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-Synopsis-

A cozy magical novel about second chances, found family, and discovering that sometimes the place you’ve been searching for has been searching for you.

Perfect for readers of The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches, The Lost Bookshop, The Spellshop, Before the Coffee Gets Cold, and gentle Japanese and Korean healing fiction.

Verity never meant to stay.

She came to Wattle Lane for one reason: to sell the little apothecary her great-aunt Marigold had left behind. Sign the papers. Settle the estate. Return to the safe, carefully ordered life she’d built by never asking for too much.

But Wattle Lane doesn’t appear to just anyone. Hidden from the rest of the world, the little cobblestone lane quietly reveals itself only to those who need it most — and whether Verity is ready to admit it or not, the lane has been waiting for her.

Behind the counter of Marigold’s Apothecary, Verity discovers a gift she’s spent her whole life trying to bury — a quiet knowing that reveals exactly what someone needs to hear, even when the truth is difficult to speak. It’s a gift that once cost her love, friendship, and the version of herself everyone else found easier to understand.

As she comes to know the keepers of Wattle Lane — a gentle teahouse owner who remembers too little, a young woman who trusts animals more than people, and two elderly sisters who seem to know every secret the lane has ever kept — Verity slowly uncovers the mystery Marigold left behind: an unsent letter, a sister who vanished eleven years ago, and a promise only Verity can fulfil.

-Review-

I would like to thank Caroline Bakker and NetGalley for giving me access to this magical story. Thank you!

To begin, I was blown away by the overwhelming cozy nature of this book. Reading The Apothecary Lane felt as though I was wrapping myself in a warm blanket after a long and cold day. This story is incredibly low stress and is practically perfect for relaxing your mind. Not to mention, at only 170 pages, this is a perfect book to read right before bed.

This book, minus the prologue, follows the perspective of Verity who inherits the apothecary after her great aunt Marigold seemingly passes away. After initially believing the address given to her led to a dead end, she discovers Wattle Lane after following a mysterious pathway behind an unassuming brick wall. It is here the story truly begins.

Wattle Lane itself is basically the epitome of whimsical cottage core. There are lovely shops situated on each side of the cobblestone street with fairy lights and lanterns giving the whole lane an ethereal look. Plants and flowers hang everywhere you look, making the place feel extremely cherished and alive. The lane felt like home away from home. Each individual shop shares certain elements while also showcasing their own quirks and personalities that make me crave exploring each place in their own separate books.

This being the first in an eight book series, I am excited to experience the other locations and shopkeepers in closer detail! Unfortunately there is not too much information out there right now about the sequels.

The Apothecary itself had so much intrigue in of itself, I would have been satisfied even if Verity had never step foot outside the shop. Shelves are lined with countless jars whose labels are constantly changing, each a remedy for something rather specific that may ail the next person who comes in. There is also an orange tabby who seems to know way more than it has the ability to communicate. Each new revelation of the inner workings of the shop, just leads to more curiosity, making it difficult to put the book down.

The people themselves seem to have a bit of magical properties in of themselves. Verity has apparently been sensitive to certain aspects of people her whole life. Noticing things which were hidden or ignored. This characteristic helps her drastically in the apothecary as she is quick to point out the real issues that bring people into the shop. She basically has an intensely in-tune intuition for helping others. This made her the perfect person to take over the apothecary.

There are other zany characters who are introduced in this story including the guy who owns the tea shop, a set of elderly twins who run the stationary shop, and a young woman who runs the animal sanctuary at the end of the lane. Each character adds a new element to Verity’s story that I very much enjoyed and crave to explore further.

All in all, I would highly recommend this magical realism fantasy story to any and everybody who craves a low stress, and chill read to slow your brain down. This book felt like such a breath of fresh air from the quick paced nature of life. Sometimes all we truly need is to slow down and take our time with something sweet to show us the true nature of things.

Once again, I would like to thank Caroline Bakker and NetGalley for giving me access to the book in exchange for me honest review. Thank You!

-About the Author-

In 2009, at twenty, Caroline Bakker left the Netherlands for a short visit to Australia and never quite left. She stayed to study at the University of the Sunshine Coast, then built a life there — first in Queensland, later in Melbourne — training as a Health and Fitness Trainer before discovering the thing that would define the next chapter of her work: mindfulness, and the deep, often-overlooked connection between body and mind.

In 2021, that discovery became Meditations by Amazon Warrior, launched in Melbourne and built on a simple idea — that a busy mind deserves real rest, not just advice. It’s since grown into a YouTube channel with thousands of followers and a Spotify audience of over 500,000 listeners.

Then came motherhood, and with it, postpartum depression, adrenal fatigue, and a diagnosis of PMDD that finally explained years of what she’d quietly carried alone. By 2024 — sleep-deprived, raising a toddler born in 2022, now living in Dubai — she learned the fuller picture: she had ADHD too, and it had been shaping her PMDD all along. That year she wrote her first book. Four more followed, each one turning what she was learning about her own mind into something other people could use.

Fiction was never part of the plan.

But living through a world that felt increasingly frightening — war, division, an endless scroll of negativity — Caroline found herself wanting somewhere gentler to go, somewhere social media couldn’t reach. When she couldn’t find it, she built it: a hidden lane that reveals itself only to people who need it, with short chapters, soft endings, and no cliffhangers — written the way she’d write a meditation, to leave you calmer than it found you.

*The Apothecary on Wattle Lane* is her debut novel and the first of eight interconnected books.

Follow Caroline here for updates on the series, or find her guided meditations on YouTube, Spotify, and Insight Timer.