The Apothecary Diaries (Novel) Vol. 02

The Apothecary Diaries (Novel) Vol. 02

A palace servant trained in herbal medicine finds herself at the heart of imperial intrigue in this enthralling period mystery!

Dismissed from the rear palace, Maomao returns to service in the outer court—as the personal serving woman to none other than Jinshi! That doesn’t necessarily make her popular with the other ladies, but a bit of jealousy might be the least of her problems. A mysterious warehouse fire, an official with a very bad case of food poisoning, and the mysterious last will and testament of a deceased craftsman all demand her attention—but are these cases really separate, or do they share a troubling connection? Then there’s the mysterious military man who continually visits Jinshi. He’s strange, maybe even a little twisted… and he seems very interested in Maomao.

As Maomao breaks a “curse” on the imperial heirs, the palace servant with training in herbal medicine gets promoted up the ranks to food taster. How could an apothecary’s daughter become a lady-in-waiting to a palace consort?! Despite humble beginnings, she holds her own amid the political schemes of the rear palace!

Biographical Notes:

Natsu Hyuuga is the author of The Apothecary Diaries novel series, best known for being the author of Kamisama Gakkou no Ochikobore, Meitantei no Jouken (Light Novel), Rojiura no Seirei Hime (Light Novel), The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Isekai (Light Novel), and The Apothecary Diaries (Light Novel).

Touco Shino is the illustrator of The Apothecary Diaries novel series.

Title Notes:

A rural girl thrust into palace life learns to use her wits to fend for herself amid imperial plots and mysteries. Fantasy series with female leads have a strong reader base in the current market.

Every iteration in this developing franchise has quickly generated a buzz among fans. From its beginning as a web novel in 2011, through multiple editions of Japanese print publication, and throughout its expansion as manga and anime.

This novel series inspired an ongoing manga adaptation in 2017. The manga has been one of Square Enix Manga’s top titles, with volumes 1-7 selling in almost 150,000 units to date.

More details on Natsu Hyuuga, Touko Shino:

Natsu Hyuuga’s Twitter account

Touko Shino’s Twitter account

Publisher’s Twitter account