The Apothecary's Daughter

By: Julie Klassen

Narrated by: Davina Porter

Length: 13 hrs and 43 mins

Publisher's summary

In this poignant Regency gem by Christy Award finalist Julie Klassen, Lillian longs to soar beyond her provincial limits.

After enjoying London's sophisticated society and the attentions of wealthy suitors, Lilly returns home to help her ailing dad. Determined to resurrect his apothecary business, Lilly labors tirelessly - praying her family's secrets and her rivals' schemes won't cloud her future.

©2008 Julie Klassen (P)2009 Recorded Books, LLC

Critic reviews

"...an emotionally compelling and quietly powerful tale." ( Booklist)

Endearing and lovely!

Julie Klassen does it again! I so enjoy each character as the story unfolds. It was interesting to learn of how epilepsy was looked at during that time. I have MS, Lyme disease, and Epilepsy so this story hit home for me. I enjoyed how Lily grew up through each event, trial and tribulation. Figuring out who she is and what exactly she wanted. Sometimes it takes fumbling everything up and losing everything to see with any clarity. Such a great read. I am glad Lilly realized the love she always needed had been there all along. Beautiful story of compassion, exploration and discovery and love!

Wonderful!

Such a delightful tale, full of historical facts that are quite interestingly woven into a story taking many twists and turns, which make for a fascinating read.

slow and good

This book is a good book. The problem is that the story is slow.

A really sweet story

Would you consider the audio edition of The Apothecary's Daughter to be better than the print version?

Yes because anything read by Davina Porter is better than reading it myself. I love to listen to her-

What did you like best about this story?

My favorite thing about this story is that you didn't know who Lily was going to end up with. Often the reader knows fairly early who will end up together and the rest of the story is about their ups and downs. I liked that this was Lily's story and she wasn't sure who she wanted until the very end. I also like how you see Lily's growth and maturity throughout the book as well as the ending. It is very satisfying and not all tired up with a ' happily ever after' bow-it isn't tragic but it is realistic.

What does Davina Porter bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Her accents and her voice-AMAZING. I love her northern England accents almost as well as her Scottish ones. Her narration and interpretations of books increases the quality of the story immensely. I will listen to anything she narrates and am trying to listen to all of her books.

Any additional comments?

I don't know why I can't edit my 'overall' score- it should be 5 stars, I just didn't catch the mistake until I previewed my review. I think it is a 5 star book in every category.

Just okay

This wasn’t my favorite of Julie Klassen’s books, and the narration didn’t help it any. The voices for the young girls sounded middle-aged, and the timing of the reading was off. I don’t know if it was the narrator or the editor, but the end of one chapter and the beginning of the next sounded like they were in the same breath. It made listening to the book very jarring. As for the story, it felt drawn out. It didn’t hold my attention like other books she’s written.

Lovely little story, made better by Davina!

Would you listen to The Apothecary's Daughter again? Why?

Yes!

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Apothecary's Daughter?

There were 1 or 2 surprises that I didn't expect.

Which character – as performed by Davina Porter – was your favorite?

I liked Shuttleworth and Marlow, but any character is made more alive by Davina. She is hands down my favorite narrator. I have listened to her for years while reading and re-reading the Outlander Series. I was worried it would sound too similar, but after the first chapter, I didn't think about Outlander at all - in a good way!

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

No, it was just pleasant. It drew me in.

Any additional comments?

Some predictability in the story, some similarities to a certain Jane Austin novel. I love Austin, so it's ok, but it felt that the story line was really heading in the same direction. Thankfully there was enough surprise sprinkled in and again, enjoyed the book very much!

Good story, horrible reader.

How could the performance have been better?

Voice harsh, like a chronic smoker. Sometimes hard to tell if men or women talking and most of the men sounded about 90 years old. No sweet or romantic sounding voices.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

yes, for the mystery, but not for the reader's voice.

A wonderful book!

I loved the story and characters! A very good book. You too will enjoy it.

A beautiful story of love and loss

A beautiful written story that I enjoyed very much. The characters were well developed and by the end loved es each of them. The author wrote a beautiful story and Davina Porter's narrations brought it to life.

Twists

you never know who she will end up with or what answers she will find