Category Archives: books/book review

the lost apothecary banner

Book Review: The Lost Apothecary, by Sarah Penner

Leave a reply

I borrowed an audio copy of Sarah Penner‘s The Lost Apothecary through Hoopla. It was narrated by Lorna Bennett, Lauren Anthony, Lauren Irwin. Soooo, Lorna, Lauren and Lauren. The alliteration makes me happy.
lost apothecary audio cover

A forgotten history.

A secret network of women.

A legacy of poison and revenge.

Welcome to The Lost Apothecary.

Hidden in the depths of 18th-century London, a secret apothecary shop caters to an unusual kind of clientele. Women across the city whisper of a mysterious figure named Nella who sells well-disguised poisons to use against the oppressive men in their lives. But the apothecary’s fate is jeopardized when her newest patron, a precocious 12-year-old, makes a fatal mistake, sparking a string of consequences that echo through the centuries.

Meanwhile in present-day London, aspiring historian Caroline Parcewell spends her 10th wedding anniversary alone, running from her own demons. When she stumbles upon a clue to the unsolved apothecary murders that haunted London 200 years ago, her life collides with the apothecary’s in a stunning twist of fate – and not everyone will survive.

my review
I’m going to be honest; this book probably deserves more praise than I can heap on it. I thought it was well written and, as a middle-aged, married woman, who (like the character) gave up several educational dreams in exchange for stability, has faced the difference between happiness and contentment, and has consequently also just applied for to return to graduate school, I can honestly relate to A LOT of what Caroline is dealing with in the book. So, I can speak to realism.

But…BUT…I’m normally a binger. I start a book and want to finish it all in one go. Doesn’t matter if it is a physical book, ebook, or audio, I like to read things all together. Despite that, I checked this book out from the library, had to renew it, and then almost had to renew it a 2nd time before I managed to actually finish it. It just wasn’t nabbing my usually very easily grabbed attention. I struggled to force myself to pick it and sit with it long enough to reach the end. Maybe it was just too close for comfort in some aspects, but maybe also I was just bored. Regardless, I think the problem was 100% me not the book.

I do think it has a beautify cover (that’s why I picked it up) and I’m endlessly amused that the narrators are named Lauren, Lauren, and Lorna. (Yeah, I’m easily amused sometimes.)

the lost apothecary photo

Other Reviews:

Review: The Lost Apothecary by Sarah Penner

Blog Tour The Lost Apothecary by Sarah Penner

devilish deal banner

Book Review: Devilish Deal, by Jenna Wolfhart

Leave a reply

I received a signed copy of Jenna Wolfhart‘s Devilish Deal in last month’s Supernatural Book Crate.
devilish deal
Last month, I was living out of my car. Now, I’m couch-surfing in Brooklyn. It’s about as glamorous as it sounds. All I’ve got are some bad memories, an empty bank account, and a pigeon I named Hendrix.

So, when a mysterious, sinfully hot man offers me a deal, I have no choice but to accept. I’ll pretend to be his live-in girlfriend for a month. In exchange, he’ll give me a job at his exclusive club in Hell’s Kitchen.

Only problem is, there’s way more to Asmodeus than meets the eye. He’s a literal demon. Like, from the underworld. He’s rude, dangerous, and probably a killer. But if I break my deal with him, I’ll lose my soul.

Fortunately, it’s just a month. A month of heated stares and fake kisses that feel all too real. My soul—and my body—can totally survive this…right?

my review
This is one of those books that you finish and think, “It was fine,” and then can list of half a dozen ways that it really wasn’t, even if you don’t feel like it truly deserves to get panned. I found Mia prickly and unpleasant—far beyond what the weak excuse for history called for. All of the demons came off as slapstick and goofy, rather than intense (as seemed to be the intent). The only sex scene came while drunk, which is fine—I’m not the morality police—but it was still kind of icky and unnecessary to the plot. And the twist in the last paragraph (or the hook for book two) was ridiculous, honestly.

But, even having said all of that, the writing was easily readable and I wouldn’t go so far as to say I disliked it. It was just kind of a weak showing, worth reading for the amusement, but never going to top a best-of list.

devilish deal photo

DARKEST MATE

Book Review: Darkest Mate, by Alexis Calder

Leave a reply

I accepted a copy of Alexis Calder‘s Darkest Mate for review, as part of its tour with Rockstar Book Tours. It was also previously featured over on Sadie’s Spotlight.

Weakness means death. Or worse.

After I was abandoned as a child, I was taken in by the Shadow Pack. A group of
ruthless, lawless, shifters who have only one rule: never let anyone see your
weakness.

In exchange for them keeping me alive, I owe them. The leader of the Shadows is
as handsome as he is ruthless. And he’s offered to wipe my debt in exchange for
marriage. He’d offer protection, but it would cost me my freedom.

Survival in the Shadows depends on back alley deals and shady alliances. It’s
become a way of life that I stopped questioning years ago. When a routine
burglary goes wrong, I find myself captured by the one family I never should
have crossed.

The Umbra family owns this city. They make us Shadow wolves look like the good
guys. They should have killed me for my crimes, but there’s a tiny problem… It
turns out Madoc Umbra is my fated mate.

Instead of killing me, I’m a prisoner. The rest of the family doesn’t know of
our bond and I intend to keep it that way. Madoc’s brothers want to end my
life; he wants to break the bond. I just want to get the heck out.

As long as I don’t let them see any weakness, I might have a chance of making
it out of here alive.

Darkest Mate is a full-length paranormal romance. 17+ for dark content,
steamy scenes, and language. This is book one in a trilogy and is not a
standalone. Mind the cliff.

my review

This was a fairly middle of the road read for me. If I used star ratings on the blog, I’d give it a 3. But I think whether people like the book or not will depend on if they like the tropes used or not. Because there isn’t anything new here. Almost every aspect of this plot and the characters will be familiar to anyone who read the genre. But if you happen to like those elements, they’re done as well as anywhere else. The writing is also quite good.

The thing for me, though, was that I spent the entire book honestly angry that Ivy was being so unbelievably stupid. And I don’t just mean that as she was doing something excessively stupid, but unbelievably stupid in the sense that I absolutely did not believe that the character, as written, would do the stupid thing she did and continued to do. It was 100% unbelievable AND stupid, which pretty much undermined the legitimacy of the story.

The book got moderately more interesting for me at about the 80% mark. But at that point it wasn’t enough to save the book. I’d like to know what happens between Ivy and Madoc. But I don’t think I’ll continue the series. I just don’t think my temper can handle it. But different strokes for different folks and you may not have the same reaction.

darkest mate photo