The Lost Apothecary by Sarah Penner

 

This novel has my vote for the most gorgeous cover of 2021. I can't stop staring at it! 

The Lost Apothecary  was one of the books I've most eagerly awaited this year, and it didn't disappoint. It moves back and forth between 1791 and present day London, and I found both settings equally interesting. 

Caroline Parcewell has arrived in London alone-on what was supposed to be a tenth wedding anniversary trip with her husband James. Instead, she fled Ohio after finding out James was having an affair. Heartbroken and disillusioned, Caroline decides to come to London herself, to have time to think. Her first day there, she takes a last minute mud-larking trip to the Thames River, and finds a small glass bottle with an intriguing bear mark on it. 

Mud larking, by the way, is when people actually walk along the banks of the River Thames and search the mud for artifacts the river has left ashore. People have been doing this for centuries (some made their living from it). People used the Thames for centuries as a dumping ground for everything, so yes, items hundreds of years old continually wash up on shore. This tiny bottle gives Caroline just the distraction she needs from her marriage, and she dives into discovering more about it. 

1791 London finds Nella living and working in a small apothecary shop disguised behind a false wall in another shop set back in a small alley, making it hard to find. Nella helps women with ailments, but she also helps them dispose of men who have done them wrong-she concocts poisons for her clients. Men who have cheated, men who have abused, men who have ruined women's lives. These women secretly leave notes in a grain barrel outside the shop, and Nella makes the poison, keeping a book of records for each time she's done it over the past twenty years. All this stems from Nella's own grief and anger over a man who ruined her life. 

But it is all taking a toll on Nella's health; she's convinced for every poison, a little bit of it eats away at her from the inside, making her health fail and her death creep closer. But just when she's ready to give up, Eliza shows up, and in just a few brief days, life changes drastically and dramatically for Nella and Eliza. 

Caroline, meanwhile, is hot on the trail, tracking down who this bottle belonged to and what it meant. Befriending a researcher at the British Library, she starts digging into every little clue she uncovers, revealing the fascinating story of Nella's apothecary shop. 

This was a great read! It's more than just a story about a female apothecary who helped women in their time of need. It's about women being victims of other people's choices, and how they fought back. Caroline's story is about a marriage that, while it could be happy, wasn't at all where she needed to be to grow. And clearly her husband needed more, too. Freedom is a big theme in this novel.  

You'll find yourself unable to put this down. I myself was a bit jealous of Caroline's trip to London, and her discovery of what would make her the happiest. In another life, by golly, I could imagine pursuing just what Caroline does in London. 

Rating: 5/6 for a historical tale that pulls you in and keeps you turning the pages-a favorite read of mine this year! 

Available in hardcover, ebook, and audio. 

Share: facebook - twitter - pinterest

The Lost Apothecary by Sarah Penner

The Hazel Wood by Melissa Albert

After reading In Cold Blood, I wanted something completely different; something "fairy tale-ish".  Well, I got fairy tales, just not the light, fluffy tales I was looking for to brighten my reading mood.

I bought this book a few months ago after hearing the buzz about it. The cover, of course, was a big push towards picking up the book.  The cover art is great. I can pick out parts of the story looking at that cover. I am, however, still a bit puzzled as to what exactly I read, and my slight feelings of disappointment/perplextion haven't lessened in the hours since I turned the last page.

Short synopsis: Alice and her mother, Ella, have never stayed in one place for long, in all her seventeen years. Constantly on the move, it seems that bad luck follows them everywhere they go. Finally settling in New York City, Ella does the unthinkable: she gets married. Alice's grandmother, the famous, reclusive author of a book of dark fairy tales, has died, and Ella thinks they are finally free.

But they aren't. Ella is kidnapped--by creatures who populate those dark fairy tales. Those tales aren't tales at all, but in actuality, a place called the Hinterland, and the Hazel Wood is the estate where Alice's grandmother secluded herself and raised Ella. Ella's warning words of never going to the Hazel Wood are ignored by Alice, who sees it as the only chance to find her mother. Alone in the world, she takes a chance and befriends a fellow student, Ellery Finch, who has not only has read the fairy tales, but is an avid fan. As Alice and Ellery realize the Hinterland is bleeding into modern day New York City, the two worlds become more and more entangled, and the line between what is real and what is fairy tale is blurred. 

Alice is a tough character; she's rude, distrustful, and pretty angry. I would be, too, if I never had the chance to settle and have a normal life. Part of her anger stems from feeling rejected by the grandmother she never met, and now never will. The bad luck that seems to follow Alice and her mother is never ending. Ella's unwillingness to discuss her mother, the fairy tales, or the Hazel Wood have left Alice with a lot of dead ends and unanswered questions that can only be answered if she finds Hazel Wood. Is it a real place, or a fairy tale place? Are the fairy tales: dark, cruel, and, quite frankly, murderous, real? 

I was pretty interested in this tale for about 3/4 of the novel. The sense of always being watched; seeing odd ball characters, strange portents that come out of nowhere; these kept me reading. I loved the building of tension, and the wondering, along with Alice of just what the hell was going on. But once Alice arrives at the Hazel Wood, it seemed like a mishmash of absolute nonsense and wild feverish imaginings. I felt like I was wading through, looking for anything to make sense. I couldn't figure out if the Hinterland was trying to kill Alice, or welcome her. And Ellery, well, you'll just have to visit the Hinterland to see where his story goes. 

It's a good book, but I felt it was disjointed, and maybe the author wanted the reader to feel all topsy-turvy and confused. I myself am not a fan of that-especially when I leave the fun house and am still wondering just what the heck that was all about. 

Rating:  2/6 for a novel about very dark fairy tales, and what happens when you mess with them. Also a novel about a young girl who has to grow up, become stronger than she imagines she can be, and finding her place in the world.

Available in hardcover, ebook, and audio.

Share: facebook - twitter - pinterest

The Hazel Wood by Melissa Albert

I Loved, I Lost, I Made Spaghetti by Giulia Melucci

Just about every woman has a great story about the "one".  That one that seemed so darn good at the beginning, and ended up being waaay wrong at the end.  In I Loved, I Lost, I Made Spaghetti by Giulia Melucci, she has more than the "one".  Giulia's book is about her travails in the world of dating and relationships.  Poor girl.  She's pretty, smart, a great cook, has a great job and plenty of friends, but keeps trying to mold herself into what she isn't for each of the men who enter her life.  It's quite funny; Giulia also has a great sense of humor, and can look back on her romances and see exactly where they went wrong, and how they went wrong.

Interspersed within each chapter are recipes that coincide with each romance.  Giulia loves to cook, and is quite a good one, too.  She finds it a little frustrating to be dating a man who doesn't really care much about food at all; her efforts at creating lovely dinners go unrecognized and unappreciated.

If you're looking for a humorous look at dating in the 21st century, look no farther.  Giulia's book is delightful to read, and sometimes a bit sad, too.  Will she ever find someone who appreciates all of her?  Can she stop herself from trying to be what her men want, and not being her true wonderful self?

I enjoyed this biography.  I got online and checked up on Giulia; she's doing just fine, thank you.  Her dream of being a writer has been realized, and I hope she continues to write.  She has a great voice and you'll find yourself sipping a glass of wine, laughing over her disasters, and buying tomatoes and pasta (not Barilla) to make yourself a delightful dinner for one.

Share: facebook - twitter - pinterest

I Loved, I Lost, I Made Spaghetti by Giulia Melucci