Rating 2 out of 5
Pros Beautiful cover, different characters read by different people in the audiobook version
Cons Eliza as a whole, each characters obsession with getting pregnant (or lack thereof)
Synopsis from Goodreads A female apothecary secretly dispenses poisons to liberate women from the men who have wronged them – setting three lives across centuries on a dangerous collision course. 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. One cold February evening in 1791, at the back of a dark London alley in a hidden apothecary shop, Nella awaits her newest customer. Once a respected healer, Nella now uses her knowledge for a darker purpose – selling well-disguised poisons to desperate women who would kill to be free of the men in their lives. But when her new patron turns out to be a precocious twelve-year-old named Eliza Fanning, an unexpected friendship sets in motion a string of events that jeopardizes Nella’s world and threatens to expose the many women whose names are written in her register. In present-day London, aspiring historian Caroline Parcewell spends her tenth wedding anniversary alone, reeling from the discovery of her husband’s infidelity. When she finds an old apothecary vial near the river Thames, she can’t resist investigating, only to realize she’s found a link to the unsolved “apothecary murders” that haunted London over two centuries ago. As she deepens her search, Caroline’s life collides with Nella’s and Eliza’s in a stunning twist of fate – and not everyone will survive.
How did I hear about this book I found the book when looking for my next audiobook “read” on Libby. When I came across the cover art (I know, I know…) I couldn’t help myself. The book sounded like a very interesting concept, and the cover was gorgeous.
Review I knew this book had great potential once I read the synopsis and heard a sample of the audiobook. I was excited to begin reading and quickly found myself getting frustrated with it. The idea is so unique to anything I’ve read before (an apothecary who is able to assist in murder, meanwhile keeping record of all the murders that have been committed?), however it quickly devolved into most books I’ve read in the past. Every character (Nella, Eliza, Caroline) is obsessed with getting pregnant, or their inability to get pregnant. I understand that during the time period the majority of the book takes place in, it was basically a woman’s goal in life, but even Caroline? It was laced throughout every piece of the book and it was just irritating after the first few mentions. Then Caroline’s husband (I don’t even remember his name I hated the character so much) was just a freaking shmuck. [SPOILER] Basically anything Caroline asked of him, he’d do the opposite. She needed time to think through his affair? He wouldn’t leave her alone. She needed the trip to spend time by herself processing? He showed up so she had no room to freely process what happened. She asked him to leave? The man freaking poisons himself so that she has to take care of him. Girl, DUMP HIS ASS and be done.
Book compared to TV show or movie N/A
The Box Office Book Club 