Review: A pleasant surprise
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 03 27, 2013
Warning: This review might contain what some people consider SPOILERS.Rating: 8/10PROS:- The setting and premise--the life of an apothecary in a historical time period, not to mention the story's supernatural element--are well off the beaten path in this genre. The amount of detail is good also: there's not so much that the story drags, but there's enough to create a solid picture of the characters' surroundings.- I thought it was interesting how William's thoughts and emotions are often affected by the herbs he is working with. He'll start to feel a certain way and not discover until later that those feelings were a result of whatever herb he was breathing in at the time.- The romance develops slowly, with furtive feelings of desire that the characters gradually act upon. Feelings of love eventually arise out of the physical attraction.- William's observations are often quite funny. This is one of my favorites, which happens while he is under the influence of a hallucinogenic herb: "The kettle, in particular, was looking at me...in a very sinister manner, and the pot seemed to be on his side. I narrowed my eyes at them, trying to figure out what they were up to."CONS:- There are a couple of story elements that are left unresolved at the end.- I found the secondary character of Theo to be mostly amusing; however, I did find his constant prodding of both William and Merrick to be annoying.Overall comments: With the low price of this story, I must admit I wasn't expecting much. What a wonderful surprise it turned out to be, though: the setting is well written, the story moves at a nice pace, and it's a gentle story with tender characters and a slow, sweet romance.