The Lost Apothecary by Sarah Penner

Amy   

historical fiction, women's fiction

In 1791, Nella has been providing assistance (sometimes illegal) to women her whole life via tinctures, ointments, and powders. She inherited her mother’s apothecary and has kept it very secret in London. Twelve year old Eliza is sent to pick up her mistress’ order from Nella and, through a series of events, becomes an unintentional bringer of trouble for Nella.

Meanwhile, in current day London, Caroline is on her tenth wedding anniversary trip by herself after leaving her husband in America. In her effort to be spontaneous, she discovers an old glass vial and sets out to find out more about the interesting artifact’s history.

While Nella’s story from the 1700s grew on me the more her story deepened, Caroline’s story was much more interesting at the start.  But both stories became equally compelling and I really liked The Lost Apothecary! Nella’s story began similarly to several other books I’ve read so I presumed it wouldn’t be very original. But her story grew more complex the more I read. Meanwhile, Caroline’s unexpected adventure on her first day in London was fun. And her attempts at pulling herself up out of the abyss was admirable. I liked her attitude. She felt genuine. The reader suspected how their two storylines would connect but the way the tale was woven by Sarah Penner kept me hooked.

I listened to the audiobook which was narrated by three different women. Lorna Bennett read the part of Nella. I did not love the voice she gave to Nella. It was very heavily Haunted Mansion-esque in tone—doom, gloom, and overly spooky. However, when Bennett voiced other characters, she was terrific. So she has a great vocal repertoire and she’s a good voice actor. I just didn’t love her choice for Nella’s voice. Therefore, I have to give her a B+ for this one. Lauren Anthony voiced Caroline and she felt authentic. Her British accent wasn’t perfect but she gave it a good try. And she had a good repertoire of voices. Her voice acting was right for her characters. I’ll give her an A-. Lauren Irwin voiced Eliza and she was a good voice actor with a nice repertoire of voices. She gets an A although she had the smallest portion of the audiobook.