the two could have merged and carried on. So basically I self-sabotaged myself.
- Overall, it is a satisfying book. A well built and plotted story with a nicely wrapped up ending. But it also wasn’t entirely for me. Absolutely not the author’s fault, clearly. So I still recommend you give it a read if the synopsis appeals to you.

What a fantastic debut by Sarah Penner! The whole book was great. From the beautiful cover to the plot and characters. I really enjoyed this book.

It has dual timelines. One is in 1791 with Nella, an apothecary who helps women by providing poisons to rid their lives of men who have done terrible things, and Eliza, a curious girl that befriends Nella. The second timeline is set in current day with Caroline who finds an old apothecary bottle while mudlarking in London. So begins her quest to find out about it’s history, although some things fell into place way too easily in my opinion. I loved how the book was woven and came together with the past and the present. While I enjoyed the entire book, the early timeline with Nella and Eliza had me completely enthralled.

I received an audio ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. The cast of characters for the audio did an amazing job and fit the book perfectly. As much as I enjoyed the audio, I’m also looking forward to getting my hands on a hardcover.

The Lost Apothecary started off very strong with a super intriguing premise. An apothecary that dispenses poisons to men who have wronged their wives. Also, the cover was just lovely and fits so well with it. This is told is dual timelines with the present day and the 1700’s. I really enjoyed Nella and Eliza’s characters, I thought their relationship was precious as well.

Caroline was alright. I mean, I liked her and really liked how she handled her husbands affair but I thought the apothecary side was much more interesting. I’m not sure how historically accurate it is so I can’t speak on that at all. I did think it was be a bit more thrilling than it was but that was just my own thought.

Overall, I did enjoy this and enjoyed the narrators too. It took me a long time to get through the book even though I liked it. I think if I had to read it it would’ve taken longer.

Thanks to Harper/Harlequin Audio & Netgalley for an advance copy!