This is very much a cozy fantasy so set your expectations accordingly. It’s not high fantasy, and a lot of the world and its magic system are left unexplained. For me, that was a bit of a loss, but it’s not unusual in certain types of anime or light fantasy stories. It’s not necessarily bad, but not a strength either.

Where the book shines is in the atmosphere and characters. Daciana and Sorin’s slow-burn relationship is tender and heartwarming, and the cozy, village mystery setting makes it a perfect comfort read. The plot is straightforward, the vibes are warm, and it left me feeling content by the end.

If you’re looking for rich lore or intricate magic, this probably isn’t it but if you want a gentle, charming story with romance and light intrigue, it delivers exactly that.

DNF

all the thanks to the publisher and author giving me this arc via netgalley!

this follows daciana, an apprentice to the village's apothecary, and sorin, the head of guards. although their lives couldn't be any more different, the two find themselves solving a murder case together, inevitably leading to strong characters and a cute little romance.

the atmosphere is perfect for a cozy mystery-romance with small fantasy elements. the characters are also very likeable. though they have their own struggles, they both focus on having humanity and bringing each other up. overall, this was a fun story with family drama and grief. the romance had forehead kisses, hand holding, and just a very clean premise.

i think this book is perfect for:
- bringing someone out of a reading slump
- a little bit of thinking but much more vibes
- clean romance with sweet scenes
- no intense world-building but instead, lighthearted fantasy
- a quick simple read

why i decided not to continue:

this book definitely has its audience who would adore this. but i guessed everything that happened from the very start. and although a complex mystery wasn't the goal here, i don't think i could find myself enjoying the plot any further with the constant non-discreet writing. the writing (it is an arc, so changes are likely) felt everything telling than any showing. but these preferences are definitely more on me than the book itself :)

Well...it was an interesting story. The plot was good. Characters were eh. My biggest issue was some weird sounding sentences (had to reread some a few times to figure out what was being said) and some little holes in the plot. Like someone's name being mentioned like we already met him, but hadn't. Overall it was an enjoyable read.

grateful to NetGalley and the publisher for granting me this e-ARC.

this was a really beautiful and wholesome mystery fantasy romance. my first of the subgenre, actually and i had a great time. the characters had just enough depth to pull you in and still keep the intrigue but i will say, the romance did feel quite rushed and a bit insta-lovey. the mystery aspect was quite interesting but ended up being a bit predictable and underwhelming. that said, i really enjoyed and am interested in the rest of the series.

When Daciana's master is murdered, she must step out of his shadow and rise to the needs of the villagers their only Apothecary, even though she has not formally qualified and is aware of the prejudices that the village hold against her family. Along with Soren, the taciturn leader of the guard they set out to find out who carried out the murder.
This was a lovely easy going murder mystery with a fantasy slant. I really enjoyed the flow, the principle characters were well developed and likeable and th plot was engaging. Overall it was a great read.

This one is exactly what it says on the cover - a mellow, cozy fantasy. If you like the genre, you’ll probably like this. It’s sweet, mellow, and has that comforting, slice-of-life feel that makes cozy fantasy such an easy read.
For me personally, it just… was. Nothing really wowed me, but nothing bothered me either. And honestly that’s kind of the point with books like this, they don’t need to be life-changing to still be enjoyable.
The tension was nice and kept things moving, but the characters felt a little too simple for my taste. Still, if you’re in the mood for something soft and low-stakes, it will be perfect for you.

Thank you NetGalley and BooksGoSocial for allowing me to read this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Apothecary’s Apprentice was a small town mystery in a fantasy setting. Filled with well fleshed out characters, each interesting in their own right.

The story was lovely, if a little clunky and painfully slow at times. But not enough to be unreadable. The emotions felt a little forced, but still very sweet.

A lovely book to curl up with after a long day..

The Dyslexic that Reads

This was a very sweet innocent story. I'd definitely let a 13+ year old read this book. It reminded me of a Disney Movie for teens.

What I loved about this book:

❤️ The story was engaging. It really pulled me in and kept me wanting to read it till the end.

❤️ The world building and character development was impressive. You really get a sense of the community they live in and the back stories of the main characters. You feel for them, you're invested in their story.

❤️ It was just so sweet. Lots of hand holding and forehead kisses. It still makes me smile thinking about it.

What I thought could be better:

❤️ Nothing really, it was a good book. I'm very much an adult and generally only read adult books, but this really pulled me in.

You should get this book, or let you're teen read it.

A got this free ARC book from Netgalley for my honest review.

The perfect atmosphere and setting for magic lovers!
I read this for the start of my cozy fantasy / pre fall season and couldn't put it down.
I was looking for a witchy mystery mood and it was simply perfect.
You will find romance, beautiful characters and well written drama involving the main storyline.
Don't think twice and add it to your tbr for fall please!
I cant wait to read more from this author!
My favorite NetGalley book of the season without a doubt.

This was an amazing read! I loved how quick the book grabbed me and pulled me in. The romance was so good it gave me butterflies! Would definitely recommend!

Thank you very much to C S Doraga and BooksGoSocial for providing me with an ARC copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This is an easy-reading, slow-paced, cozy fantasy-mystery that should really be marketed as YA. So if that is your thing, this book might be for you, even though it wasn’t for me.

This was a very easy to read book — the prose was simple and the plot was easy to follow. Sadly, as easy reading as the writing was, it was also overly explanatory and a bit clunky. I found there was an imbalance of page time given to things in the book; many scenes started far sooner than they needed to, and many other scenes were not fleshed out as much as they could have been — particularly that final battle and action sequence. There was a paragraph where the first three sentences each started: ‘He bolted’; ‘He ran’; and ‘They raced’. All the verbs describing the same ongoing action. This repetition is a persistent problem.

The book was also a bit infodumpy at the start, not in the traditional sense of an expository monologue, but in the sense of lore being shoved into every possible thought and description. The author wanted us to know stuff early and was definitely going to get that info in there somehow! On a similar note, there was a real lack of subtlety in the dialogue, character motivations, and narration. The reader isn’t trusted to pick up on things on their own, or make natural assumptions and logical leaps. This made the book a bit too hand-holdey for my taste, but would be far more at home in a younger YA story.

The characterizations are definitely a strong point of this book. Our main pair are not cookie cutter tropes or cardboard cutouts, they actually have inner worlds and feelings about what is going on. And the side characters have their own motivations and arcs throughout the story too! In particular I appreciated how Liviu’s arc was handled and how sure of herself Daciana was from the start. Of course she had moments of self-doubt from taking on a new role, but she was confident in her competence as well. She also stood up for herself when she was challenged on her knowledge and expertise. Unfortunately, the way the writing keeps telling us what the characters are feeling and experiencing, rather than showing it, kept me from really connecting with them or their romance.

The mystery plot was fairly predictable, but by the time you were sure you’d figured something out, the book was only a couple of pages away from the characters cottoning on too, which kept the predictability from becoming irritating. The only exception to this is, unfortunately, the big reveal of who killed Master Florin, which was very obvious from their introduction.

Fundamentally, I think with a couple months of thorough editing and an overhaul into a young adult cozy fantasy-mystery, this book would have been very promising! For example, had Daciana and Sorin been teenagers sneaking around trying to get to the bottom of a crime that their elders have written off as an accident, and having their first love along the way, it would have been a far more satisfying and believable read.

The Apothecary’s Apprentice by C.S. Doraga felt like curling up with a warm drink on a rainy day. The pacing was on the slower side, but I didn’t mind it gave me time to sink into the small village atmosphere and really connect with the characters. There were a few points where the story lingered a bit too long, but for the most part, the quieter moments added depth rather than dragging things out. The mood was cozy with just enough mystery to keep me curious, and the writing style was simple and engaging without going overboard on descriptions.

I really liked the relationship between Daciana, an herbalist apprentice looked down on for her heritage, and Sorin, who’s carrying his own burdens. Their romance felt natural and believable, and I appreciated that the magic in the story was more of a subtle backdrop than the main focus. The themes of belonging, trust, justice, and self discovery stood out to me, and the book reminded me a lot of The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches and The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy with its mix of magic, romance, and a strong sense of place.

I didn’t notice any big grammar or spelling issues for an ARC, which made it an easy read although they are expected when it's an ARC and that's completely okay. I think this book would be perfect for fans of cozy fantasy and romantasy who enjoy character driven stories and gentle magic over nonstop action. I loved it for its charm, relatable characters, and emotional pull, with the only downside being the occasional slow patch in the pacing

[ ARC REVIEW ]

First thoughts:

I’m happy I read it. It was a nice transition between July and August for me. I’ve had a lot of things going on so, frankly, having a book that wasn’t so mindblowingly amazing that I couldn’t put it down was exactly what I needed.
It’s slow. Agonizingly at times. And the romance is… VERY YA. I think the first kiss (not on the cheek/forehead) happened around the 85% mark. The story is also very slow. The mystery of who the killer was went on and on when the answer was pretty obvious at the start. The real action didn’t start up until about the 90% mark and was obviously rushed after that.
Overall I’m not mad at it. It was a nice, light read on the cozier side. I just think it needed to either be a much shorter book, or have more depth to the story instead of just filler.

Thanks so much to NetGalley and BooksGoSocial for allowing me to read and review this ARC.

Read my full review on my website RoseUponRows.com

This was a light, easy read, but I didn't feel connected to the characters and would have enjoyed a bit more world-building. The introduction also made me feel like I was being dropped into book series halfway through rather than at the start. I wish the world-building was a bit more fleshed out such as understanding a bit more of how the magic system works or the dynamics within the village and the outer towns. The romance between Sorin and Daciana also felt pretty juvenile and fell flat for me.

The Apothecary's Apprentice is a nice YA mystery romance with a bit of magic.

Daciana and Sorin have two very different stations in life but are brought together to solve a murder.

There were some good themes around feeling alone while being surrounded by loved ones, or being a strong figure in society.

The two things that I found distracting until I was pulled into the plot - the structure of sentences lead to a lot of commas being used, and there are a lot of sentences starting with 'However'.

This book wasn't quite what I was expecting, it felt more geared toward a much younger audience, perhaps early young adults or middle grade readers. The concept of the story is what initially drew me in, and I still think it's a strong and intriguing premise. Unfortunately, the execution didn’t quite land for me. The characters felt a bit flat, and I found myself wishing for more depth and emotional connection to them. The flow of the story and the dialogue also felt off; character reactions often came across as rigid or unnatural, which made it hard to stay immersed. That said, I think this could be a good introduction to fantasy for a younger reader who’s just starting to explore the genre.

Set in a village where magic is both revered and feared, the narrative centres on Daciana, an apothecary’s apprentice of mixed heritage ostracised by her village, and Sorin, a gifted mage bearing the weight of expectation.

I have very mixed feelings about this one, and I’m not sure if it’s me or the book? I enjoyed it but struggled to read more than a few chapters at a time. I was SO intrigued by the concept. A murder mystery set in an apothecary? Yes please?! I kinda wanted more of the world building and the actual detective aspect from the book but instead felt it heavily relied on the blossoming romance which was cute, but not necessarily what I personally wanted from the book.

The pacing was pretty consistent though out, but it just overall lacked something for me which is such a shame!

This was a nice a nice and easy read, with cozy vibes that makes it perfect when in need for a light story about family, friendship, acceptance and a cute love story.

In line with the general vibe of book, nothing is overly complicated. The characters are likeable, and, even if not complex, they carry some qualities that don't make than fall flat. This is good, since this book is quite character-driven, given the multiple introspections if the two protagonists, Daciana and Sorin. Probably for this reason, the plot is easy to follow and it tells a nice story, even if the last few chapters didn't convince me so much. Ragrdless of my personal taste of how I'd have liked it to end (I can't say my ending would be a better ending, because this isn't my story to tell and I'm just a witness), I felt the events to be a bit forced and overall rushed.

Moreover, apparently this is the first book of a series of standalone which can be read in whatever order, thus I'd have liked a bit more world-building. The lack of a solid setting and explanation of how the magic works makes it look like a mystery romance with a bit of background magic to justify choices which could have been justified with power, race, money or any other social divider - without making it a fantasy, though.

Still, I would recommend this book to anyone who likes cozy and clean romance (not so slow, though, at least not according to my standards), because the vibes are absolutely there.


And my thanks to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for letting me read this arc!

I found this book to be pretty good, but there were a few things.  Like the slowness of a lot of it, made it hard to keep your attention into the first half or so of the book.  The "whodunnit" part was easily figured out in the first 20% or so of the book.

The main character is easy to feel connected to, the author did a great job of portraying her personality and emotions. The parts of the book that showed different veiwpoints were great for the plot, but Sorin wasn't written quite as well to feel as connected to him.  Overall, it is a lighter read and a quick "cozy" romance.

This book is really good! I'll be giving it four stars on Goodreads (4.5 on my Instagram - too bad Goodreads only does whole numbers). The story is borderline "cozy" but has high enough stakes that I wouldn't classify it as that entirely. I think CS Doraga did a great job developing her characters and making the emotions seem relatable. I think I would have given it five stars had the killer not so predictably been given away early in the story. I'm really looking forward to book two of this series.

The cover is beautiful, by the way.