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Historical Fiction Review – The Lost Apothecary

Thursday, June 24th, 2021

The Lost Apothecary

The Lost Apothecary by Sarah Penner

Review by Mirah W. (mwelday)

It was hard to determine a genre category for The Lost Apothecary.  Shifting from past to present, Penner weaves together the lives of 21st century historian Caroline and 18th century apothecary Nella.

Nella’s mother was a well-known apothecary with a little shop off Bear Alley in 18th century London.  After the death of her mother, Nella begins to run the shop herself. Later she is fueled by her own loss and heartache and becomes known for helping women who are the victims of oppressive men. By developing poisons that are easily-disguised, Nella gives strength, freedom, and hope to the women who request her services.

Caroline has arrived in England angry and confused after learning of a betrayal within her marriage.  During what is supposed to be a romantic getaway for her and her husband, Caroline is alone and trying to decide on how to move forward.  She crosses paths with Bachelor Alf and his mudlarking group and decides to see what historical objects the River Thames might provide to distract her from her real life.

Caroline finds a glass vial while mudlarking and she is taken on a journey of discovery into the mysterious apothecary and shop. The reader learns more about Caroline, Nella and Eliza, the young maid of a wealthy woman who demands Nella’s services.  Nella and Caroline’s stories of betrayal bythe men they love are paralleled in the story and their reactions to those betrayals change the course of their lives.

I thoroughly enjoyed The Lost Apothecary.  I thought it was a unique story (I’ve never even heard of mudlarking before, but I’ve learned it really is a thing and it seems so very interesting) with characters who were complex and relatable.  The sense of magic and mystery come together to provide an engrossing tale and I am not surprised this debut novel by Penner became a New York Times bestseller. I highly recommend this vivid and rich novel when you want to lose yourself in the pages of a good book.

 

 

 

 

Fantasy Review – The Empire’s Ghost

Tuesday, May 26th, 2020

The Empire's Ghost: A Novel

The Empire’s Ghost by Isabelle Steiger

Review by Mirah W (mwelday)

I don’t often read fantasy adventure novels, but I was looking for a new series and the synopsis for The Empire’s Ghost was unlike anything else I’ve read so I decided to give it a try and I am glad I did!

The Empire’s Ghost is an epic fantasy adventure that centers around various kingdoms seeking control over neighboring lands, but with magic and cunning rulers, who will have the upper hand and who will be victorious? As I read, I became partial to Prince Kelken, who is the underdog in this story, but who knows if I will still like him later in the series.

The imagery is quite exquisite throughout the novel and the locales seem to become characters themselves.  There are a lot of characters to remember, especially since characters are referred to by more than one name or title, but after sticking with the novel, they became clearer in my mind and I could picture each one in every scene. The characters slowly reveal more and more about themselves as the novel progresses to provide more depth and understanding to their choices and actions. Magic and the use of magic is a thread throughout the plot, but does not control or distract from the plot.  The ending is definitely not a conclusion but, rather, an opening to another book set in this epic world.

I am giving The Empire’s Ghost 4 out of 5 stars. My reasons for the 4 star rating are primarily the amount of time it took for me to get invested in the novel and the difficulty I had following some of the intricacies of the plot.  The second half of the book definitely seemed to come together more solidly than the first half.  The action was easier to follow and the characters easier to delineate. I think a multi-faceted novel like The Empire’s Ghost would have benefited from a map and character list/tree at the beginning to give the reader some perspective. For a debut novel, I think Steiger created an amazing story with memorable characters. If you are looking for a sweeping, epic fantasy to transport you to a different world, The Empire’s Ghost is the novel for you.

 

 

 

 

Fantasy Review – The Paper Magician

Tuesday, September 6th, 2016

The Paper Magician by Charlie N. Holmberg

Review by Mirah Welday (mwelday)

Ceony Twill is the lucky daughter in her family.  She was selected to attend Tagis Praff School for the Magically Inclined.  She was a success at school, graduating at the top of her class, but even the most successful students have to select one medium to master, you cannot work with them all.  Ceony has always wanted to work with metal but due to a shortage of magicians who work with paper, the choice is made for her. Ceony is disappointed and frustrated and doesn’t know what to expect when she arrives at the ramshackle dwelling of paper Magician Emery Thane to begin her apprenticeship.

Two unlikely allies, Twill and Thane, being Twill’s apprenticeship with a distance between them that eventually gets crossed and takes them both down a path with dangerous and forbidden magic.

When I started reading The Paper Magician I had no idea what to expect.  I know you’re not supposed to judge a book by its cover but the cover is what drew me to the book in the first place.  The plot and story line of the various characters was unlike any other fantasy book I’d read before; I liked the use of one type of medium that the magician can use and manipulate.  I thought there was some drag during the middle of book one while Ceony is on her ‘quest’ but that’s really the only negative thing I can say about this debut novel by Holmberg.

I was intrigued so much by book one that I quickly went on to The Glass Magician and The Master Magician, the final two books in the series, and I wasn’t disappointed.  There was successful character development and all of the story lines had appropriate conclusions.  While I don’t have kids, I think this would be a good book (and series) for parents to read along with their young adult readers so they can discuss the characters, themes, and situations together.  I would give the entire series 4 out of 5 stars for ingenuity, interesting characters, and an ability to keep my interest.

      

 

 

 

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