The Lost Apothecary

This book suffers from Julie & Julia Syndrome--Nella and Eliza's stories in the past are infinitely more fascinating and have higher stakes than Caroline's story in the present. Every time I had to go back to the present, I couldn't wait to get back to the past.

I couldn't have cared less for Caroline's stunted Eat Pray Love odyssey across London, except when she went urban exploring and had that contrived misunderstanding toward the end. Gaynor was a more interesting character in the present than Caroline by a mile, and I would've loved to follow her in her daily research and discoveries instead.

The book was well-written, but I can't give it more than three stars due to the disappointing Caroline storyline.