The Apothecary Diaries, Vol. 9 by Natsu Hyuuga, Nekokurage, Itsuki Nanao, Touco Shino
Series Name: The Apothecary Diaries (Manga)
Genres: Drama, Historical, Mystery, Romance
Intended Age Group: Teen
Publisher: Square Enix
Edition: Paperback
ISBN: 978-1-64609-135-5
Rating: 3.5/5
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Description from the Book
A festive atmosphere descends upon the Inner Court with the arrival of a long-awaited merchant caravan and its myriad wares. Though the excitement is contagious and even Maomao looks forward to making purchases of her own, she soon cottons on to something potentially sinister about the innocuous goods for sale. Before Maomao can tease out any evidence, however, her attention turns to mushrooms when Jinshi asks her to root out any poisonous varieties on the grounds. But is this request just a bit of landscaping, or does it have anything to do with the rumors about a missing court lady?
Personal & Info
I’m glad this volume released rather quickly after eight. Six months was a long wait, so the short time between the two newest volumes was nice. Three months isn’t long to wait for the tenth book, either, but I’m still sad I have to wait.
Characters
Maomao, my favorite character in the series, continues to be eccentric in all the best ways.
Jinshi is ever present in this volume, assigning various tasks to Maomao as per usual.
Shisui is Xiaolan’s new gossip friend and fellow laundry maid.
Other character also appear, like the Lady of Verdigris, the physician, Gao Shun, the ladies of the Jade Palace, etc. but they play smaller roles.
Story & Thoughts
This volume is a little more chill than the others. Maomao goes back to handling unique tasks for Jinshi. As usual, doing her best to prevent potential disasters that nobody else would notice. But, don’t let my description fool you. There’s still plenty of intrigue.
Maomao returns to speculating with her own silent theories. She’s unable to determine if things are coincidences or another plot to unravel. It’s understandable to be at least a little paranoid after the culmination of events from volume six. All she can really do at this point is voice her concerns and hope for the best.
The way Maomao works, we must often settle for hypotheticals. She never wants to interject where she knows it’s not her business or station. She’s also adamant about not giving anyone an answer about anything without evidence. If possible, she’d rather people work out the answer themselves with the information she provides. These are things long taught about her character at this point. So, don’t be surprised if there isn’t confirmation on the results of some mysteries. Maomao is usually correct, though, so you can probably assume her speculations are accurate.
The last chapter, The Moon Fairy, is part one of a multi-part episode. Unfortunately, the next book does not release until November. Based on the implications of what is to come, I’m looking forward to it. It’s likely to be humorous.
Maomao is what keeps me reading. I love her character so much. She’s eccentric and often has her own goblin mode when it comes to poisons and medicines. Seeing her just be herself is always the highlight of reading this series. A laugh or two is guaranteed just by having her in the story, and her interactions with Jinshi tend to have their entertaining moments.