Stunning and bold debut! Genre bending historical fiction and feminist telling with plenty of intrigue, drama, and murder.  Told during altering timelines and from multiple points of view; the audiobook experience was very well executed. Strong female protagonist, engaging storyline. Wonderful world building and character building. The pacing was a bit slow in the beginning but the details come together wonderfully.

The narrators of this audiobook were fantastic! The premise of this book had me hooked from the beginning. A female apothecary shop owner sells different concoction of poison to women. They use these these poisons on men who have wrong them...which leads to their death. I also thought the dual timeline was perfect. Sara’s descriptive imagery of events was easy to follow and kept me anticipating what would happen next. I really enjoyed this book, but the ending fell flat for me...just wanted more. I will definitely be recommending this book.
Thank you Netgalley, Sarah Penner, Harper Collins/Park Row for this audiobook.

I listened to the audio version of this book, which I really think impacts the pacing and the feel. The narration was beautifully done, but I think I might recommend reading this instead.

What I Loved: The Lost Apothecary uses three different women from two different time periods to tell the story of a hidden apothecary that aids women in retribution against the men who harm them. Three points of view could easily become confusing, but the story continued seamlessly and I had no problem following the plot. Eliza was my favorite character of the three, though the least developed, and I was curious to know more about her motives and ambitions for she seemed like such a strange 12-year-old. I also enjoyed the theme that women's stories are worth knowing and sharing and pursuing and each character exemplified strength in their own unique ways. Still, their stories were beautifully connected (though seemingly unrelated).

What Could Be Better: I often felt that the author was over-explaining things that were easily assumed or understood. Several times these unneeded clarifications seemed to slow the plot and left me feeling restless. This could be from listening instead of reading since I tend to be a visual learner. I also felt that the losses each woman experienced lacked a sense of depth. They talked a lot about their pain and disappointments, but I felt like they never broke the surface of that pain, even though it was new and raw or old and settled.

I also really, really enjoyed the ending and the characters' decisions and outcomes, though I won't write about that here. If you read it, definitely get with me so we can discuss it!

When I read the description of The Lost Apothecary I knew I had to read it! A serial killing, avenger-of-women in the late 18th century? I think yes! I was not disappointed! Sarah Penner does an excellent job with the story and kept me engaged throughout. I read this book on audio and thought the narration was excellent. When reading audiobooks, I often speed up the narrations and had to speed the voice of Nella up more than usual because I felt her voice was much slower than the others - not really a criticism, as I thought it added to her creepiness but I am impatient. The only complaint I had about the book was that I felt the story ended too quickly - I wanted more. Maybe even an epilogue on Caroline would have helped me feel closure.
Thanks to Net Galley for early access to this book in exchange for an honest review. #TheLostApothecary #NetGalley

Oh my! What a surprising treat this book was! It takes place in dual timelines of London 1791 and present day. The stories weaved brilliantly to design this tale of three women.

The modern struggles of Caroline seemed to shadow those of the combination of Eliza and Nella. They all have so much to work through internally and grow despite the vast difference in ages. I loved the three person narration on the audiobook that helped truly distinguish the difference of life chapter. Nella's voice was weathered and tired but experienced and careful. Eliza's voice was childish and inquisitive with a never-ending sense of optimism. Then, Caroline's voice came across as not innocent but still not mature. She was faced with so much uncertainty and it was clear.

I cannot finish this review without talking about how beautiful the cover is! I want to make the cover of this book the background on my phone!

I highly recommend this book to anyone! It was a fantastic read.

I received an audio version of this book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest personal review.

I loved this story. The narrator was fantastic.. I was expecting this story to be a fun, feminist historical adventure/mystery but the story got so much deeper than I expected. I greatly connected with the main character and her journey. Highly recommend.

It's 1791 in London and on a hidden back street Nella waits in her apothecary for her latest customer, young Eliza Fanning who has come desiring to poison her master. Nella's mother was a healer for good, but now Nella also dabbles in the dark arts. She uses her craft to poison men who have made their women's life unbearable. She has one hard and fast rule, never poison women, and she records all her medical dispensaries, both the benign and deadly, in a book which is kept in the hidden room of her apothecary shop.

Fast forward to present day. Caroline has come from the USA to London on what was to have been a ten year anniversary celebration with her husband. Just prior to leaving, Caroline found out that he had strayed so she has come to London on her own, As the book opens she is "mudlarking", searching the muddy banks of the Thames River for memorabilia from the past. (The author actually did this and it was inspiration for the story). She finds a glass vial with the impression of a bear. Caroline had been a budding historian prior to marriage and this find intrigues her, sending her on a search to unlock the secret of the unusual bottle.

The book, which I listened to on audio, has three viewpoints.: Nella, Eliza, and Caroline. All the readers did a good job of sounding like they were the age of the person speaking and they were easy to distinguish between each other. I tore through this book in a couple of days. It is a fairly quick listen (or read) and kept me totally involved, wanting to know what happened to the characters.

In the 1791 scenario, Nella breaks her rule about poisoning a woman and no good comes from this. She and Eliza will be running for their lives. Meanwhile in present day, Caroline's husband has come looking for her and she is confused about her future. These two stories neatly intertwine in what I thought was a very clever way. There was a theme running through about women finding their power. I very much enjoyed the glimpses into the back streets of old London, and in the present day story I relished the description of Caroline slowly solving the clues of the lost apothecary.

I absolutely loved this story and can heartily recommend the audio version. Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and author Sarah Penner for the opportunity to enjoy this ARC.

When I saw this on Netgalley with the description stating "Named Most Anticipated of 2021 by Newsweek, Good Housekeeping, Hello! magazine, Oprah.com, Bustle, Popsugar, Betches, Sweet July, and GoodReads!" I felt I should give it a shot. 
I love good historical fiction and this had just a touch of magic to it. I loved the characters and the multiple narrators really helped make the audio that much more wonderful to listen to. I had a really hard time believing that this was a debut novel! Recommended to anyone who enjoys mystery, historical fiction, or a strong female character.

(Thanks to NetGalley for this ebook in exchange for an honest review.)

This book takes us to follow the story of Nella, an apothecary from London in 1791, she was not a common apothecary, her main focus was helping women to find final remedies to help them with men in their lives that have abused, cheated or mistreated them.

Nella´s character is gorgeous, and the voice behind her in the audiobook is great to convey the hopelessness of her life, her determination to keep helping even when it meant more demons around her body, but one day one of her clients sent Eliza to her apothecary, and Nella´s life would forever be changed.

The relationship between the two women fluctuated from friendship, maternal and survival, Eliza had the support in Nella that she didn´t have in anyone else, due to her being alone in Londres, and being only 12 years old. Both women help each in different ways, with Nella´s wisdom Eliza was able to fight, in the way she could, to get rid of her demons and create a new path for her life.

There´s a third woman in this book, Caroline, she is the link between London 1971 and the present day, she is faced with a life changing predicament and by chance founds something that connects her to our other two characters, then she spends her time between researching for this mysterious apothecary of 1700´s London helped by a friendly English librarian and her decisions related to love and career. While the other two characters were rich and colourful, I found Caroline to be a tad bland and unsurprising, and that was a real shame because I adored the book without this character.

Overall the book talks about lost stories, meaningful relationships and allyship between women and how this can enrichen their lives, even when there seems to be no hope of improvement, like in Nella´s case.

Thank you so much to Net Galley for early access to this book in exchange for an honest review.

The Lost Apothecary is a cozy and satisfying mystery explored through a dual timeline. This book follows three female narrators, all very likeable and easy to relate to. I felt their heartbreak and their joys so clearly through Sarah Penner’s writing. Her writing style feels sort of soft and quiet, which at first I thought would make me lose interest, but ended up being so comforting I couldn’t put it down.

One thing that I noticed is how all the main characters have finely tuned moral compasses. You don’t get that sting of a physical villain to direct your frustration in the situations that come up. I think this is the main thing along with the writing style that makes The Lost Apothecary feel cozy.

And AH the ending! I loved it.

This was one of the better books I've read in the past few months. It was certainly captivating and left me wanting to listen to one more chapter! Usually I'm not a huge fan of the split time narrative but it actually worked for this novel. I also appreciated the use of different narrators for different characters instead of one using a different voice - it really added to the atmosphere of the story. While I didn't care for the husband part of the story I couldn't wait for our modern day character to figure out the mystery and our historical characters' next steps. Would definitely recommend this novel as it has a satisfying ending as well.

I was lucky enough to get advanced access to this through NetGalley. This story is set in London, focusing on 3 courageous women, set in two different time periods: current time and 1791. An apothecary, her "assistant", and a historian, are all connected by their search for truth, revenge, and the uncovering of secrets. There were so many beautiful & important life lessons in this and so much powerful symbolism. The last few minutes of the novel that focus on the blue vial that ties these women together despite the time and secrets that lay between them really got to me. I loved the strong, feminine energy of this book and the central theme of women helping other women. The concept of a woman in the 18th century helping women poison their lying, cheating, no-good husbands is just *chefs kiss* 8/10

I think this is one of those situations where my expectations were so high for this book and they just weren't met. The story goes between the past and present. Caroline, in the present, travels to London to get away from her cheating husband and finds a small blue bottle while mudlarking. Intrigued, she starts to do research to figure out where the bottle is from and then into the mysterious apothecary. The past follows Nella, the apothecary, and Eliza, a twelve year old girl who approaches Nella for help. I think I really just wanted this book to be darker and to have more individual stories about the women who come to the shop. A lot of the story follows Eliza and I was honestly bored with her. Even just following Nella's journey into becoming an apothecary and going down the path she did would have been more interesting to me. I just wanted more than I got.

<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/53288434-the-lost-apothecary" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px"><img border="0" alt="The Lost Apothecary" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1593013000l/53288434._SX98_.jpg" /></a><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/53288434-the-lost-apothecary">The Lost Apothecary</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/19788573.Sarah_Penner">Sarah Penner</a><br/>
My rating: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3819648334">3 of 5 stars</a><br /><br />
I think this is one of those situations where my expectations were so high for this book and they just weren't met. The story goes between the past and present. Caroline, in the present, travels to London to get away from her cheating husband and finds a small blue bottle while mudlarking. Intrigued, she starts to do research to figure out where the bottle is from and then into the mysterious apothecary. The past follows Nella, the apothecary, and Eliza, a twelve year old girl who approaches Nella for help. I think I really just wanted this book to be darker and to have more individual stories about the women who come to the shop. A lot of the story follows Eliza and I was honestly bored with her. Even just following Nella's journey into becoming an apothecary and going down the path she did would have been more interesting to me. I just wanted more than I got.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3819648334

This book is read as two different times. It follows two women. One, an apothecary who's room is hidden behind a storage room. And another, who is presently using her anniversary trip to decide how to handle her husband's infidelity.

Nella is strong in her convictions and she follows a rule that a poison must not be used to harm a woman, She also records all poisons, the target, and the purchaser in a register that she keeps.

Caroline is an aspiring historian and she has taken her anniversary trip to London alone to figure out her life. one day, she is out and finds an old vial and traces it back to the lost apothecary murders.

I loved both sides of this story and loved both women very much! This is much different than I expected and I am glad that I read it!

The Lost Apothecary was an excellent story with three voices, 2 from the 1790's and 1 current day. I enjoyed the presentation (I was provided the audio book to review) There were 3 very distinct voices reading. I wish that Caroline's discovery (I won't spoil by saying what) was fleshed out a little more. It was a very exciting find indeed! I wish she had shared this with Gaynor and they explored it together. I did enjoy the unexpected ending to Nella and Eliza's story, it captivated me!

Caroline is on a journey to finding out and becoming who she is. While self discovery often comes in late teens or early twenties, sometimes a reality check makes you evaluate your choices and possibly make surprising ones in our thirties or beyond. This is the case with Caroline, who has a very eventful first few days of her Anniversary trip to London.

All in all I really enjoyed this book. The app leaves a lot to be desired, but that's not on the book!

This was a wonderful book and I really enjoyed the audiobook platform. This is a rotating narrative between the main characters Nella and Eliza from 1791, and Caroline in present day London who is slowly discovering their hidden secrets from 200 years before. A mysterious apothecary. This is an adventure that I never wanted to stop listening to. It is a unique mystery with a different kind of dramatic, dark suspense that I have not read before. The narrators each pulled me into their adventures with rich attention to detail. In the end it’s about 3 different women trying to find their path in life and how they can live their lives for themselves and take control. I really loved this book and would recommend it even if it doesn’t sound like your typical genre. It’s a delightful listen.

Navigating between historical and contemporary fiction, The Lost Apothecary follows the actions and consequences of an old apothecary named Nella and a young girl named Eliza from 18th century London and in the modern day, Caroline, who is dealing with her husband’s infidelity, an unused history degree, and a now solo vacation to London. From the description, I was hooked: “female apothecary secretly dispenses poisons to liberate women from the men who have wronged them.” However, I may have overly extended my expectations. I could not fully get on board with this book past the first quarter. All the men in this book were bland and vapid while I could not feel conflicted while reading because there was barely any conflict. It felt all repetitive both in the historical and modern timelines. I was hoping for more of a complex dark and twisted tale. I’m not opposed to reading more of Penner’s work in the future, but I will make sure to work on my own expectations.

I did get this audio and enjoyed the narrators for the most part. Like other reviews, I also had the issue with narrators sounding robotic when I increased the reading speed, but I assume that is likely a production issue.

Thank you to Harper/Harlequin Audio for an advance copy.

The Lost Apothecary by Sarah Penner is a great listen! Thank you #NetGalley for this wonderful book. I loved the imagery of "mudlarking" in the story. The way the author wove two storylines (past and present) into one was well done. I found myself to be pulled into the story, The three narrators all gave brilliant performances and brought their perspective to life. Narrated by: Lorna Bennett, Lauren Anthony, Lauren Irwin, each were fantastic.

The Lost Apothecary was a wonderful story that was really rich in history and lore. I was really drawn to the subject and reading the book I became attached to the characters. I was thrilled when Sarah Penner announced that she would be writing another book soon. I would recommend this for any historical fiction fans.

This is a feminist historical fiction tale of strong women helping other women in need back in the 1790’s. The apothecary starts helping when women in a time when women did not have the help from physicians like we do in present times. But soon after, the apothecary changes to help women in need with something much darker.

The Lost Apothecary is told from three different points of view: Nella, Eliza and Caroline. Nella and Eliza are telling the tale of the apothecary in the 1790’s and present day with Caroline.

This book is slower paced but after about 25% of the way in the story starts to come together and pick up. About 90% of the way in their is an utterly shocking twist that rocked the whole story. I am so glad that I had the opportunity to listen the this story, it kept me interested throughout and I couldn’t wait to see what happened next.
I listened to Audiobook version of the story. I loved the dark, gothic, haunting atmosphere. The story is read by Lorna Bennett, Lauren Anthony, and Lauren Irwin. All of the narrators did a fantastic job. The book is 10 hours and 18 minutes long.

Many thanks to Sarah Penner, the publisher, and Netgalley for the advanced reader copy!