apothecary diaries

By Natsu Hyuuga and Touko Shino. Released in Japan as “Kusuriya no Hitorigoto” by Hero Bunko. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Kevin Steinbach.

As I was reading this volume, I was reminded of that meme that went around a while back from the Buzzfeed Unsolved show. “I did meet some of the most insufferable people in the world, BUT they also met me.” Maomao may spend a great deal of time bemoaning the folks she has to deal with, but there’s no denying that she’s even more of a pain in the neck on a regular basis. “Please ignore that man, one of the most powerful in the country, who keeps stalking me and says I’m his daughter. Please ignore that I am good friends with the Empress and Consort #2. Please ignore that I apparently love to ingest poison for fun. I am just a normal woman and want to quietly go about my day… oh look, another murder attempt.” Honestly, some readers might feel less exhausted if this were the adventures of Maomao the cat, back at her apothecary house, avoiding snuggles and yawning, rather than the prickly Maomao the human.

Maomao is forced to take the Civil Service exam once more, and is told that She. Will. Pass. She reluctantly passes, and is now back in the palace, one of five new medical students. Erm, three medical students, as two get culled for essentially being extra baggage. The other two are Yao, who seems like a bullying ojousama at first but turns out to merely be a sheltered and earnest girl, and En’en, her friend and attendant who enjoys watching everything that Yao does. As the three of them learn their trade, we also pick up with events from previous books, as the Shrine Maiden of neighboring Shaoh is now ensconsed in a remote part of the palace, and there seems to be something wrong with her. Is she hiding something? Is she really who she seems? And is she going to be publicly assassinated in a way that might lead to war?

First of all, the best part of this book, by far, are the two new characters. Yao is wonderful, and frankly I was very, very worried that she was going to be killed off for tragedy. (It’s a near thing, and the book lampshades that she’s avoiding the very real consequences of what should have happened to her.) En’en allows us to see a smart, crafty woman who doesn’t have Maomao’s natural bitterness and eccentricity. She’s also in love with Yao, something that is mostly used for comedy here (Jinshi picks her as his attendant as he knows she won’t be there just to hit on him), but which I’m hoping might be taken more seriously later on. And while Apothecary Diaries is not a foodie book like Culinary Chronicles of the Court Flower, a lot of this volume relied on food knowledge and what it can do to the human body. It’ll make you hungry, but good luck eating what’s in here.

All this plus zero sexual assaults! A strong volume, and I hope that Yao and En’en become regulars going forward.

By Natsu Hyuuga and Touko Shino. Released in Japan as “Kusuriya no Hitorigoto” by Hero Bunko. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Kevin Steinbach.

It’s time for another volume of everyone’s favorite mystery series, Murder, She Grumped. We pick up where we left off, with Maomao and Jinshi at the Western Capital (and with Maomao decidedly avoiding an extremely horny Jinshi, who is so horny he’s willing to try it on with his bodyguard), but we soon get a suicide that is not what it seems. After this they finally go home (separately, Jinshi still has to wrap up investigations) and Maomao is tricked/lured by Lahan into dealing with “family business”, something that makes her very unhappy, even as we learn about how glorious potatoes can be. That said, I think the main draw of this book is not going to be Maomao but Lishu, a girl who is trapped in a series whose base qualities are set up to destroy her, and when she gets tangled up in the ongoing plot, she is very nearly destroyed. For once, I found the non-Maomao segments in the book very interesting indeed.

A chunk of this book revolves around the cultural disconnect between East and West, as one of the plot points is that the “love letter” that Lishu had been writing, which gets her in big trouble, is actually her transcribing a translated version of Romeo and Juliet, which has taken the rear palace by storm. The funniest part of the book may be when both Maomao and Jinshi find the plot of the play incredibly annoying, pointing out how miscommunication is not tragic, just frustrating, and all the sobbing young women who say they just don’t get it. Maomao is her usual excellent self here, pretending to have an uncaring, logical mind while constantly helping everyone around her. She’s still not back at the palace yet… but honestly, Jinshi visits her constantly, so that’s fine.

And poor Lishu. The concept of the “weak” Consort being bullied by everyone around her, including her own servants, is not unique to this series, but that doesn’t mean that the emotional impact is lessened. Lishu goes through a lot in this book and the previous one, from almost getting killed by a lion, to being accused of infidelity to the Emperor and locked in a tower, to (perhaps worst of all, and the lead-up even gets an illustration) having Maomao need to “verify” for the official record that she’s still a virgin. She’s not a candidate for the Emperor’s bed, and honestly, I don’t think she’s the sort to eventually win over those around her by being sweet and kind… she’s simply too ineffectual even to achieve that. Her ending here is probably the best one we can possibly expect, and I hope that she has a far better life going forward than she’s had to date.

That said, we do now have a vacant Consort position. While I briefly considered the idea of it going to Maomao, and howled with laughter (till I realized she would probably castrate me if she heard me), I suspect it will be part of the plot of future books. The part that is not about Maomao investigating crimes like the most sullen Angela Lansbury ever.

y Natsu Hyuuga and Touko Shino. Released in Japan as “Kusuriya no Hitorigoto” by Hero Bunko. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Kevin Steinbach.

For the most part, this is something of a transitional volume of The Apothecary Diaries, at least until the end. While Maomao is no longer at the palace, she’s still very much involved in everyday life, and now she has a little boy to look after (who proves to be quite an artist). There are several interlinking plots, one of which is likely to stick around – there’s a potential famine on the way, which was figured out by the fact that there are more grasshoppers than locusts around, something I absolutely did not know, so kudos there. Maomao even finds time to attend the theater, where we see a magic act that looks pretty impressive, but which is fairly easily explained by a combination of tricks and drugging the audience. The second half of the book, though, is more interesting, as Maomao is taken by Jinshi to a banquet in the western part of the country, and all hell breaks loose, both figuratively and literally.

Let’s leave Maomao and Jinshi for later and talk about the other parts of this book. I really enjoyed seeing Maomao back in her hometown and fitting in very well… she even takes on an apprentice, who has a very good memory, something required in an apothecary. The apprentice will no doubt be necessary soon, as there’s no way Maomao stays here long. Indeed, the second half of the book is a big field trip, first where she goes to the quack doctor’s hometown and meets his family (who she refuses to name, continuing this book’s longest running gag). I must admit Maomao challenging a bunch of assholes to a drinking contest may be the best part of the book, especially when she worries she’ll lose not by getting too drunk but by having to pee. I also really liked her relationship with Lishu, who is a trembling bird of a woman who turns out to be bullied at home and at the palace. That said, maybe she’s found a guy… which is more than can be said for Maomao.

The final scene should technically be romantic, but is instead deeply uncomfortable to me. I have never seen someone so blatantly determined not to fall in love as Maomao is in this series. The Emperor is pushing Jinshi to get married, and things are not going well, mostly as Jinshi only wants Maomao. For once there isn’t really a class or status problem here – *if* Maomao were to admit to her birth parentage, which she really really does not want to do. She desperately wants Jinshi to marry anyone else mostly to try to get rid of the undeniable tension between them. The final scene features Jinshi, in a bit of a rage at Maomao’s attempts to brush him off, literally almost choke her to death, and it’s horrifying. As is Maomao’s response to this, which amounts to “gotta do this, I guess”. It’s a good thing that this series is a large number of volumes, as if Jinshi and Maomao got together now as they both are, bad things would happen.

This remains one of the best light novel series out there, an absolutely riveting read. If you’re reading it for the romance, though, I’m so sorry. Also, I forgot to mention the lion. There is a lion.

By Natsu Hyuuga and Touko Shino. Released in Japan as “Kusuriya no Hitorigoto” by Hero Bunko. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Kevin Steinbach.

Ah, nothing like another review where I can’t talk about half of what I want to because it would spoil. I know that half the time my reviews spoil the entire book anyway, but there are very good plot twists here, and I don’t really want to give them away. As such, I will simply say that I am looking back on some comments I made in my review of the third volume and laughing hollowly. Other than that, well, this particular volume is taking care to wrap up all the plotlines that have been dangling since it began. Jinshi’s identity and why he’s hiding it, Maomao’s friendship with Xiaolan and Shisui, and the long-standing question of who will be Empress are all dealt with here, and we even get a few action scenes towards the end and some chilling torture… well, it would be chilling were it not Maomao, who does have the ability to be terrified, but not when the danger is this pathetic.

After the events of the last book Maomao has been studiously avoiding Jinshi and trying not to think about what she found when she accidentally groped him. She’s back with Gyokuyou, who is quite pregnant. That said, the pregnancy may be an issue, as all signs are that the baby wants to come out the wrong way around. This means they need an expert, which brings Maomao’s adopted father to the rear palace. Elsewhere, Maomao may have found her new calling in body hair removal, and Maomao the kitten is busy getting up to no good. However, things take a far more serious turn in the second half of the book when Maomao attempts to sleuth on her own about various lingering mysteries from the previous books… and ends up kidnapped! Can she manage to get back to the rear palace, and if she does will she get punished anyway? And what’s with our favorite bug-loving maid?

As of this review, there are 11 volumes of The Apothecary Diaries out in Japan, so the series isn’t ending. But this certainly feels like a good stopping place. By the end of the book most of the subplots have been resolved, Jinshi has been forced to stop hiding, and, as Maomao herself puts it, with Gyokuyou now being Empress Maomao is out of a job. The romance is not really resolved, but then it’s hard to imagine how it COULD resolve – leaving aside status issues, which can easily be taken care of if Maomao acknowledges who her birth father is, there’s the fact that Maomao is seemingly apathetic about it. I think she has repressed desire for Jinshi, no question, but I think the idea of being a consort, bride, wife, whatever you call it galls her. No doubt it galls the reader too, who would much rather watch Mao wander around playing Murder, She Wrote.

So the question now is, what needs to happen to get Maomao back to the rear palace, because I’m pretty sure the rest of the series is not going to involve her sitting in her apothecary shop in the pleasure district. Can’t wait to find out, because this is one of the best written light novels coming out right now.

By Natsu Hyuuga and Touko Shino. Released in Japan as “Kusuriya no Hitorigoto” by Hero Bunko. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Kevin Steinbach.

One of the enjoyable things about the Apothecary Diaries is that, while it will always bee about the relationship between Maomao and Jinshi to a degree, if you’re completely uninterested in that sort of thing there’s still a whole lot to get out of every volume. There are the mysteries, of course, as everyone and their brother wants Maomao to apply her cunning and figure out Who’s Killin’ Who. There is Maomao herself, who has an idea of what social niceties and graces are and has decided to tell them “no thank you”. And there’s an increasingly fun cast, including the amusingly carefree Xiaolan, who spends most of the novel learning to read – and unlike what most books of this sort would do, she proves to be pretty good at it once given proper education. And then there’s Shisui, who is my new Best Girl, and is basically to bugs what Maomao is to poisons. It’s tough to be so eccentric that Maomao is mistaken for you, but this girl can pull it off.

When Maomao is not busy snarking at Jinshi or “the quack doctor”, she is helping Jinshi to try to educate the people min the rear palace, discovers a cat that is quickly named after her (sort of), deals with a caravan that is selling all the ladies fragrant perfumes… some of which are potentially dangerous; trying to solve a recent disappearance that turns into a not-so-recent murder; figures out how a sheltered young woman snuck past her guards and got pregnant; discovers that the issues surrounding Consort Lihua, which is what started this series off, have not vanished; and ends up going on a hunting trip with a disguised Jinshi, which ends up turning far more dangerous than either of them had anticipated.

As I said last time, the series rewards close reading, and having prior volumes on hand. There are several pregnancies in this book, and several chapters dealing with people who are trying their hardest to make sure that those pregnancies are unsuccessful… or are they? It *could* just all be a coincidence. On the lighter side, for those who ARE reading the book for the relationship between Maomao and Jinshi, the last quarter of the book is pure gold. Somethign we had long suspected is finally straight up admitted, and you will never be able to see the words “decently sized amphibian” again without laughing. Maomao herself seems more determined than ever to avoid going anywhere near this – she’s very aware of how Jinshi feels, what it would mean for her future, and how she really does NOT want to deal with it. Even if she does go gaga when he gives her the right present.

So yes, this remains essential reading provided you don’t mind that it’s got the Emperor and his many consorts, or that the heroine (not one of the consorts) can kill a man with her sharp tongue at 500 yards.)

By Natsu Hyuuga and Touko Shino. Released in Japan as “Kusuriya no Hitorigoto” by Hero Bunko. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Kevin Steinbach.

The second volume in the series serves to give readers who loved the first book more of what they loved. Maomao solves some mysteries, glares at her not-love interest, kvells over any poison she can possibly ingest, and manages to upend the entirety of the Emperor’s palace. And this doesn’t even count her new job she gains in this volume, which is teaching very specific subjects to the four high consorts. Or scoping out a soldier’s chances at winning over a woman he likes as if he was a stud horse. Or helping to resolve the issue of an inheritance… an inheritance that also finds itself coming up over and over again throughout the book. Folks have compared this to Ascendance of a Bookworm, and they share one big thing in common, which is that they reward a reader who pays close attention to things and remembers prior events. You get the feeling that Maomao will be going places over the course of this series, though I suspect she may go to these places kicking and screaming.

After the events at the end of the last book, Maomao is now back at the palace, working for Jinshi officially by cleaning his rooms and such, and unofficially by solving crimes, though she always has to be bribed or goaded into doing so. Sometimes she doesn’t even need to be dragged – when a fire with a supposed unknown cause is mentioned, she’s quick to bolt over to the site looking for clues. And sometimes she absolutely refuses, such as when it’s anything to do with Lakan, the eccentric military man who’s been hanging around Jinshi lately and who seems to want to meet Maomao come rain or come shine. Who he is is easily guessed, but the relationship between them proves surprisingly nuanced, and even Maomao, whose glare can kill tigers at 400 yards, can occasionally display a soft side.

This series is not meant to be a comedy… except it’s frequently absolutely hilarious. We don’t get the specifics of Maomao’s “education” class for the consorts, but their reactions show what it must have been like, and the fact that she occasionally provides them the equivalent of Amanda Quick novels as bribes later on is even better. Then there’s the goofy soldier Lihaku, who Maomao tends to think of as a dog, and who has a crush on one of the three princesses at the establishment Maomao grew up around, and asks what it might take to buy her out of there (presumably so he can marry her). Maomao, knowing that princess and her proclivities, evaluates him solely on strength and stamina, with a wonderful punchline. That said, there’s also good drama here, such as when Maomao tries to stop a murder meant to look like an “accident”, as well as Lakan’s backstory.

As with the first volume, I can’t recommend this enough. For everyone who say yet another isekai licensed and wondered when we’d get a light novel series for adults – this! This is it!

By Natsu Hyuuga and Touko Shino. Released in Japan as “Kusuriya no Hitorigoto” by Hero Bunko. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Kevin Steinbach.

I’ve been waiting for this one for a long time (this first novel came out in Japan in 2014), and it would have taken a major misstep for me not to be delighted by it. Spoiler: there was no major misstep. Now admittedly, I can see that it’s not a book for everyone. If your ideal of a fun light novel is along the lines of Sword Art Online or Haruhi Suzumiya, this is not going to be for you. I almost added A certain Magical Index to the list, but I’ll be honest: if you read Index for the political infighting (there must be some who do), this is your sort of book. It will also appeal to fans of Ascendance of a Bookworm, Accomplishments of the Duke’s Daughter and other series heavy on worldbuilding. But most importantly, this will appeal to fans of the classic mystery. Maomao is a reluctant forensic detective, but that is what she is called on to be here, and she excels.

The story opens in the Emperor’s vast royal palace, with our heroine, Maomao, already working there. She was kidnapped while in the woods one day and sold to the palace by “merchants”. For the most part, she does laundry and tries to keep a low profile… till she notices that two of the Emperor’s consorts, and their children, have taken ill with what Maomao (and the reader) can clearly see is mercury poisoning. She tries to subtly convey this, but is discovered by Jinshi, a eunuch who works for the Emperor, and is promoted to be poison tester for the consort whose life she saved. As the book goes on, Maomao finds herself getting involved with more poisonings, assassination attempts, and even standard bullying. The reader, meanwhile, discovers that Maomao is far from the stock shoujo light novel heroine… and even the stoic ones aren’t quite as odd as she is.

As you might guess, Maomao is the number one reason to read this. Her matter-of-fact dialogue and banter with Jinshi is beautiful (the translation shines throughout), and you can see exactly why Jinshi grows so attached to her so fast – she sees through his pretty face for the manipulator he really is, and looks at him “like a worm” – something that I’d say would turn him on if he weren’t a eunuch. (That said, I will not be too surprised if he has a secret to hide about that.) Maomao’s detective work is excellent, both when she’s in her wheelhouse of poisons and also when she’s having to guess motive and opportunity. And, well, she’s weird – curiosity always wins out for her, even when it comes to potentially lethal drugs or foods. I also liked the consorts and the wars between them, from the far too young girl who is passively bullied by her attendants, to the older one with a past to hide, to the sexy one who is on the outs with the Emperor till Maomao gives a very obvious – and hilarious – implied suggestion – as well as Maomao’s own savvy mistress.

The book ends in such a way that it could have been a one-shot, but there are nine volumes to date in Japan, and it has a manga that is being published here by Square Enix. Very much driven by the mysteries and its heroine, I found I was unable to put this book down. Bring on the second volume.