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I chose to listen to The Lost Apothecary on audible for the Halloween season because it sounded spooky. And it did have murder and magic with in its story. But the book was not frightening at all. It is a novel about how everyday women survive in a world where they are often mistreated by men. There are two time lines in the book. One is the late 1700s when an apothecary shop caters to women's illnesses. It also provides poisons for women to rid themselves of abusive men in a time when being abused was often something women had no way out of. Sometimes the men were fathers. Sometimes they were brothers. Sometimes they were husbands. The second time line is modern day where an amateur historian takes a vacation to clear her head after learning of her husbands affair and stumbles upon the mystery of the long forgotten apothecary. As a woman and a person who enjoys researching family history this book was right up my ally. I also have an interest in herbs and plant oils. So all the elements in the book came together for me. I really enjoyed it and highly recommend it. When I saw it was a harlequin romance I almost didn't download it. I had a preconceived connection to harlequin romance and true story magazine from the early 1970s. After noting it had been on several best seller books I went ahead and selected it. I am so glad I went ahead and gave this book a try. I won't consider harlequins trash books any more. This one was delightful! Please click on the book title and author's name above for more information and enjoy the short book review in the video that follows.
