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(4.50/5)An apothecary solves crime in Imperial China
I enjoyed this book! Granted, I came in after having read the volume equivalent in the English manga edition, so I had a head start in knowing what was going to happen. That likely helped with my first foray into a harder book; the difficulty mostly came from the setting and time period: China in an ambiguous older time period (no running water or electricity, paper is precious, etc.). Lots and lots of setting-specific, archaic vocabulary, some tougher grammar sprinkled around (sorry I don't hav
Love the poison-obsessed protagonist, other well developed characters, and the mysteries!
Plot
The story follows a young apothecary named Maomao who works in the red-light district in a fictional country based on Imperial China. One day on her way home, Maomao is kidnapped and made a servant who works in the Imperial Palace. Her life takes another sudden turn when she investigates the cause of the Emperor’s sick children using her apothecary knowledge. She sends a warning message to the Emperor’s concubines, drawing attention from a notable eunuch named Jinshi who manages the in
Surprisingly fresh story that is hard to put away.
A very nice read for advanced learners that won't shy away from vocabulary outside of the JLPT level. The Genre is somewhat hard to lock in, we got some history elements, some romance, some comedy, some crime and drama and a little bit of mystery sprinkled in at times. So to figure out if you like it, you could start with the Anime or the Manga first before you dedicate your time to the Novel.
As for a brief description, we do follow MaoMao, a incredibly curious and rather capable Apothecary t