The Apothecary Diaries Volume 14 by Natsu Hyuuga, Illustrations by Touko Shino. Translated by Kevin Steinbach. Published by J-Novel Club.
We're finally back to Maomao's perspective this volume. There are a few light mysteries, but most of the intrigue of this book was the background politicking.Â
The Apothecary Diaries Volume 13 by Natsu Hyuuga, Illustrations by Touko Shino. Translated by Kevin Steinbach. Published by J-Novel Club. I am literally so sad that I'm caught up to this series... Volume 13 is a short story volume, and it's almost entirely from the point of view of the other characters. Since the main crew has been gone for a year, this volume catches readers up with Lahan, Yao, En'en, and even her sisters back at the brothel like Meimei and Joka. Even though it's not explored in relation to Maomao, there does seem to be some plot moving…
The Apothecary Diaries Volume 12 by Natsu Hyuuga, Illustrations by Touko Shino. Translated by Kevin Steinbach. Published by J-Novel Club. After Gyoku-ou died in the last volume, I knew that this book would be a wild ride. There are tons of consequences to losing the governor of a province, and predictably, it set off a succession crisis. Someone has to manage I-sei province now, and we're introduced to Gyoku-ou's kids. He has 3 sons and 1 daughter, and the three sons are being "considered" for succession. Each of them has their quirks, and it seems like since the eldest son…
The Apothecary Diaries Volumes 11 by Natsu Hyuuga, Illustrations by Touko Shino. Translated by Kevin Steinbach. Published by J-Novel Club. I feel like there's not really a whole lot I can say without spoiling the main plot line of this book, so I'll split my impressions up in half, one for the 1st half, and one for the 2nd. For the first half, the characters have successfully dealt with the locust plague, but there are still dire issues remaining. Much of the food has been wiped out, and the population is going to slowly starve to death if they don't…
The Apothecary Diaries Volumes 9 and 10 by Natsu Hyuuga, Illustrations by Touko Shino. Published by J-Novel Club. Volumes 9 and 10 kick off “Western Capital, part 2”. There is a lot going on here politically since it is the region that Gyokuyou is from, and there are plenty of enemies with unknown motivations. In Volume 9, Maomao has basically become Jinshi’s personal doctor for [spoiler] reasons, so she must go though as much training as possible before they set off for I-sei province. For those in the know, it’s an open secret, but it puts Maomao in an even…
The Apothecary DiariesVolumes 7 and 8 by Natsu Hyuuga, Illustrations by Touko Shino. Published by J-Novel Club. Volume 7 contains the end the of the “Western Capital” arc and the beginning of what I would say is the start of Maomao’s next phase/status quo. Now that she’s outside the palace, Jinshi needs a way to keep Maomao around, and he finds it. He compels her to take the court service exam and become a medical assistant. From what you can see in the cover, she clearly passes (after tons of effort) and ends up entering the court service with two…
The Apothecary DiariesVolumes 5 and 6 by Natsu Hyuuga, Illustrations by Touko Shino. Published by J-Novel Club. I initially thought I would include 7 here as well since it contains some of the falling action from these two volumes, but I figured I would wait since there’s way too much that happens in that one that’s hard to explain without knowing about these ones first lol. Beware spoilers below! These two volumes comprise what I think most fans are calling the “Western Capital” Arc? After the stunning events of the last volume, Maomao is forced into going west with Jinshi…
The Apothecary DiariesVolumes 3 and 4 by Natsu Hyuuga, Illustrations by Touko Shino. Published by J-Novel Club. These two volumes finish out what I would say is the first major story arc in the series. Volume 3 continues the evolving relationship between Maomao and Jinshi (with what I have to say is the funniest romcom scene and deflection by Maomao so far) with further Rear Palace intrigue, while Volume 4 dives deep into the ramifications of a certain high ranking family’s actions. In my personal opinion, while the first 3 volumes were entertaining, Volume 4 was what really got me…
The Apothecary DiariesVolumes 1 and 2 by Natsu Hyuuga, Illustrations by Touko Shino. Published by J-Novel Club. I watched season 1 of Kusuriya as it was airing, and waited to read the novels until I had completed the 24 episodes. As a result, I noticed two things: First, that the 1st novel is actually a standalone. I did think it was weird that Maomao was suddenly removed from the Rear Palace, but it makes total sense if you think of it as a standalone ending. The first book basically ends with a sequel hook anyways. Two, the writing in these…