The writing in this book is absolutely amazing. I went into this book blind and found myself compulsively turning pages to find out where the story was going. This is your basic coming of age tale, but it feels like something more than that while reading it; there are dark and psychological undertones that add beauty and complexity to the book. This is a story about what it takes to overcome dysfunctional families, life just above the poverty line, addiction, co-dependence, toxic relationships, and the effects of generational trauma. Despite all the obstacles stacked against our narrator she claws her way through the belly of the beast to come out on the other side changed. The journey she takes is often hard to follow along with, as the characters are all written with unlikable motives and behaviors but in the end, you appreciate the entire ride. This book has a sense of realism that seems to be missing from other books of this type and provides sentimental insight into the lost souls that walk among us.

What you will get with this book is an aimless story with minimal catharsis. The main character/narrator has a strong addiction to pills and struggles with Depression and other negative behaviors. Her sister Debbie is a shithead in general. Typically when I read a book like this, (set in Los Angeles, narrated by a jaded and messed up character that can't be bothered to get their life together, etc.), I still expect a certain level of entertainment and thoughtful speculation. And most of all, I just didn't care, which sounds harsh and I do apologize. This book was okay, but not great. It felt like when you go back to a restaurant you've enjoyed in the past but you try a new dish and it's edible but not as good as the one you had the last time.

NEEDS Trigger Warnings: Sexual assault, *Miscarriage, substance abuse, dead animals

Thank you to NetGalley and HighBridge Audio for gifting me with an ALC of All- Night Pharmacy by Ruth Madievsky. In exchange I offer my unbiased review.

WOW! This was an incredibly impressive debut novel. I was hooked from the start and didn’t put the book down until I had listened to the whole story in one sitting. Absolutely loved the audio narration as well.
A story about sisters, who share a toxic bond of dependency based on childhood dramas and ancestral traumas. There’s addiction, mental health, self harm, self love, pain, recovery, healing, discovery and psychic powers. There’s also a good mystery thrown in. I highly recommend this audio!

This was an interesting book. I enjoyed it, and found it fascinating that the author chose not to name our narrator and main character...even more fascinating was the fact that it didn't bother me or take away from the story at all. A great journey with a satisfying ending, this book makes me look forward to future novel by Ruth Madievsky.

At the heart of this story is a pair of damaged sisters trying (and often failing) to be there for each other in the only ways they know how. It also takes on the immigrant experience, generational trauma, drug abuse, queer love and much more. The LA setting was perfectly immersive. This had some of the most spot-on musings about personhood I’ve ever read. Something about the writing was hypnotic, I read the whole thing in two sittings and saved countless lines to return to. I loved, loved, LOVED this book.

<i> With prose pulsing like a neon sign, Ruth Madievsky’s All-Night Pharmacy is an intoxicating portrait of a young woman consumed with unease over how a person should be. As she attempts sobriety and sexual embodiment, she must decide whether to search for her estranged sister, or allow her to remain a relic of the past. </i>

All-Night Phramacy was awash in drug-addled misadventures and unhealthy relationship dynamics, the main character meandering as aimlessly as the book itself seemed to much of the time.

Listening to the audiobook, Moniqua Plante‘s narration often felt like the audio equivalent of a dead-eyed stare, probably intentionally, as it fit with the restless, aimless confusion of the MC. But the whole package- story and narration- I found it hard to maintain focus or interest, determined to finish but relieved to be done.

Thank you Ruth Madievsky, HighBridge Audio, and NetGalley and for providing this ALC for review consideration. All opinions expressed are my own.

All-Night Pharmacy is a coming-of-age story, following our unnamed main character and the different relationships she experiences in her early adulthood years. The MC is easily influenced by the person she holds in high esteem at a given point in time. Whether it’s her sister or a lover, it does fluctuate but she seems to depend on these outside sources for direction. The author really captures the fraught and brutality of the relationship between sisters close in age, but I will say that the sister going missing, as mentioned in the synopsis, is not quite the plot point I expected. The loop is closed on the sister but the story is more “no plot all vibes” for most of it.

The writing is captivating and the audiobook narrator delivers it well. It really keeps you engaged, even as an audiobook. I’m just getting into audiobooks and have a hard time not tuning them out at times, but this one kept my attention with the sharp, and almost lyrical at times, writing.

I think there was a lot going on in the book that we didn’t really close the loop on, some of which didn’t have as much of an impact because of a variety of other themes and events overshadowing it. There was definitely a theme of overcoming intergenerational trauma, with the narrator’s mother, but I don’t feel that was really explored as much as it could have been. Even some trauma that happened to both the sisters in their adolescent years is referred to often but not explored as much. I may have just missed the mark on it but I felt there was a lot of trauma/abuse vaguely mentioned without enough exploration to warrant the mention. Unless you were just supposed to infer the impact, in which case it might just be something I didn’t connect as easily because I was listening to the book vs reading the book.

I recommend this for those “women vs the void” readers, they will surely enjoy. It reminded me a bit of Animal by Lisa Taddeo, which I also enjoyed.

Thank you to NetGalley & RB Media for the advanced copy of the audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

Not at all what I was expecting, but that’s not a negative. Very dark and real look at addictions and relationships. I was pulled through the story quickly and enjoyed the narrator.

3 stars

I'm a real fan of most of what comes out of Catapult, so I couldn't wait to hit play on this ALC, but it wasn't quite what I was expecting or hoping for, unfortunately.

The narrator is a struggler in all kinds of ways, and while there is potential for her to have a fascinating personal evolution or for the relationship with her long-term absent sister to become quite thought provoking and perhaps even instructive, none of this really came together for me.

Growing up in Southern California makes reading fiction set in LA tough, at times, because it can lapse into too many tropes and/or expected stereotypes, and that's exactly where I landed with this one. The kind of vapid messes the narrator, her sister, and various other characters reflect requires a unique spin for a successful and engaging story. I felt like I could've driven 10 minutes and run into any of these characters (but maybe more interesting versions of them). I either want a really authentic, 3D version of that expected type, or I want something altogether novel. From start to finish, this just felt a little too like LA fanfic for my taste.

I don't know. It's fine. It's another entry in the sad young woman navigates life via shitty job, shitty men, and shitty relationships with her family genre. It's not a BAD entry necessarily. I hoped the missing sister mystery would help elevate it beyond the generic boilerplate but it felt tacked on just to give the back cover summary a little kick. The author didn't seem to care much about it, drifting in and out like an obligation. Meanwhile the narrator wanders around while the story happens to/around her, cardboard characters chattering through cliche dialogue until finally it ends.

Here's another one for the women vs the void category. And despite how many I've read.. I'm still into it. This was a dark, although realistic, take on the coming of age trope. It as raw and gritty without feeling forced. At times it was a little too "all vibes and no plot" without enough of a vibe and still having a plot? Not sure how that makes sense but if you read it, I think you'll get it. BUT I still really enjoyed it. I'm glad I tried this and will be recommending it to others.

OMG, WORK IT RUTH.

I am so thankful to Tantor Audio and Ruth Madievsky for granting me audiobook access to this bittersweet tale centered around love and loss like no other. The hardcover portion of this book came out back in July of this year, and I'm definitely pining after a copy of it after listening to it in full scale.

All-Night Pharmacy narrates the lives of two sisters who can hardly stand each other, but also can't live without each other and the way they live their separate lives next to each is both heartbreaking and reminiscent of everyday life for me, who has sisters and is a sister.
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