The Apothecary Diaries - LN 12

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 isn't suitable, the second and third sons are now in line for the governorship. 

The first third of this book continues with a sort of "day to day" life of Maomao, and some of the various amusing cases that she gets dragged into. However, these cases quickly become more than meets the eye, as they tie into the overall story. 

The other two thirds of the book, the main plot for this volume, is crazy! But in Kusuriya fashion, all the moving parts come together well. There are some scenes where I was truly scared for Maomao's safety, and how she managed to overcome her circumstances was truly nail-biting, edge-of-your-seat stuff. 

We learn about Chue's backstory in this volume, and if you thought Rikuson's was sad, I nearly cried when learning about what Chue went through. I always enjoyed Chue's antics, but knowing the "reason" behind them makes them more heartbreaking. I didn't always know what to think about the relationship between Baryou and Chue, but their interaction in this book made me realize that although their relationship isn't perfect, they truly do care about each other (to the best of their ability). 

Also, Maomao professes her love to someone, and it's not Jinshi (lol). That's not to say that there isn't meaningful movement in the JinMao relationship, as Maomao is finally coming to terms with her feelings for Jinshi, and what that might mean for their future plans. 

Volumes like this really show the best stuff (story and character writing) of Apothecary Diaries, but I know that this is only possible from the setup/buildup of the previous books. I didn't always love the author's dry style of writing, but the way she incorporates both the humorous and serious scenes together make for an addicting read. 

I'm glad the crew is finally heading home in this book, as I've kind of had enough of the Western Capital mayhem. We also finally learned Lahan's Brother's name, but at what cost (ノ_<。). 

I'm very sad to be catching up to the series, as I only have Volume 13 left. Volume 14 will be out May 29th.