Letters from the Last Apothecary: A Novel

Author: Bita Behzadi

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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.

Review

Letters from the Last Apothecary is for the people who enjoy epistolary novels, like Divine Rivals combined with the element of Academics that we see in Emily Wilde's books! I knew when I first heard of these two comp titles, I'd need to read Letters from the Last Apothecary because I'm a HUGE fan of letters, footnotes, and academics in Fiction books.

And I wasn't wrong to be excited for it! I FLEW through this book. It's a Historical Romantic Fantasy with a little bit of Mystery and discussion of the different difficulties both of our MCs face as two BIPOC individuals.

I think that is one of my favorite aspects of Letters from the Last Apothecary: the way we dive into a lot of social constructs that are inspired by the 1900s Chicago setting and at the same time, we get to know both Reid and Josie through their POVs.

Bita manages to deliver all the different elements without overwhelming us as readers and we get to know both Reid and Josie, understand each of their own dreams and wants while also learning about the barriers they faced in society individually and painting a picture of the world they are in.

In terms of their Romance, I enjoyed their dynamic and thought it was a well-done Slow-burn with them knowing each other through letters AND meeting in the apothecary, which then becomes a place that brings them together and keeps them there.

While I really enjoyed this book, the main reason it didn't get a full 5 stars was because I did want to see a bit of development from the dynamic that Josie and Reid shared as co-workers to realizing who they each were. I felt we got to spend more time with Josie on this than Reid and that impacted the flow of the Romance aspect for me.

I am so excited to read more by Bita and just adding here that I have seen Letters from the Last Apothecary described as cozy and I wouldn't call it cozy to me personally but more Charming (as Bita describes it) or Light Academia. This book is definitely slower-paced but not cozy as it's got a lot of adventures and focuses on a lot of things that you wouldn't expect in a Cozy Fantasy book (it is definitely light-hearted with a few heavy topics).

I was provided a free advance reader copy, and I’m sharing my honest thoughts.