The Apothecary Diaries (Light Novel): Volume 11

薬屋のひとりごと [Kusuriya no Hitorigoto] (Light Novel) #11

by Natsu Hyuuga, Touco Shino (Illustrator)

I-sei Province is still reeling in the aftermath of the insect plague. Jinshi resolves to do everything in his power to help the people of this land—but how far does his power really go in the western capital? And will he regret his efforts when all the credit seems to go to Gyoku-ou? The local lord seems to have an agenda of his own, but Jinshi still doesn’t know what it might be. Meanwhile Maomao must deal with problems of her own, from finding relief for a sick child to unraveling the mystery around the freak strategist’s favorite Shogi opponent. Somehow, each answer only seems to lead her to a bigger question…

Genres: Light Novel, Mystery, Manga, Romance, Historical Fiction, Fiction, Historical

277 pages, ebook

First published April 30, 2021

About the author

See: 日向夏

Reviews

[Umairah (Sereadipity) · Rating 5 out of 5]

THIS WAS SO GOOD! First of all, I have to give Rikuson a hug right now. I already loved Rikuson but now he is even dearer to me and I truly never thought he would be such an important character it's a nice surprise and now I realise the hints were there all along.

This volume was really good at tying together all the little things that have been hinted at for so many volumes especially the mysterious fate of the Yi clan and it was so interesting to see the political scheming in the the Western Capital. There were so many revelations at the end and I can't wait to see the implications in the next volume. I love how this story keeps growing in scale and how there are so many different people with their own agendas at play.

There wasn't a lot of Maomao and Jinshi in this volume apart from that cute part where he held her hand to recharge but there was too much going on for them to interact a lot.

This was a great volume Ioved it!

[Imane · Rating 4 out of 5]

Two conclusions: I love my man Rikuson, and I hate that bitch Gyoku-ou.

[toointofiction · Rating 5 out of 5]

oops! finished another one! 🤭

[Jeanette · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely worth the wait. This has been the best arc since volumes 3 and 4.

[aamna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rikuson deserves better (me)

[Mary Russell · Rating 5 out of 5]

First off, we get a jealous Jinshi chapter.

We get Jinshi and Maomao holding hands.

And the Rikuson chapter (iykyk) WOW!

While this book is politically heavy, it was very intriguing and kept me interested.

I am not exaggerating when I say this series has changed my life. 11 was a great read.

[ollie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow what a surprising turn of events in those last few chapters. We were told more about Rikuson’s past than we were previously led to believe.

I find it funny how everyone STILL refers to Lahan’s brother as Lahan’s brother. And the fact that he has come to accept that HAHAHA.

[thea ♡ · Rating 4 out of 5]

it was so satisfying to see how the plot threads from several novels back came back together for this one! very plot heavy, not as much romance, but it balanced out well because i was shocked in this book

[Kass · Rating 4 out of 5]

While much more focused on crisis and political drama, this book had me hooked from the beginning. It did drag a bit in the middle to be honest but the final twists all make it worth it. Normally such big turns and twists would feel too much at once but everything had been so clearly set up from the beginning, all the little details left in the previous books, that it felt glorious for it all to come together and make sense in the end. I'm excited for the next one

[Jing · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh, Rikuson! I get it now. I get why all the reviews are sad for you.

[S L. · Rating 3 out of 5]

S’allright no fun jinmao scene :(

[kkomorebi౨ৎ · Rating 5 out of 5]

⋆.˚✮ 5/5 ✮˚.⋆

⋆˚࿔ 𝑹𝒆𝒗𝒊𝒆𝒘 ࿔˚⋆

I was angry at that man, Gyoku-ou, the whole novel. What an awful guy.
Anyway, that aside, I really liked it. It left me speechless more than once at things I didn't see coming. I really liked that they gave us context about Rikuson's life; it makes me love the character a thousand times more. Amen.
And lastly... Jinmao, you never disappoint 🙂‍↔️. You can smell the tension up to here. I love this "slow-burning romance" with all my heart.


ᵎᵎ ˚. ୭ 𝑺𝒑𝒐𝒊𝒍𝒆𝒓𝒔 ୭ ˚. ᵎᵎ

OKAAAAAY:

- The whole plot of the western capital, the Yi Clan, Gyokuen and his thousand children and women, etc., etc. was really good. I liked how everything we read in the previous books came together here to blow our minds a little.
- The "father-daughter relationship" (if I could, I'd make the quotation marks bigger and more noticeable) between Lakan and Maomao breaks my heart. In part, the whole situation touches me, how little by little there's more dialogue and interaction, most of it against Maomao's will, but it's something.
- I hope in the next book I can say "WAR IS OVER." I can already see it coming. This girl already likes Jinshi, the prince of the moon, OR WHATEVER YOU WANT TO CALL HIM. You can tell from her small actions, gestures, and thoughts that she's already fallen for it. I'm surprised by how intelligent she is about absolutely EVERYTHING, and for this, she spends, listen, 11 books rejecting Jinshi's feelings.
- Does anyone want to think about Rikuson? :( I need to give him a thousand hugs, I can't wait to see how his story continues.

"𝑯𝒆 𝒔𝒆𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒌 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒍𝒊𝒇𝒆 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒃𝒆 𝒎𝒖𝒄𝒉 𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒅𝒆𝒓 𝒊𝒇 𝑴𝒂𝒐𝒎𝒂𝒐 𝒈𝒐𝒕 𝒉𝒖𝒓𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒏 𝒊𝒇 𝒉𝒆 𝒅𝒊𝒅."

"𝑴𝒂𝒐𝒎𝒂𝒐 𝒃𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒅 𝒔𝒍𝒐𝒘𝒍𝒚, 𝒕𝒓𝒚𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒐 𝒌𝒆𝒆𝒑 𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒕 𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒅𝒐𝒘𝒏, 𝒕𝒓𝒚𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒐 𝒌𝒆𝒆𝒑 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒍𝒖𝒔𝒉 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒄𝒉𝒆𝒆𝒌𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒔. 𝑺𝒕𝒊𝒍𝒍, 𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒃𝒆𝒂𝒕 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒔𝒘𝒆𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒐𝒐𝒌 𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓."

────────── ·𖥸· ──────────

⋆.˚✮ 5/5 ✮˚.⋆

⋆˚࿔ 𝑹𝒆𝒔𝒆𝒏̃𝒂 ࿔˚⋆

Estuve toda TODA la novela enojada por el hombre ese, Gyoku-ou, qué tipo nefasto.
En fin, dejando eso de lado, me gusto mucho, me dejo más de una vez con la boca abierta por cosas que no me vi venir. Me gusto mucho que nos hayan dado contexto de la vida de Rikuson, hace que ame al personaje mil veces más. Amén.
Y por último...Jinmao, nunca decepcionan 🙂‍↔️. Hasta acá se huele la tensión. Amo este "slow-burning romance" con mi alma.


ᵎᵎ ˚. ୭ 𝑺𝒑𝒐𝒊𝒍𝒆𝒓𝒔 ୭ ˚. ᵎᵎ

BUENOOO:

- Toda la trama de la capital occidental, el Clan Yi, Gyokuen y sus cuarenta mil críos y mujeres, etc.,etc. estuvo muy buena. Me gusto como todo lo que fuimos leyendo en los anteriores libros se juntó todo acá para volarnos un poco la cabeza.
- La "relación padre e hija" ( si pudiera haria más grandes y notorias a las comillas) de Lakan y Maomao me parte el corazón. En parte me da ternura toda la situación, como de a poco hay más diálogo e interacción,la mayoría en contra de la voluntad de Maomao pero algo es algo.
- Espero en el próximo libro poder decir "WAR IS OVER", yo ya me la veo venir, a esta chica ya le gusta Jinshi, el príncipe de la luna O COMO LE LLAMEN. Se nota en las pequeñas acciones, gestos y pensamiento que ella ya cayó. Me sorprende lo inteligente que es para absolutamente TODO y para esta hace, escuchen eh, 11 LIBROS rechazando los sentimientos de Jinshi.
- Alguien quiere pensar en Rikuson? :( Necesito darle mil abrazos, ya quiero ver cómo continúa su historia.

"𝑷𝒂𝒓𝒆𝒄𝒊́𝒂 𝒑𝒆𝒏𝒔𝒂𝒓 𝒒𝒖𝒆 𝒔𝒖 𝒗𝒊𝒅𝒂 𝒔𝒆𝒓𝒊́𝒂 𝒎𝒖𝒄𝒉𝒐 𝒎𝒂́𝒔 𝒅𝒖𝒓𝒂 𝒔𝒊 𝑴𝒂𝒐𝒎𝒂𝒐 𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒖𝒍𝒕𝒂𝒃𝒂 𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒅𝒂 𝒒𝒖𝒆 𝒔𝒊 𝒍𝒐 𝒉𝒂𝒄𝒊́𝒂 𝒆́𝒍 𝒎𝒊𝒔𝒎𝒐."

"𝑴𝒂𝒐𝒎𝒂𝒐 𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒑𝒊𝒓𝒐́ 𝒍𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒂𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒆, 𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒐 𝒅𝒆 𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒓 𝒃𝒂𝒋𝒐 𝒔𝒖 𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒎𝒐 𝒄𝒂𝒓𝒅𝒊́𝒂𝒄𝒐, 𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒐 𝒅𝒆 𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒓 𝒆𝒍 𝒓𝒖𝒃𝒐𝒓 𝒅𝒆 𝒔𝒖𝒔 𝒎𝒆𝒋𝒊𝒍𝒍𝒂𝒔 𝒚 𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒐𝒔. 𝑨𝒖𝒏 𝒂𝒔𝒊́, 𝒍𝒐𝒔 𝒍𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒅𝒐𝒔 𝒅𝒆 𝒔𝒖 𝒄𝒐𝒓𝒂𝒛𝒐́𝒏 𝒚 𝒆𝒍 𝒔𝒖𝒅𝒐𝒓 𝒔𝒆 𝒂𝒑𝒐𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒓𝒐𝒏 𝒅𝒆 𝒆𝒍𝒍𝒂."

[An M · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don’t even like these books that much I’m just hooked at this point. This is just me wasting my summer holiday , but I also really want to see how everything turns out.

[mudslug · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing. I’ve connected the two dots. Also, Rikuson is MY son now.

[Amalea · Rating 5 out of 5]

Slow start but it picked up!! I’m so excited for the next one to be translated 😭😭

[Momo · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was definitely a very politically heavy volume. While I enjoyed the outcome of one specific character very much, I am conflicted about my thoughts about others (cough cough Rikuson, I loved his backstory but I still don't know how to feel about him now), but that didn't take away from my overall enjoyment of this installment of the series.

[Codyrose Bowden · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow, way to wait for book 11 to suddenly say “The Plot Thickens.”

[Fantaghiro23 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Here be Rikuson giving Jinshi a run for his money for my affections.

[Ora · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely worth the wait. The story once again delves deeper into political conflicts with twists being loaded in each chapter.

Maomao's role seems to be supportive in this volume which can be a bummer for us, Maomao enthusiasts, nonetheless, I've found myself immersed in the web of tussles and schemes which is subtly led by an unexpected recurring supporting character.

I also loved how well-balanced each aspect of the plot alongside the various characters were presented in this volume.

I seriously can't wait until the next one comes out in English.

[Jojo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Actually fantastic. The revelations?! The characters?! The connections?! Ah!

[clementine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rikuson my poor guy 🥹💔💔

[nobody · Rating 5 out of 5]

یه پایان خیلی خیلی خوب برای این آرک. واقعا این جلد خیلی نفس‌گیر بود. یه پلات‌توئیست هم ته جلد داشت که واقعا باعث شد جیغ بزنم. اصلا انتظار نداشتم. همه‌ی چیزهای به‌ظاهر بی‌اهمیتی که جلدهای قبل ازشون صحبت کرده بود، همه‌شون درواقع خیلی مهم بودن.
برام جالب بود که گیوکویو خیلی بیشتر از اون چیزی که نشون می‌ده می‌دونه. من فکر می‌کردم قدرت خاصی نداره ولی الحق که امپرسه:))
خلاصه تا اینجا بهترین آرک داستان، همین آرک بود.
شخصیت چوئه هم یکی از شخصیت‌های مورد علاقه‌م شد. اصلا انتظار اون رو هم نداشتم. همیشه توی انیمه‌ها/مانگاها اونی که مسخره‌بازی درمیاره و اسکل می‌زنه‌ دقیقا همونیه که باید بیشتر از همه ازش بترسی.
و حسودی‌های جینشی به ریکوسن هم خیلی بامزه‌ست:))) جالب اینجاست که مائومائو (که همیشه خیلی باهوشه و همه‌چیز رو می‌فهمه) خودش فکر می‌کنه رفتارهای ریکوسن شوخیه و جینشی الکی حسودی می‌کنه. ولی هیچ‌وقت نباید شناخت یه مرد از مردهای دیگه رو دست‌کم گرفت!!!

پ.ن: نويسنده خیلی خوب داره آروم آروم علاقه‌ی مائومائو به جینشی رو نشون می‌ده. مثلا طوری که مائومائو حاضره با لاکان که ازش متنفره صحبت کنه یا براش سر تکون بده "فقط بخاطر جینشی". یا حاضره یه سری کارها که به‌نظرش دردسره رو انجام بده "فقط بخاطر جینشی". یا نگران چیزهایی می‌شه که در حالت عادی براش مهم نیست چون "به جینشی مربوطه". تیر خلاصش هم همونجایی بود که جینشی دستش رو گرفت و گربه‌مون سرخ شد:)))

[Velta Gūtmane · Rating 3 out of 5]

Notikumi notiek lēni. Šī grāmata ir par sekām, kas izriet no iepriekšējās grāmatas notikuma. Kā lēnām varoņi mēģina šo problēmu atrisināt. Arī vairāk lasītājs tiek iepazīstināts ar Rikuson pagātni, iedod viņam nozīmīgu lomu stāstā.

Mīlas stāsts ļoti lēns. Ir vesela epizode, kur raksturo rokas turēšanu, kā lielāko sirds satricinājumu. Pusaudžu mīlestība. Tomēr ņemot vērā, kad galvenie varoņi ir ļoti jauni, tad piedodami.

[dianavrl · Rating 5 out of 5]

Que jinshi utilizará a maomao para cargar fue muy lindo, y que maomao decidiera quedarse en la capital con él, en definitiva es un gran avance en el sentir de ella. Rikuson tiene un lugar especial en mi corazón, me dolió saber su historia, la vdd espero que su personaje siga en los libros y tenga un buen final.
Sobre chue, necesito ya saber más sobre esa mujer, es un buen personaje, pero me intriga mucho.
En general siento que fue muy buena la trama de este volumen.

[Kacey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow - I highly recommend this author

Another truly amazing novel, the intricacies of the story are so well thought out and enaging. This volume felt like a full circle moment which was particularly satisfying to read. I cant wait for the next volume to be translated to see what happens next! 🩶

[Kelsey · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5

God, I love this series. It always starts out really slow, but then just amps everything up to 100 at the halfway mark.

Love how everything -- I mean everything -- that's revealed to us at one point, will play a role later on, without forecasting in an obvious way. I can't wait for the next one!!!

[Kaycie · Rating 4 out of 5]

8/10. Spent a little long on the swarm but overall great!! I couldn’t put it down. Such a thoughtful way bring the plot full circle for characters I never would have thought were involved. Huge respect for Rikuson.

[lina · Rating 1 out of 5]

this is the light novel im going to be stopping at and will (probably) not pick it up again (to continue the series) i hate the locut and war plot, pls take us back to the empreor's palace🙏. the characters felt so boring in this book, when i found out thr next book is still in the west i decided i didnt want to continue the series, i feel like the main charm of the book was the setting and having three or so light novels dedicated to the locut plot really threw me off. pls maomao is an apothecary, its called the apothecary diaries make maomao touch some herbs :((. although, i do love the doctor-in-training situation.

i just miss maomao's father and her sisters :(

[meowumis]

LOVED THIS ONE, to byl po prostu tak solidny tom od początku do końca także ciężko powiedzieć co w nim było najlepszego, ale końcowe rozdzialy z rikuson <33 plus to były dobrze napisane flashbacki przez co miło się to czytało (i tak jak zawsze mówię zakret w polityczne wątki to jest tak dobry kierunek zielarki)

[bakugo glazer · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m sorry but I do not give a crap about Rikuson..