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Suspenseful Yet Inconsistent: The Lost Apothecary by Sarah Penner

S

The Gist: A suspenseful novel told in two timelines, 1791 and 2020, explores the motives behind unsolved apothecary murders yet, unfortunately, suffers from inconsistent pacing.

Series: Standalone

Release Date: March 2, 2021

Synopsis
A female apothecary secretly dispenses poisons to liberate women from the men who have wronged them—setting three lives across centuries on a dangerous collision course. Rule #1: The poison must never be used to harm another woman.
Rule #2: The names of the murderer and her victim must be recorded in the apothecary’s register.

One cold February evening in 1791, at the back of a dark London alley in a hidden apothecary shop, Nella awaits her newest customer. Once a respected healer, Nella now uses her knowledge for a darker purpose—selling well-disguised poisons to desperate women who would kill to be free of the men in their lives. But when her new patron turns out to be a precocious twelve-year-old named Eliza Fanning, an unexpected friendship sets in motion a string of events that jeopardizes Nella’s world and threatens to expose the many women whose names are written in her register.

In present-day London, aspiring historian Caroline Parcewell spends her tenth wedding anniversary alone, reeling from the discovery of her husband’s infidelity. When she finds an old apothecary vial near the river Thames, she can’t resist investigating, only to realize she’s found a link to the unsolved “apothecary murders” that haunted London over two centuries ago. As she deepens her search, Caroline’s life collides with Nella’s and Eliza’s in a stunning twist of fate—and not everyone will survive.

Ending
HEA for Eliza and Caroline. Nella makes peace with her life and choices before passing for her illness (I imagine because her death wasn’t explicitly on-page).
Representation
No strong representations of the following:
• BIPOC characters
• LGBTQIA+ characters
• characters with a disability
And doesn’t address fatphobia
Possible Triggers: Yes
• Murder
• Allusion to pedophilia
• Description of past miscarriage
• Infidelity
• Self-harm — Caroline’s husband purposefully poisons himself to manipulate Caroline in the hopes of winning her back
• Discussion of suicide
Mature Themes: Yes
• the business of murder
• (im)morality of revenge and vengeance
• See Ending for HEA status.
• See Possible Triggers for Abuse and OTT sad parts.

Format: Paperback

Rating: 3.5-stars

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Engrossing and Bittersweet: Miracle Creek by Angie Kim

E

Series: Standalone

Release Date: April 16, 2019

<strong>Synopsis</strong>
How far will you go to protect your family? Will you keep their secrets? Ignore their lies?

In a small town in Virginia, a group of people know each other because they’re part of a special treatment center, a hyperbaric chamber that may cure a range of conditions from infertility to autism. But then the chamber explodes, two people die, and it’s clear the explosion wasn’t an accident.

A showdown unfolds as the story moves across characters who are all maybe keeping secrets, hiding betrayals. Was it the careless mother of a patient? Was it the owners, hoping to cash in on a big insurance payment and send their daughter to college? Could it have been a protester, trying to prove the treatment isn’t safe?

<strong>Ending</strong>
Sad but HFN (as happy as it could’ve ended)
<strong>Representation</strong>
• Korean main characters
• Korean side characters
• POC side characters
• Autistic side-characters
• Side-character with cerebral palsy
<strong>Possible Triggers:</strong> Yes
• Violent and descriptive death of an 8-year-old boy and adult women (they were burned alive)
• Sexual assault
• Child abuse
• Suicide
• Discusses fears of what happens to special-needs children when their parents can no longer take care of them
<strong>Mature Themes</strong>
• Underage drinking and smoking
• See Ending for HEA status.
• See Possible Triggers for Abuse and OTT sad parts.

Format: Paperback

Rating: 4.25/5 stars

Trigger Warning: This review discusses topics that can be triggering for some. Please read the ‘Possible Triggers’ tab above for details.

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Beautiful and Empathetic: Thin Girls by Diana Clarke

B

Series: Standalone

Release Date: June 30, 2020

<strong>Synopsis</strong>
A dark, edgy, voice-driven literary debut novel about twin sisters that explores body image and queerness as well as toxic diet culture and the power of sisterhood, love, and lifelong friendships, written by a talented protégé of Roxane Gay.

Rose and Lily Winters are twins, as close as the bond implies; they feel each other’s emotions, taste what the other is feeling. Like most young women, they’ve struggled with their bodies and food since childhood, and high school finds them turning to food—or not—to battle the waves of insecurity and the yearning for popularity. But their connection can be as destructive as it is supportive, a yin to yang. when Rose stops eating, Lily starts—consuming everything Rose won’t or can’t.

Within a few years, Rose is about to mark her one-year anniversary in a rehabilitation facility for anorexics. Lily, her sole visitor, is the only thing tethering her to a normal life.

But Lily is struggling, too. A kindergarten teacher, she dates abusive men, including a student’s married father, in search of the close yet complicated companionship she lost when she became separated from Rose.

When Lily joins a cult diet group led by a social media faux feminist, whose eating plan consists of consuming questionable non-caloric foods, Rose senses that Lily needs her help. With her sister’s life in jeopardy, Rose must find a way to rescue her—and perhaps, save herself.

Illuminating some of the most fraught and common issues confronting women, Thin Girls is a powerful, emotionally resonant story, beautifully told, that will keep you turning the pages to the gratifying, hopeful end.

<strong>Ending</strong>
On road to healing
<strong>Representation</strong>
• Lesbian main character
• Bisexual supporting character
• Gay side character
• Lesbian side character
• f/f main romance
<strong>Possible Triggers:</strong> Yes
• Anorexia (on-page)
• Bulimia (on-page)
• Physical abuse (on-page and off-page)
• Emotional abuse (on-page and off-page)
— Lily’s boyfriend manipulates her into dieting (read starving herself)
• Bullying (on-page)
• Death as a result of an eating disorder (off-page)
<strong>Mature Themes</strong>
• Discussion of BDSM relationships (the line between consent of S&M and abuse)
• Detailed sex scenes (including Rose walking in on Lily practicing BDSM)
• Explores toxicity of diet culture: fine line between dieting and harming yourself
• See Ending for HEA status.
• See Possible Triggers for Abuse and OTT sad parts.

Format: Hardcover

Rating: 5/5 stars

Trigger Warning: This review discusses topics that can be triggering for some. Please read the ‘Possible Triggers’ tab above for details.

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Riveting Yet Demoralizing: If I Had Your Face by Frances Cha

R

Series: Standalone

Release Date: April 21, 2020

<strong>Synopsis:</strong>
A riveting debut novel set in contemporary Seoul, Korea, about four young women making their way in a world defined by impossibly high standards of beauty, secret room salons catering to wealthy men, strict social hierarchies, and K-pop fan mania.

“Even as a girl, I knew the only chance I had was to change my face… even before a fortune-teller told me so.”

Kyuri is a heartbreakingly beautiful woman with a hard-won job at a “room salon,” an exclusive bar where she entertains businessmen while they drink. Though she prides herself on her cold, clear-eyed approach to life, an impulsive mistake with a client may come to threaten her livelihood.

Her roommate, Miho, is a talented artist who grew up in an orphanage but won a scholarship to study art in New York. Returning to Korea after college, she finds herself in a precarious relationship with the super-wealthy heir to one of Korea’s biggest companies.

Down the hall in their apartment building lives Ara, a hairstylist for whom two preoccupations sustain her: an obsession with a boy-band pop star and a best friend who is saving up for the extreme plastic surgery that is commonplace.

And Wonna, one floor below, is a newlywed trying to get pregnant with a child that she and her husband have no idea how they can afford to raise and educate in the cutthroat economy.

Together, their stories tell a gripping tale that’s seemingly unfamiliar, yet unmistakably universal in the way that their tentative friendships may have to be their saving grace.

<strong>Ending:</strong>
Surprisingly hopeful
<strong>Representation</strong>
• South Korean main and supporting characters
<strong>Possible Triggers:</strong> Yes
• Parental abandonment
• Physical assault (on-page and off-page, one instance resulting in one main character, Ara becoming mute)
• Emotional abuse
• Discussion of abortion
• Discussion of miscarriage
• Cheating
• Discussion of suicide and suicidal ideation
• Discussion of murder and suicide of sex workers
Title
Miho’s relationship with her boyfriend: Not Safe
• Does have cheating
• No OM
• Does have OW
— He cheats on her with a sex worker (a friend of Miho’s roommate) and is engaged to a woman from a family of similar economic wealth to him
• Does have Miho pushing Hanbin away
• No separation

Wonna’s relationship with her husband: Safe with Exception
• No cheating
• No OW/OM drama
• Does have Wonna pushing her husband away
• Does have a separation between Wonna and her husband (a permanent one, I think)
• See Ending for HEA status.
• See Possible Triggers for Abuse and OTT sad parts.

Format: Hardcover

Rating: 3.5/5 stars

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Earnest Yet Superficial: Winter of the Wolf by Martha Hunt Handler

E

Series: Standalone

Release Date: July 7, 2020

<strong>Synopsis:</strong>
A tragic mystery blending sleuthing and spirituality

​An exploration in grief, suicide, spiritualism, and Inuit culture, Winter of the Wolf follows Bean, an empathic and spiritually evolved fifteen-year-old, who is determined to unravel the mystery of her brother Sam’s death. Though all evidence points to a suicide, her heart and intuition compel her to dig deeper. With help from her friend Julie, they retrace Sam’s steps, delve into his Inuit beliefs, and reconnect with their spiritual beliefs to uncover clues beyond material understanding.

Both tragic and heartwarming, this twisting novel draws you into Bean’s world as she struggles with grief, navigates high school dramas, and learns to open her heart in order to see the true nature of the people around her. Winter of the Wolf is about seeking the truth—no matter how painful—in order to see the full picture.

In this novel, environmentalist and award-winning author, Martha Handler, brings together two important pieces of her life—the death of her best friend’s son and her work as president of the Wolf Conservation Center—to tell an empathetic and powerful story with undeniable messages.

<strong>Ending:</strong>
HFN
<strong>Representation</strong>
No strong representations of the following:
• BIPOC characters
• LGBTQIA+ characters
• characters with a disability
And doesn’t address fatphobia
<strong>Possible Triggers:</strong> Yes
• Suicide
• Accidental death by auto asphyxiation
<strong>Mature Themes</strong>
• Underage drinking
• Underage drug use (marijuana)
• Discussion of auto asphyxiation
• Discussion of teenage sex and masturbation
• See Ending for HEA status.
• See Possible Triggers for Abuse and OTT sad parts.

Format: eARC

Rating: 2.5/5 stars

Trigger Warning: This review discusses topics that can be triggering for some. Please read the ‘Possible Triggers’ tab above for details.

Note: I received Winter of the Wolf through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. My thanks to FSB Association for the opportunity.

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Performative White Feminism: Women Don’t Owe You Pretty by Florence Given

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Series: Standalone

Release Date: June 11, 2020

<strong>Synopsis</strong>
‘THE BEAUTY MYTH’ FOR THE INSTAGRAM GENERATION
‘Rallying, radical and pitched perfectly for her generation.’ – Evening Standard

Women Don’t Owe You Pretty is the ultimate book for anyone who wants to challenge the out-dated narratives supplied to us by the patriarchy.

Through Florence’s story you will learn how to protect your energy, discover that you are the love of your own life, and realise that today is a wonderful day to dump them.

Florence Given is here to remind you that you owe men nothing, least of all pretty.

WARNING: CONTAINS EXPLICIT CONTENT (AND A LOAD OF UNCOMFORTABLE TRUTHS).

THE FEMINIST MEMOIR EVERYONE IS TALKING ABOUT.

<strong>Ending</strong>
• Empowering
• Self-reflective
<strong>Representation</strong>
Addresses each of the following:
• Queer sexuality
• Racism
• Transgender
• Transphobia
• Oppression of women
• Ableism
• fatphobia
<strong>Possible Triggers:</strong> Yes
• Rape
• Sexual assault
<strong>Mature Themes</strong>
Discussions of:
• sex and masturbation
• slut-shaming
• the objectification of women
• rape culture
• See Possible Triggers for Abuse and OTT sad parts.

Format: Hardcover

Rating: 4/5 stars

Trigger Warning: This review discusses topics that can be triggering for some. Please read the ‘Possible Triggers’ tab above for details.

Note: This novel is very similar to What a Time to Be Alone: The Slumflower’s Guide to Why You Are Already Enough by The Slumflower (Chidera Eggerue) which was published in 2018. Women Don’t Owe You Pretty was published in 2020. If Given’s book looks like something you want to read, I highly recommend reading What a Time to Be Alone first.

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