Although Debbie is far from perfect, main character seems rudderless without her guidance. Good journey

I wasn't sure about this novel in Part 1, but from there it go much more interesting and I ended up really liking it. It went from monotonous description of drug use to sobriety while working in the emergency department and dating a Moldovan psychic. Significant improvement.

Ruth is a wonderful writer and this book was really good! The characters were compelling as hell and the writing was wonderful! Wish it was longer though but still great

My opinions on this story changed over time as the book wore on. Sensitive to tales about fraught female relationships - whether familial or on a friendship level - I almost tapped out at the beginning.

I hung on, though, and was glad I did. The mystery of Debbie’s whereabouts kept me hooked, and the main character’s fight to get clean and understand her own wants and needs were empowering to read about.

All-Night Pharmacy is a story of redemption, self-acceptance and independence.

Thanks to Catapult and HighBridge Audio for the ALC!

This book does a great job of showcasing the pull of addiction and toxic relationships, as well as the long-term effects of SA. At times, the narrative felt too slow and the audiobook lost my attention, but the ending feels both realistic and satisfying.

all-night pharmacy was a great listen. While the topics were heavy (addiction, trauma) the writing moved quickly and i wanted to keep listening.

Our unnamed narrator is growing up to fast, an absent father, a mother with mental health issues and a sister that is wild and free, she finds herself listless and lost, spending nights out with her sister Debbie doing drugs and escaping the question mark of her future.

This was a gritty book with slick writing, it felt like an honest and raw portrayal of the descent into addiction. I found the story propulsive, it had a steady rhyme to the plot and I was equals part enamoured withe the dark place our narrator found herself and the way she clawed her way out.

Books that highlight addiction based around generational trauma, unhealthy co-dependency and real life problems feel very believable to me, humanizing addiction as the disease it really is and how difficult it can be to be free of it.

A strong debut with a sharp tongue.

Thank you to NetGalley and Catapult for the review copy all opinions are my own.

Thank you to Netgalley and HighBridge Audio for the digital e-galley in exchange for my honest review.

It took me entirely too long to get through this audiobook. I never found myself drawn to it despite how interesting it sounds.

It teases concepts of struggling sisterhood, drug abuse, love affairs, spiritual arts, but it’s told through the hazy, medically altered point of view. Reading was like looking through frosted glass.

I thought it fit the role of female madness and unhinged female characters. Betrayed by TikTok yet again.

Well-written, but just didn’t work for me. For fans of My Last Innocent Year by Daisy Alpert Florin.

This story just wasn't for me. A tale of two sisters, drugs, struggles with sobriety and finding your place in the world. The writing was strong but I wanted more relatable/likeable characters and a bit more of a solid plot - it was quite original though and I would recommend it to fans of authors like Melissa Broder. Good on audio though. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early audio copy in exchange for my honest review!

I enjoyed this, though it was a tough read just for subject matter. While I wouldn't recommend this to just anyone, I did enjoy listening to it myself.

A fantastic debut, I love a book about an unhinged woman and this delivered that and more. I would highly recommend this to fans of Eliza Clark’s Boy Parts or any other story of deranged women.

This is a story about family dysfunction and how that dysfunction weaves its way into every part of you if you let it. I really enjoyed this slow-paced character-driven story, even though the characters were not actually very likeable. The ending felt a little distant from the story that was told through the rest of the novel, and it didn't quite fit, but I still enjoyed it.

I was very excited for this book as it was described as a Lynchian Los Angeles Fever Dream centered around a queer coming of age story. However, I struggled through it. Partly I think it was mis-marketed. It follows our Main Character as she works through her toxic relationships with her sister, drugs, her boyfriend while she comes into her own as a baby queer. When her sister goes missing, she falls deeper into her drug addiction.

The writing was solid and my favorite part of the book, but I found it to be lacking in story and character development. I'm all for a "all vibes no plot" book as long as I'm invested in the characters and we're seeing them develop in real time. For me to like an "all vibes" book, there needs to be tension that's pulling me through from the beginning to the end. There needs to be a central drive to keep my interest, and I did not find that here.

What I did appreciate about the book: the tone, topics such as addiction (to love, drugs, and people), sister/sister relationships, exploration of queerness.

The narration for the audiobook was a bit too listless and drowsy for my taste, but I can understand why it was read that way given the material. It just meant that I ended up listening to it on 1.5x and 2x speed.

"All-Night Pharmacy" by Ruth Madievsky offers a captivating and unique reading experience with its unhinged female narrator. Madievsky's narrative prowess shines as she explores the complexities of her protagonist, infusing the story with distinctive elements that keep readers engaged. The audiobook was done very well.

A sharply written exploration of codependency, family, toxic relationships, trauma seem through the narrators destructive choices and interaction with others.

It felt a little aimless at times although the writing
beautiful, it was more character study then anything else.
There was no real peak for me in this.

I'm going to give this a think and a reread( I listened to the audio )

Thank you to NetGalley and HighBridge Audio for the ALC!

If you enjoy sad girl literary fiction, you will most likely love this book. This queer, coming-of-age story perfectly encapsulates the existential dread of an unnamed woman who is just having a hard time at life. She defines a lot of her experiences through her toxic, co-dependent relationship with her older sister, Debbie, who introduces her to her lifestyle of pills and reckless behavior. After an intoxicated night together that quickly spirals into violence, Debbie disappears and leaves her sister to her own devices.

The writing here was superb with tons of quotable lines. I loved the bleak humor used to tackle a wide array of issues. This is a mainly character driven tale with bits of plot thrown in, but the vibes were everything. Messy, real, and raw. I could not put this down and can't wait to read more from this author in the future! I partially read this physically and listened on audio, and I loved both formats equally.

Absolutely stunning and gut wrenching. The writing is just incredible. I laughed , cried and felt so connected to this story .

Thank you for the eArc

All-Night Pharmacy follows an unnamed narrator who, shortly after she graduates from high school, becomes addicted to pills, following in the footsteps of her older sister Debbie, whom she idolizes. Then Debbie disappears, and our narrator finds herself adrift until she meets a mysterious woman named Sasha who claims to be her spiritual guide. As she and Sasha become involved – first as friends, then as something more – the narrator must decide if she wants to search for Debbie, or leave her in a past she’d like to forget.

The blurb for All-Night Pharmacy is not inaccurate, necessarily, but it does set unrealistic expectations for Ruth Madievsky’s debut novel. What is marketed as a David Lynch-esque fever dream of a book is instead a somewhat generic character study about a young woman who moves through life aimlessly while things happen to and around her. The missing sister aspect feels tacked on just to give the narrative some sort of cohesive structure; Debbie’s disappearance is nothing more than an afterthought for most of the novel while the narrator wanders through disjointed events in her life. Madievsky didn’t really make me believe in Debbie and the narrator’s toxic codependent relationship, which I expected to be at the center of this novel.

Madievsky’s writing is strong, and she makes some thoughtful, interesting observations about life as a Jewish refugee as she explores themes surrounding dysfunctional family dynamics, mental health issues, drug abuse, toxic relationships, and sexuality. But for me, all of this got lost in a meandering narrative about a character I could never really emotionally connect with. Thank you to HighBridge Audio and NetGalley for the complimentary listening opportunity.

Thank you to NetGalley and HighBridge Audio for the audiobook copy of this novel!

Rating: 3.5 stars

I went into this with low expectations and was blown away by how unhinged this story is. The narrator starts by detailing her tumultuous relationship with her sister and drugs. Halfway through the story, the narrator starts to clean up her life and reflect on her relationships. I think the book as a whole is an interesting read and will leave you guessing the narrator's choices. The pacing throughout was very rushed and at times it made the story a bit muddled. Regardless, I was still intrigued by the characters. I would recommend this book if you enjoy an unhinged narrator but also look into trigger warnings since there is discussion of drugs and other sensitive topics.

I received this audio book free through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
If you like a story that keeps you wondering, a story you have no idea where it is going until the conclusion, this is a story for you. At varying times throughout reading, I found myself wondering if I was mistaken about the genre in which this story fell. A story about sisters and the complicated relationship that comes with being born to the same parents. A story of pain/longing/redemption/self-preservation/loss. This is absolutely an enigma of a book. Nothing happens, while at the same time, everything happens. I'm not even sure, really, how to review this book. If this is intriguing to you, take a chance and enjoy.