Letters from the Last Apothecary

Tressport Magic #1

by Bita Behzadi

EMILY WILDE meets DIVINE RIVALS in this light romantic fantasy epistolary novel about a grumpy apothecarist, the whirlwind woman who comes to save his shop, and the letters that secretly unite them. You've Got Mail with a magical twist!

Josie Pinova doesn’t believe in fate—until fate seems to believe in her.

The day after she’s fired, she wanders into the last magical apothecary in Tressport and lands an unexpected job. It’s not ideal, but it buys her time—and a paycheck—while she waits to hear if she's been accepted into the city’s prestigious Institute of Magic.

Aufidius Reid doesn’t believe in luck—and Josie feels like the worst kind.

Opinionated, charming, and infuriatingly outsmarting him at every turn, she makes him feel like he’s constantly a step behind. To her, he’s uptight and impossible. Neither suspects they’re already falling for each other—through a months-long exchange of anonymous letters as fellow Institute hopefuls.

In the shop, they clash. On the page, they fall in love.

But with the apothecary slated to close in six months—another casualty of Tressport’s rapid industrialization and rising anti-magic sentiment—they’ll have to fight for more than just their livelihoods. Josie is determined to prove that women like her belong in the world of structured spellwork. Reid is just as set on mastering his unruly magic and outrunning the past that’s held him back. Saving the shop might be their only shot—at meaningful magic, at true purpose, and at each other.

Set against the smog-choked skyline of Tressport inside a lush, green sanctuary of plants and old magics, this is a story of mistaken identity, reluctant partnership, and the quiet magic of being truly seen—on and off the page.

Genres: Fantasy, Romance, Audiobook, Romantasy, Cozy, Cozy Fantasy, Adult

368 pages, Paperback

First published June 9, 2026

Reviews

[Saranya [uni- kinda ia]]

The story takes place in a magical city where 𝐉𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐞 𝐏𝐢𝐧𝐨𝐯𝐚, a spirited young woman freshly fired from her job, stumbles into the last surviving apothecary in 𝓣𝓻𝓮𝓼𝓼𝓹𝓸𝓻𝓽. There she meets 𝐀𝐮𝐟𝐢𝐝𝐢𝐮𝐬 𝐑𝐞𝐢𝐝, a grumpy, meticulous apothecarist whose shop is fading under the weight of anti-magic sentiment.

⊹ ࣪ ˖

𝕰𝖒𝖎𝖑𝖞 𝖂𝖎𝖑𝖉𝖊 𝖝 𝕯𝖎𝖛𝖎𝖓𝖊 𝕽𝖎𝖛𝖆𝖑𝖘

𓂃✍︎ 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐭𝐲𝐥𝐞: I ADORED the beautiful confessional tone in which this was written. The letters allowed the characters to reveal their flaws, fears and hopes in ways they could not face aloud. The melancholy, the ache of longing- it becomes the beating heart of the story. I loved how the intimacy of written words, the vulnerability of confessions and the thrill of discovering someone’s soul through ink was flawlessly captured here.

ꫂ❁ 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐬𝐭: I loved how Josie’s whirlwind energy collided beautifully with Aufidius’s stoic reserve. Their dynamic was so touching that it showed how 𝓁𝑜𝓋𝑒 𝑜𝒻𝓉𝑒𝓃 𝑔𝓇𝑜𝓌𝓈 𝒾𝓃 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝒸𝓇𝒶𝒸𝓀𝓈 𝒷𝑒𝓉𝓌𝑒𝑒𝓃 𝑜𝓅𝓅𝑜𝓈𝒾𝓉𝑒𝓈.

𝙒𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙚𝙭𝙥𝙚𝙘𝙩:
.✦ ݁˖ anonymous pen pals × reluctant coworkers
.✦ ݁˖ grumpy × sunshine
.✦ ݁˖ cozy fantasy

And OMG!! I screamed so bad in the end. I love how Reid (mmc) put Josie's(fmc) surname as his surname. AHHHHHHHH! my dear future hubby, take notes.

𓍯𓂃𓏧♡ Unlike many romantic fantasies, this one here does not rely on grand battles or quests. It's just a matter of small gestures- a letter slipped under a door, a potion brewed with care, a shop saved against the odds...
𝐀 𝐛𝐞𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐟𝐮𝐥 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐦𝐚𝐠𝐢𝐜 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐞𝐭 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐬.
*ੈ✩‧₊˚༺☆༻*ੈ✩‧₊˚*ੈ✩‧₊˚༺☆༻*ੈ✩‧₊˚*ੈ✩‧₊˚༺☆༻*ੈ✩‧₊˚*ੈ✩‧₊˚༺☆༻

╰───◤✦𝕮𝖔𝖒𝖒𝖊𝖓𝖙𝖆𝖗𝖞:✦◥───╯
update #6:
@82.0%- the yearning finally ends and they kiss.
Why am I screaming and giggling so bad?

update #5:
I love how "womanly time of the month" is mentioned here.

update #4:
The yearning >>>>

update #3:
This is so Divine Rivals coded.
I AM IN LOVE WITH THIS BOOK.
​an aspiring mage who lands a job at a failing magical apothecary in the city of Tressport × the "grumpy" owner of the shop who is struggling to keep his business afloat amidst rising anti-magic sentiment and industrialization

update #2:
I love how vividly descriptive this is. And the writing style is so amazing. Perfectly articulated.
"Chamomile rays of sparse morning light filtered through..."- ahh

update #1:
new word learnt: ostentatious
⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘
✿.｡.:* ☆:**:. 𝐏𝐫𝐞-𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝: .:**:.☆*.:｡.✿
The cover is absolutely gorgeous!
My first NetGalley read<3

Thankyou to NetGalley and Hay House LLC for providing me with this arc.

[Ricarda]

I was lured by the promise of a cozy magical apothecary, but instead I got a miscommunication romance murder mystery or whatever this mess was supposed to be. I can totally see where the comp titles for this book are coming from, but in the end it's not similar to Divine Rivals or Emily Wilde and just lends a singular aspect from each of these series. There's the unknowing letter-writing between rivals and somewhere in the background of the story is a magical university and while the characters do not actually attend it, they talk all academically for some reason. Especially the female main character, Josephine Pinova. I just couldn't stand her. At the beginning of the story she is fired from her typist job for no apparent reason, but a few days later she wants to buy some witchy ingredients in an apothecary and leaves with a new job instead. She got the job because she apparently knows everything and never shuts up, even if you ask her to. Aufidius Reid is already working at the apothecary and he is immediately annoyed by her, and I'll be honest: I didn't understand why the two of them didn't like each other. But I didn't like them either, so maybe it's just their personalities. So at the shop, Josie and Reid don't get along, but they don't know that they have been anonymously exchanging letters and slowly falling for each other for a while now. I must admit that the letter thing is rather cute to me in theory, but the execution was lacking a lot in my opinion. The letters seemed like an excuse to drop whole backstories all at once and later they were about boring magic theory that I didn't connect with either. I also really didn't like how the letters were from months ago and didn't really play a role in the current plot. I had quite the problem with structure and pacing in general here. For instance, the introduction to a cozy story is very important to me. Usually characters learn a craft or start a business or something like that, having to get familiar with new people and surroundings. Here, Josie gets the job and then the book immediately skips her first three weeks in the apothecary. Like, I wanted to see her learning about magical ingredients and potion making and plant care, and I got absolutely nothing of that. That's criminal to me! I think the book just didn't know what it wanted to be. It takes so long before any actual plot is introduced, and then it's a cozy fantasy romance murder mystery all at once without executing any of these things well. The coziness wasn't there for me, the murder mystery was introduced so late that I didn't bother caring at that point and the romance also didn't make sense to me. Josie and Reid just completely lacked meaningful moments together while also talking about marriage right away. At least the last thing was due to the time period that this book was set in, but it wasn't like the time and place were developed much either. To me this book was somehow both boring and convoluted at the same time, and it just wasn't what I had hoped for.

Huge thanks to NetGalley and Hay House LLC for providing a digital arc in exchange for an honest review.

[Mai ༊*·˚]

4.0 ★— Oh, epistolary romance, how much I adore you! This was another great example of why I do.

Following Reid and Josie, two people aspiring to get into the Institute of Magic and to finally fulfill their passions, the story unfolds as they anonymously exchange letters, starting with them bonding as university hopefuls and eventually developing feelings for each other.

Let me just say: this was so cute! I am not the biggest dual POV fan, but because the book is interspersed with the main characters' own letters to each other, I thought their different viewpoints enhanced the story very well.

Josie and Reid are two characters who immediately make a bad impression on each other when they meet for the first time, with Reid being annoyed and slightly intimidated by Josie’s expertise and by how well she gets along with his boss, who he’s always felt a little distant from, and Josie being put off by his stand-offish behavior around her. The story did a perfect job of illustrating why these two would never suspect that they're each other’s secret letter writer.

As a heroine, Josie was solidly written, and I liked how this book incorporated her struggles as a woman in a historically inspired world that is very misogynistic, as well as the scrutiny she faces because of an ethnic background that makes her place in society even more precarious.

The book explores a similar theme with Reid, who himself is of a mixed heritage and also has to deal with the otherness and classism of the academic spaces he wants to belong to.

While I did think the book’s slice of life vibes and the day-to-day apothecary happenings were quite fun to follow in the beginning, I also thought the book suffered from feeling a little stretched out and slow until the mystery plot in the latter half unfolded, which reawakened my excitement and interest. Coupled with an ending that felt like it wrapped the story up in a neat way, this really did work for me!

🎧 Audiobook Notes
🎙️ Narration Style: Dual
⭐ Listener Rating: 5/5
This is one of those books I think benefits heavily from being listened to in audiobook form! The two narrators were perfect for their respective characters, and I loved listening to them read the letters that preceded each chapter. Because this is a slower story, the audiobook really was a perfect companion to have on during walks and quieter moments!

__________________

Thank you to Hay House for the ARC and to Penguin Random House for the ALC.

[Nikola]

3,75 mega cute

[justine ⊹ ࣪ ˖ (back-ish?)]

Letters from the Last Apothecary
⤷ ⭑⭑⭑.𝟳𝟱

⁀જ➣ ❝ This may read as daft, but I am glad I can write to you, because I do not have to wonder if some secret of mine will eventually put you off. I do not have to hold my breath in anticipation that you will recognize something terrible in me. ❞

Release Date : June 9, 2026 ⟢

⌞ What To Expect: ⌝
⌗ 1900s Chicago
⌗ Anonymous Pen Pals
⌗ Magical Apothecary
⌗ Office Romance

What a delightful debut by Bita Behzadi! For those who know me, I'm a fan of "Divine Rivals" and the Emily Wilde series. When I learned that this book was compared to those, I became very excited and curious about the similarities. Behzadi's writing is straightforward and easy to understand, yet thoughtful, providing just the right amount of description and information. The world she creates feels similar to our modern environment, with a touch of magic woven throughout.

Now that I've read it, I can see that the overall atmosphere and anonymous letters definitely remind me of Divine Rivals, while our female lead's thoughts and attitude toward academia remind me of Emily Wilde.

୭˚ ❝ Truthfully, I do not know where my future leads. If any of the immovable pillars of my identity, my gender, or my race are what triggered my rejection, then there is nowhere I can climb. ❞

𓏲⋆💌.* Josephine 'Josie' Pinova: I admire a strong, independent woman. She knows what she wants and does her best to prove herself. If that doesn't work, she'll do her best to talk her way into getting it.

❝ You have cut into my center in a way so few have. You are so complete in my mind, so fully formed, and I can only hope that you see me just as completely. ❞ ་࿐

𓏲⋆✨.* Aufidius Reid: I have mixed feelings about this man. He was pretty stuck-up for most of the book and clearly needs therapy for his anger issues. Just when I think he's an okay guy, he does something that makes me dislike him again. I don't blame Josephine for the strong dislike at the start because I see it too. By the end, I guess he was okay.

❝ Truthfully, I do not know where my future leads. If any of the immovable pillars of my identity, my gender, or my race are what triggered my rejection, then there is nowhere I can climb. This is where I am competent, and it did not matter. I have spent my entire life fighting to be seen, and I am not sure if I can continue much longer without anything to show for it. ❞

The romance didn't develop immediately, which I loved, and I admired how they took the time to get to know each other and learned to respect one another during the months they've worked together in the apothecary. There were also themes surrounding prejudice based on ethnic backgrounds, and since there is a growing anti-magic sentiment in the city, people's perception of those with magic is scrutinized.

Another thing that threw me off was when the mafia act comes in. I enjoyed the slow pace and day-to-day work in the apothecary, but when the action and high stakes kicked in, the vibe changed completely for me, unfortunately.

The audiobook version is such a delight to listen to with the e-arc. I absolutely loved Samara Naeymi's portrayal of Josephine. I loved her enunciation, and her voice was such a treat to listen to. I wouldn't mind if she narrated the whole book because, unfortunately, Reid's narration was lacking and sometimes doesn't do the scene justice.

Overall, I was pleased with the story and can't wait for Book 2 of the Tressport Magic series. Hopefully, we follow Josephine's sister, Juniper, since I loved her character so much, and her clairvoyance magic is such an intriguing aspect to see.

❝ When you live with someone, you say hello, you give them a little kiss, every day. You don’t think about it. But when you are drawn apart, letters are the only way to touch. They are proof, a reminder, that you think of one another. Every one is a window into your heart. ❞

Thank you to Hay House, LLC and, of course, Bita Behzadi for providing an advance copy of this ebook and audiobook in exchange for my honest review. Please remember that this opinion is my own. ⭑

ഒ·˚ ⊹ ࣪ ˖

pre-read : i saw that the audio arc was on 'listen now' on netgalley and since i had the e-arc for a while now, i thought it'd be a great immersive read! NOW, letters between strangers and workplace set in a magical apothecary. they say it's giving divine rivals and emily wilde, so ofc i'm seated!

[Billie's Not So Secret Diary]

Letters From the Last Apothecary
by Bita Behzadi
Tressport Magic #1
Fantasy Cozy
NetGalley eARC
Pub Date: Jun 9, 2026
Hay House/Penguin Random House
Ages: 16+

After being fired from her last job, Josephine finds herself at an apothecary and then lands a job. But her coworker, Reid, isn't the friendliest. She is hoping the job is only temporary because she is applying to the local magic university, though she is labeled a witch and women are not usually admitted into the university. In her free time, Josephine writes letters to a man she has never met. The only reason they are now 'pen pals' is because he had a past-due library book that she needed to read, and she sent him a letter asking him to return it.

Reid wasn't happy when his adopted father hired Josephine to work in the apothecary because it was struggling, and a new hire would only close the shop's doors sooner. But worse, she is a 'know-it-all' and irritates him as she tries to reorganize the shop. He has enough stress as he waits to see if he has been accepted into the magic university, as his application was declined the year before. He has a pen pal who is also enrolling, and with her aptitude and quick thinking, he believes they will both get in, and their writing relationship will grow into something more.


For the Gen X readers, we will see so much simlarity from the movie, “You Got Mail”, and because of how close the resemblance, I found myself bored, but worse REVIEW was the addition of FOR capped words MEDIA that nothing to do with the story LLC but instead the HAY pubishing company using it as a way to keep HOUSE the arc readers from 'selling' the book.

I get protecting the work, but as you can tell from the above paragraph, this was not the way. So distracting, and every time one of those capped words jumped out at me (which was AT LEAST two per 'Kindle' page), I would get slapped out of the story. So yeah, that took A LOT of enjoyment out of the story, thus my opinion.

Also, this story moved at a pretty slow pace, and I was about ready to DNF when finally something happened that didn't resemble the movie, but it took half of the story to get there, and while it was a good addition and gave the story a bigger 'personality,' it was too late 'cause I was already bored and didn't care much for the characters.

It did finish nicely, but if it wasn't for the capped words, I would have enjoyed it more and given it one more star.

2 Stars


This eARC was granted by Hay House/Penguin Random House through NetGalley (Thank You) in exchange for my honest review.

[anjaRUok]

dnf'ed at 33%

this was so insubstantial i couldn't get through it any further.
the protagonists have no personality whatsoever, there is absolutely no basis for their dislike of each other in real life and no chemistry between them at all and the letters they write are nondescript and feel like a very lazy way of trying and failing to give these two any sort of character traits or background story.
on top of that, the world building is practically nonexistent. there is no real substance to the magic system, the same three terms are repeated over and over again without offering any other information about what they mean and how the world works etc and there is no clear direction as to where the story is supposed to lead at all. there's just no plot, no characters, no interesting world building/crafting.
maybe i just dnf'ed right before the turning point of the story (i don't think i did though because there was no buildup to anything) but idk, if a story doesn't manage to capture any sort of interest on my part in the first 25%, i'm out.
this is so wrongly marketed as emily wilde (which i loved) meets divine rivals (which i liked alright) because it has nothing even remotely resembling these two stories to offer. it's not magical or whimsical or innovative and just overall not very well written.

Huge thanks to NetGalley and Hay House for providing an eARC in exchange for my honest review.

[BookishKB]

✉️ Letters from the Last Apothecary ✉️

📘 Bookish Thoughts
I will be posting my full review closer to publication date.

📅 Pub Date: June 9, 2026

📝 Thank you to Hay House LLC and NetGalley for the advanced copy. All thoughts are my own.

[Josie J]

Thank you to netgalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I had a good time with this book overall. The characters were enjoyable to spend time with . But I struggled to feel much tension throughout the story because the stakes felt pretty low. There was never really a point where I felt worried about what might happen next, which made some of the bigger moments land a little softer than they could have. On a side note, this is the first time I've ever shared a name with a main character. I've gotta say I approve it's an great name. That little detail gave me an unexpected connection to the story and definitely earned a few extra smiles from me along the way,

[julkahap]

3.75 🌟 urocza, jak szukacie czegoś na jesienne popołudnie przy herbacie to polecam.

Poleciłabym ją też osobom, które nie lubią typowego cozy fantasy, gdzie niewiele się dzieje, bo oprócz próby utrzymania tytułowej magicznej apteki, mamy też później wątek kryminalny. Ta książka jest reklamowana jako pozycja dla fanów "Divine Rivals" i "Emily Wilde. Encyklopedia wróżek i elfów" i zgadzam się z tymi porównaniami, bo mamy i bohaterów wymieniających się listami, którzy za sobą nie przepadają w prawdziwym życiu, i wątek kobiet w nauce i elementy magiczne, ale zabrakło mi w tym wszystkim wyróżniającego tę książkę klimatu, który akurat jest mocnym aspektem obu przytaczanych książęk.
Tu jest miło, czyta się lekko i przyjemnie, ale ani historia ani bohaterowie nie zostaną na dłużej w mojej głowie.

[liz ౨ৎ]

rival coworkers but also anonymous lovers over letters <3 (3.75 stars)

[Clara (bookish_clara)]

I really enjoyed this book and how easy it was to read, the writing has such a beautiful flow about it and the world and characters only made this cosy fantasy all that more enchanting.

One of my favourite things is when characters unknowingly write letters to each other and slowly fall in love, I feel like it always adds such an interesting dynamic to the story especially as these two characters had such a dislike for the other and I adored the letters that were exchanged.

Though it did take a little while to fully get into the story at the start, I soon found myself flying through it and found it so hard to put down. It was such a beautiful and enchanting story.

Thank you so much to the author and publisher for the opportunity to read and review before publication. All opinions are my own.

[Yimmie&#x1f9da;&#x1f3fe;‍♀️&#x1f31f;]

rating: ★★★.5

i really loved the idea of a whimsical historical fiction set in 1906, especially with its magic system and apothecary vibes. it also made me curious about divine rivals because of the comparisons.

𝑱𝒐𝒔𝒆𝒑𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒆 𝑷𝒊𝒏𝒐𝒗𝒂 was definitely the better character. i liked her far more than the mmc; she does her best to prove herself, and i really admired her determination to push against sexism in her workplace.

however, i struggled with 𝑨𝒖𝒇𝒊𝒅𝒊𝒖𝒔 𝑹𝒆𝒊𝒅.
he came across as bitter and constantly negative, and i found it hard to warm up to him.
even the shift from enemies to lovers didn’t fully land for me, especially since they were penpals who unknowingly liked each other in writing but didn’t have that same chemistry in person. i never really felt the connection between them physically, which made the romance feel a bit disconnected.

the first half of the book dragged quite a bit. it felt slow-paced, and i found myself losing interest and worrying it might put me in a reading slump. things only started to pick up around the 60% mark, but by then it was hard to fully recover my engagement.

overall, i didn’t enjoy this book as much as i had hoped. there was a lot going on, which sometimes made it difficult to follow.

thank you to netgalley, hay house, and bita behzadi for providing an advance copy of this ebook in exchange for my honest review.

˚₊‧꒰ა ⚗️ ໒꒱ ‧₊˚
𝙥𝙧𝙚-𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙙: i’ve been looking forward to reading this arc, and since i’m still pretty new to romantasy, i really hope i end up loving it♡

⋮ ⌗ ┆ 𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙧𝙩𝙚𝙙: 24th May, 2026

[vic ⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧˚]

Thank you so much to NetGalley, Hay House LLC and Bita Behzadi for allowing me to read an ARC of Letters from the Last Apothecary!

Sadly, I ended up DNF'ing the book. I always try to give my time and effort to each book I read, and I really struggled with this one.

Upon requesting the ARC, I was extremely excited to delve into a Historical Romance, but 25% of the way through, I still cannot offer one positive opinion.

The chapters were structured to feature letters, but timelines occasionally changed without warning, and at times, the information in the letters felt extremely irrelevant. I would find myself flipping back and forth between pages, and it took a lot of effort to understand some of the basics in the book.

The FMC and MMC were also extremely unlikable, and both frustrated me. The FMC felt almost like a 'pick me, which I am furious at myself for writing, but I can't think of a better word. The MMC felt misogynistic and couldn't handle not being the smartest in the room for a change. Both left a bitter taste in my mouth.

I tried to power through, which is why I'm writing this after the publication date too, but I couldn't read for pleasure at this point, and it felt like a chore.

[Jenée]

This didn’t feel like the cozy apothecary fantasy I thought it would be. A lot of miscommunication that turned into a mystery. The male voice in the audiobook was a deeper tone voice than I imagined it would be. What threw me off the most was the chapters with the female voice did not match the pacing of the male voice, one talked much slower.
Thabk you NetGalley and Penguin Random House| Hayes House for the opportunity to listen to this audiobook.

[ohna]

dnf @ 9%

[Olena]

A cozy, charming story about pen pals who meet in real life without realizing who they are to each other.

I’ve loved this trope ever since You’ve Got Mail, and honestly, it will never get old for me. Give me anonymous letters, secret identities, and two people slowly falling for each other through words, and I’m in. I could read books like this over and over again.

Set in a world where magic is struggling to survive against the rise of industrialization, the story follows Josephine, who dreams of building a future for herself by attending the University of Magic. But when she loses her job, she ends up working at a small magical apothecary that is struggling to stay afloat. Josephine is determined to do whatever it takes to save the place she grows to care about so deeply.

Then there’s Aufidius, who initially finds Josie far too loud, energetic, and disruptive to his peaceful life. Josie, on the other hand, thinks he’s a stiff, grumpy old soul.

And yet, unbeknownst to them, they’re already becoming each other’s closest confidants through an anonymous correspondence. They share their secrets, worries, feelings, and childhood memories, gradually opening up to one another in ways they never could face-to-face.

Watching them go from distrust and annoyance to genuine affection and love was one of my favorite parts of the story. Their relationship develops alongside the fight to save the apothecary, giving the romance a lovely emotional foundation.

This was such a cozy listen, with a mystery, a sweet romance, and a fascinating world where magic and industrialization are constantly at odds. If you love secret identities, pen pals, grumpy/sunshine dynamics, and stories about saving a place that feels like home, this one is definitely worth picking up.

Thank you to Penguin Random House | Hay House LLC and NetGalley for an ALC in exchange for an honest review.

Tropes

💌 Pen Pals / Anonymous Correspondence
🎭 Secret Identity
💕 Falling in Love Through Letters
😒 Grumpy × Sunshine
🐌 Slow-Burn Romance
🔥 Dislike to Lovers
🫶 Emotional Intimacy
🏪 Saving Business / Beloved Establishment
🪄 Magical World
🔍 Mystery / Investigation
🏠 Cozy Atmosphere
💗 Found Family

[Agnieszka]

Było to moje pierwsze Cosy fantasy i nie spodziewałam się, że tak mi się spodoba! Sądziłam, że to będzie bardziej cute i mało się będzie działo, a zostałam pozytywnie zaskoczona.
Choć nie spodziewałam się wątku mafii to cała zagadka kryminalna była naprawdę dobra.

[* Elle * the * Babbling * Dabbler *]

I really enjoyed the world-building in this cozy historical romantasy (a perfect blend of my favorite genres). It’s a slow burn with low spice but a lot of emotional impact. I loved the You’ve Got Mail style romance and watching the characters unknowingly fall for each other through letters while clashing in real life. The writing was beautifully immersive, and the audiobook made the experience even better. Having both a female and male narrator really helped the dual POVs feel natural (I can’t stand male narrators do female voices). If you love cozy fantasy, grumpy/sunshine dynamics, and emotionally driven romances, this is definitely worth picking up. I’m looking forward to the next book in the Tressport Magic series! Thank you to Netgalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

[İrem]

Yüzümde gülücükle kitabı kapattım ve hemen buraya geldim. Hem atmosferi hem karakterlerin arasındaki ilişkiyle iç ısıtıcı ve samimi bir hikayeydi. Yazarın ilk kitabı mı bilmiyorum ama harika bir iş çıkardığını düşünüyorum. Hem yazımıyla hem de karakterleri tekdüze bırakmak yerine detaylandırmak ve onların çevresine de okuyucuları dahil etmekle ortaya iyi yazılmış bir kitap çıkarmış. Bu kitapla ilgili beklentim bir noktada daha fazlaydı ama genel itibariyle beklentimi iyi karşıladı. Ben belki devamı olur diye düşünürken kafalarda soru işareti bırakmadan bitti. Devamı olsaydı da okumayı çok isterdim ama bu haliyle oldukça yeterliydi (Devamı varmış!!! Ama nasıl olacak bilmiyorum)

[Bookworm_119]

DNF
2.5
Interesting magic system, but this was compared to Divine Rivals and I found some aspects too familiar. I found the main characters immature and annoying, especially since it felt like the characters were bantering just for the sake of banter. In each other's perspectives they came off as completely different people (I guess this could show the internal world vs external world) but that shift came off as jarring. Despite this, the book was pretty solid and an average book that I would read if I had less books ready to read and more time.

[Athena &#x1f497;]

Unfortunately this was a major miss for me.

First, let me start by highlighting some of the things I liked about this book. I loved the concept. I am a sucker for secret pen pals who actually hate each other in person. I loved the idea of a whimsical, historical fiction set in 1906 setting with a cool magic system and apothecary vibes. I got this audiobook as an ALC and another thing I enjoyed about this was the narrator’s voice. It was giving “Samantha Brentmoor” (pretty sure it was her, actually).

However, as a whole it missed the mark for me. The author had a lot going on with this book. Too much. And because of that nothing really felt well executed in the process. The dialogue didn’t feel authentic to the time period and the way this story was written felt very disjointed. It just was not good if I’m being honest.

On a personal note, the random jabs at “white men” is growing quite tiresome. Maybe if the author had focused more time on her quality of writing and less on her jabs this would have been a more enjoyable experience. ❤️

[rudzik_and_books]

3.75 / 5
Bardzo przyjemnie mi się czytało. Jestem zadowolona szczególnie z tempa rozwoju relacji między Reidem i Josephine oraz tym, że wątku apteki jest tu naprawdę dużo – nie jest ona tylko tytułem, ale można nawet powiedzieć, że jest trzecim najważniejszym bohaterem książki. Była praca, były receptury, były problemy związane z jej utrzymaniem. Ciekawie wyszła też magia i dwa systemu tutaj funkcjonujące: ten akademicki i ten intuicyjny.

Brakowało mi jednak odrobiny więcej humoru. Cała narracja jest w dość poważnym tomie, a kłopoty finansowe mogły wręcz przygnębiać i aż prosiło się w niektórych momentach o jakiegoś comic reliefa. Na drugim planie są co prawda przyjaciele Reida, ale zamiast mnie rozbawiać, tylko mnie irytowali i nie wiem co, poza przeszłością trzymało przy nich aptekarza.

Ciekawe było to, że bohaterowie umieli zadowalać kompromisami i nie potrzebowali zwojować świata by znaleźć szczęście

[Me, My Shelf, & I]

The last 20% of this book was maybe a 3.5 or 4/5, but the beginning 70% was painful and made me want to DNF. Probably averages out to a 2/5 for me.

What didn't work for me:
- there are dual POV chapters but there's not a miscommunication or silly little banter stirring up their animosity-- he genuinely dislikes her from the start. [I want to swoon and see the MCs secretly pine for each other, not consider them below notice unless they're actively aggravated]
- the MMC also just dislikes eeeeeeveryone and everything and is a bitter little tantrum thrower because his lot in life is soooo bad (this ends up being part of his personal growth in the story, but wayyyy too late because I already hated him by then)
- the mystery bit is so, so late in the story so it doesn't have time to breathe and feel setup and satisfying. it just ends up kinda being there and tying up some loose ends
- the FMC is pretty boring and her main character trait seems to be that she's a woman in olden times who refuses to be relegated to solely feminine roles/jobs. tbf, this seems to be in near 100% of historical fiction and I already know the genre isn't for me
- only to counter what I just said-- THIS IS SUPPOSED TO BE A FANTASY BOOK. THEY'RE NOT EVEN IN OUR WORLD BUT LIVE IN A PLACE CALLED TRESSPORT. THE PRIMARY RELIGION IS BAPTIAN. and yet the book is quick to remind at the chapter headings that the year is 1905 or 1906... but why do I care the year number of a fully fictional world? there was nothing grounding or establishing the importance of that date. I don't understand having our same timeline and technology development and that I'm supposed to superimpose my knowledge of Victorians onto this fantastical world. it's lazy and never comes to any sort of meaning in the novel. why isn't this just set in the US or England if that's the case? why include the dates of their correspondences if it's not?

But overall I thought the ending was decent. However because the main characters seemed so unlikable and he genuinely seems to dislike her because of his own internal issues for such an incredibly long time, I can see a lot of romance readers being dissatisfied and bouncing off this one.

Audiobook Notes:
Samara Naeymi:
I don't truly know how to rate this audio because I actually really really enjoyed the female narrator enought that I'll be looking up her works to listen to more of her catalog. Her voice has this slight raspiness quality that I find immediately soothing and pleasant. Her cadence and emotion is far more endearing than the actual character is written and I feel like she enhanced the experience.

E.M. Wylde:
...the male narrator on the other hand? I don't want to be cruel, but I was also granted this ARC to give my honest opinion and I'm not sure he's a fully capable reader with mastery over the English language. Words like "candor" (which he pronounced like "can door"), important, potent, similarly... if you've ever watched Schitt's Creek then you'll be familiar with the comedic way that Moira pronounces many words; that's almost the exact delivery that this man gives (just without the comedy and over the top accent). It was incredibly jarring and while he could go whole pages or paragraphs without a misstep, it was also so bizarre on such commonplace words (similarly? really?) that I started to question if it was AI or something. Do not like. Will actively avoid this narrator in future.

Thank you to NetGalley and Hay House LLC (of Penguin Random House) for granting me both an eARC and audio ALC of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

[Ashley]

Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Random House | Hay House LLC for the Audio ARC. It hasn't affected the contents of my review.

This is a promising debut by Bita Behzadi, and I will be reading further books from her, but this one had some issues that mean I can't give it a full four stars. Mostly, I had a really hard time both getting in to the story, and caring about the characters. It took about 33% for the first, and about 60% for the second, which is way too late in the story. If it wasn't such a fast listen, I might have considered DNFing. Also, even once I cared about them, one of them annoyed the shit out of me.

This is a rough You've Got Mail retelling that I'm still not sure actually needed that element of the story at all. I think it might not have been needed at all, or could have been reworked. I think the story started in the wrong place. I also thought the worldbuilding was a bit vague and confusing. Could have used some tightening up.

Our MCs are Josie and Reid, who are both practitioners of magic, and very interested in the practice of apothecaryship, and they have been corresponding for months when they accidentally meet unknowingly when Josie is hired at Reid's apothecary shop. They do not get along, etc. There's lots of other elements here with Josie's family, Reid's chosen family and foster family, a thing with the local university where both want to attend. There is also a mystery to solve halfway through! It was a lot of elements and I'm not quite sure it completely gelled for me, but it wasn't bad.

The audiobook is a bit of a frustrating experience. The male narrator mispronounced at least four common words, and he wasn't that compelling of a narrator to begin with. I really liked the female narrator, though!

If you really really like cozy romantic fantasy, this might hit a little better for you than it did for me.

[3.5 stars]

[ᴄᴀᴛ]

3.5☆ | not a proper review but I honestly couldn't be bothered to write one🤷‍♀️finished this one over a week ago and it's published in 2 days.
I loved the vibes and the characters were likeable, 100% gives Divine Rivals vibes because of the letters.
Though I don't think this needs to be a series, this book tied up incredibly well and I don't remember there being any loose ends, it ended nicely so what's gonna be done in book 2??

[Dozelina 666]

One of the reasons I picked up this audiobook was actually the narrator, Samara Naeymi. I previously listened to What She Saw by Mary Burton, and she absolutely kept me hooked until the very end. So when I saw she was narrating this one too, I was immediately interested.

Then I read the blurb.

Grumpy x sunshine? ✔️
Anonymous letters? ✔️
Magic? ✔️
Apothecary? ✔️

Needless to say, I was SOLD!

And thankfully, this ended up being a really enjoyable and cozy fantasy.

Josie was probably the character I connected with the most. She desperately wants to learn magic and prove herself, but unfortunately she was born into a society where women aren't exactly encouraged to pursue the same opportunities as men. I completely understood her frustrations and determination. Sure, there were moments when I wanted to tell her, "Okay, I get it, take a breath!" BUT I never stopped rooting for her.

Reid was a solid character too. His struggles were different from Josie's, but no less real. While Josie constantly battled the limitations placed on her as a woman, Reid struggled with feeling like he didn't belong in the academic world he so desperately wanted to be part of. I appreciated that both characters had their own insecurities and obstacles to overcome.

The apothecary itself was one of my favorite parts of the story. I loved the daily life aspects: helping customers, creating remedies, managing the shop, and uncovering the mysteries surrounding its future. Watching Josie and Reid slowly become partners in both work and life was genuinely satisfying.

And of course, there's the letters.

The contrast between how they interacted in person versus how they connected through their anonymous correspondence was adorable and probably my favorite part of the romance.

My only small complaint is that there were moments where the pacing slowed down a bit and some scenes felt longer than necessary. Thankfully, the audiobook narration did a fantastic job keeping me engaged throughout.

Overall, this was a charming debut filled with cozy magic, lovable characters and a sweet romance. I'll definitely be picking up the next book in the series.

⭐️ 4.5 stars, rounded up to 5

Thank you to NetGalley, Penguin Random House Audio for the ALC.

https://turnthepagewithana.blogspot.c...

[bailey elizabeth smith]

3.5⭐️

"This may read as daft, but I am glad I can write to you, because I do not have to wonder if some secret of mine will eventually put you off. I do not have to hold my breath in anticipation that you will recognize something terrible in me."

...

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review!

The Letters from the Last Apothecary is a debut cozy fantasy novel that takes a twist on the classic You've Got Mail recipe. This is one that I love because I love the concept, but I hate how he destroyed her family business. So anything that can bring in the beauty of the story of tender love notes shared, while removing that otherwise glaring faux pas, is welcome in my book. This book harnesses those elements and also adds in deeper layers with our characters facing prejudice. Truly, a refreshing take!

The world itself has light elements of magic, making it a welcoming world to enter without the heavy world-building. I would mirror it akin to books like The Spellshop or Half a Soul in this regard. The book itself is quite cozy, and the romance feels earned rather than rushed!

This book is one that sounded perfect in theory, but the characters fell a little flat to me, and it had a bit of a lull in the middle. I thought it picked up in the last 30% and kept me captivated through the end. I sort of chalk this up to it being a debut. I think the author has talent and I would love to read their future works!

I know this is comped as Divine Rivals and Emily Wilde, which I see in some regards. I would sooner recommend it if you enjoy the writing style of authors like Sangu Mandanna, Freya Marske, or India Holton, along with enjoying the movie You've Got Mail!

[liv ⋆˚♡₊˙]

𝐎𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐧𝐢𝐚 𝐦𝐚𝐠𝐢𝐜𝐳𝐧𝐚 𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐤𝐚 – 𝐁𝐢𝐭𝐚 𝐁𝐞𝐡𝐳𝐚𝐝𝐢

[współpraca reklamowa @wydawnictwolumivera]

𝐐: 𝐂𝐨 𝐧𝐚𝐣𝐛𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐳𝐢𝐞𝐣 𝐥𝐮𝐛𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐞 𝐰 𝐟𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐲𝐜𝐞?

„𝐶ℎ𝑜𝑐́ 𝑗𝑒𝑗 𝑠𝑖𝑜𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑎 𝑤𝑖𝑑𝑧𝑖𝑎ł𝑎 𝑝𝑟𝑧𝑦𝑠𝑧ł𝑜𝑠́𝑐́, 𝐽𝑜𝑠𝑒𝑝ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑒 𝑃𝑖𝑛𝑜𝑣𝑎 𝑛𝑖𝑒𝑠𝑝𝑒𝑐𝑗𝑎𝑙𝑛𝑖𝑒 𝑤𝑖𝑒𝑟𝑧𝑦ł𝑎 𝑤 𝑚𝑜𝑐 𝑝𝑟𝑧𝑒𝑧𝑛𝑎𝑐𝑧𝑒𝑛𝑖𝑎.”

Książka ta trafiła na mnie w najgorszym możliwym momencie… 𝐩𝐨𝐝𝐜𝐳𝐚𝐬 𝐳𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐣𝐮 𝐜𝐳𝐲𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐧𝐢𝐜𝐳𝐞𝐠𝐨. Zaczęłam ją w audiobooku i liczyłam, że ta forma pomoże mi w pokonaniu mojego problemu. Niestety tak się nie stało, a do tego początkowo zupełnie 𝐧𝐢𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐠ł𝐚𝐦 𝐰𝐤𝐫𝐞̨𝐜𝐢𝐜́ 𝐬𝐢𝐞̨ 𝐰 𝐜𝐳𝐲𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐞, mimo że akcja książki była 𝐧𝐚𝐩𝐫𝐚𝐰𝐝𝐞̨ 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐮𝐣𝐚̨𝐜𝐚. Momentami też trochę gubiłam się w fabule, ale na szczęście z czasem ogarnęłam, co się dzieje. Zdecydowanie pomogło mi w tym 𝐩𝐫𝐳𝐞𝐫𝐳𝐮𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐞 𝐬𝐢𝐞̨ 𝐧𝐚 𝐩𝐚𝐩𝐢𝐞𝐫 𝐢 𝐞𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐚, które pozwoliły mi na 𝐳𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐨𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐞 𝐬𝐢𝐞̨ 𝐟𝐚𝐛𝐮ł𝐚̨. Żałuję, że od razu nie zaczęłam od papierowej wersji… Jednak nie ma co płakać nad rozlanym mlekiem i skupmy się na tym, że końcowo naprawdę dobrze pochłaniało mi się tę lekturę i 𝐮𝐰𝐚𝐳̇𝐚𝐦 𝐣𝐚̨ 𝐳𝐚 𝐜𝐚ł𝐤𝐢𝐞𝐦 𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐨𝐬́𝐜𝐢𝐨𝐰𝐚̨ 𝐩𝐨𝐳𝐲𝐜𝐣𝐞̨! 💗

Muszę niestety wyznać, że w niektórych momentach 𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐜𝐡𝐞̨ 𝐬𝐢𝐞̨ 𝐧𝐮𝐝𝐳𝐢ł𝐚𝐦 (szczególnie na początku) i pewnie dlatego miałam problem z zaangażowaniem się w fabułę. Na szczęście, tak jak już wspomniałam wcześniej, z czasem zrobiło się lepiej i dodam nawet, że 𝐧𝐢𝐞𝐤𝐭𝐨́𝐫𝐞 𝐫𝐳𝐞𝐜𝐳𝐲 𝐧𝐚𝐩𝐫𝐚𝐰𝐝𝐞̨ 𝐦𝐧𝐢𝐞 𝐳𝐚𝐬𝐤𝐨𝐜𝐳𝐲ł𝐲. Autorka wywołała we mnie przeróżne emocje, a do tego sprawiła, że 𝐛𝐲ł𝐚𝐦 𝐧𝐢𝐞𝐳𝐰𝐲𝐤𝐥𝐞 𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐤𝐚𝐰𝐚 𝐫𝐨𝐳𝐰𝐢𝐚̨𝐳𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐚 𝐳𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐝𝐤𝐢 𝐬́𝐦𝐢𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐢 𝐩𝐞𝐰𝐧𝐞𝐣 𝐨𝐬𝐨𝐛𝐲. Był to świetny wątek, którego zupełnie się nie spodziewałam! A skoro o interesujących wątkach mowa, jeden szczególnie urzekł moje serce. Mam na myśli 𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐧𝐢𝐦𝐨𝐰𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐲, którymi wymieniali się główni bohaterowie. Ciekawie czytało się o ich wymianach doświadczeniami, a szczególnie ze świadomością, że nie mieli pojęcia, że tak naprawdę byli od siebie na wyciągnięcie ręki. Bita stworzyła 𝐜𝐚ł𝐚̨ 𝐳𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐣𝐞̨ 𝐰𝐲𝐣𝐚̨𝐭𝐤𝐨𝐰𝐲𝐜𝐡 𝐢 𝐰𝐲𝐫𝐨́𝐳̇𝐧𝐢𝐚𝐣𝐚̨𝐜𝐲𝐜𝐡 𝐬𝐢𝐞̨ 𝐧𝐚 𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐧𝐲𝐜𝐡 𝐛𝐨𝐡𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐨́𝐰, którzy stale dodawali czegoś od siebie do fabuły tej jedynej w swoim rodzaju książki. Bardzo polubiłam główną bohaterkę – 𝐉𝐨𝐬𝐞𝐩𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐞 – z którą łatwo się utożsamić. 𝐑𝐞𝐢𝐝 też zyskał moją sympatię, choć nie tak sporo, jak jego ukochana. 💞

Nie będę ukrywać, książka ta przyciągnęła mnie do siebie 𝐩𝐫𝐳𝐞𝐩𝐢𝐞̨𝐤𝐧𝐚̨ 𝐨𝐤ł𝐚𝐝𝐤𝐚̨ i mimo początkowych problemów z wkręceniem się w fabułę uważam ją za 𝐧𝐚𝐩𝐫𝐚𝐰𝐝𝐞̨ 𝐟𝐚𝐣𝐧𝐚̨ 𝐥𝐞𝐤𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞̨, 𝐳 𝐤𝐭𝐨́𝐫𝐚̨ 𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐢𝐞̨ 𝐳𝐚𝐩𝐨𝐳𝐧𝐚𝐜́. Jestem bardzo ciekawa, co wy o niej sądzicie! 🩷

𝑥𝑜𝑥𝑜 𝑙𝑖𝑣 <3

[bodeasbooks]

Dobra, ale mafii to ja się tutaj nie spodziewałam 😂

~ Wyobraź sobie, że wymieniasz anonimowe listy z kimś, komu opowiadasz o swoich marzeniach, obawach i rzeczach, których niekoniecznie powiedziałabyś komuś prosto w twarz. A później okazuje się, że ich adresatem jest twój współpracownik, za którym nie przepadasz… i z wzajemnością.

~ Josie i Reid od początku działają sobie na nerwy. Ona jest ambitna, pewna swojej wiedzy i nie boi się walczyć o to, czego chce. On z kolei nie jest szczególnie zachwycony pojawieniem się nowej, irytująco kompetentnej współpracowniczki. Łatwo uwierzyć w to, że żadne z nich nawet przez moment nie podejrzewa, kto znajduje się po drugiej stronie anonimowej korespondencji, ponieważ ich relacja na papierze jest zupełnie inna od tej, którą budują podczas wspólnej pracy.

~ To właśnie wątek listów urzekł mnie najbardziej. Jak cudownie czytać o bohaterach, którzy faktycznie potrafią się komunikować i mówić o tym, co siedzi gdzieś głęboko w nich. Okej, robią to anonimowo i nie mają pojęcia, z kim rozmawiają, ale to wciąż się liczy!

~ To była moja pierwsza styczność z cozy fantasy, więc nie do końca wiedziałam, czego się spodziewać, ale przepadłam dla tej historii. Było lekko, uroczo i naprawdę przyjemnie, ale jednocześnie nie miałam poczucia, że nic się tutaj nie dzieje. Dostajemy ratowanie magicznej apteki, mały wątek kryminalny i konflikt między magią a rozwijającym się przemysłem.


~ Bardzo podobało mi się to, jak stopniowo zmieniała się relacja bohaterów. Romans rozwija się naturalnie - to miesiące wspólnej pracy, poznawania się i powoli rodzącego się szacunku. Do tego i Josie i Reid mają własne ambicje, problemy i cele, dzięki czemu książka nie skupia się na wzdychaniu do siebie przez 300 stron 😅

~ Jeśli szukacie czegoś lekkiego na jesienne wieczory (i nie tylko), ale jednocześnie chcecie, żeby poza uroczym klimatem faktycznie coś się działo, to ta książka sprawdzi się idealnie. Ja bawiłam się świetnie ✨