The Apothecary's Daughter

LILLY HASWELL REMEMBERS EVERYTHING --- WHETHER SHE WANTS TO, OR NOT ...

As Lilly toils in her father's apothecary shop, preparing herbs and remedies by rote, she is haunted by memories of her mother's disappearance. Villagers whisper the tale, but her father refuses to discuss it. All the while, she dreams of the world beyond --- of travel and adventure and romance.

When a relative offers to host her in London, Lilly discovers the pleasures and pitfalls of fashionable society and suitors, as well as clues about her mother. But will Lilly find what she is searching for --- the truth of the past and a love for the future?

My Review: 4/10

I felt that this novel went on for way too long. I was surprised by the way some of the characters' loose ends were tied up. Lilly was likeable but I felt that she passed from man to man way too easily and without any real feeling. Her father's disgrace was not pretty. I had hoped for the best for her mother til the bitter end. One of the reasons that I like reading pieces set during this time is that there is less debauchery and less scandal. Emotions, attachments, etc weigh so much more heavily and are so much more pure. I didn't feel that this story represented that very well at all.