I saw this was available on Libby and decided to pick it up while I waited for other holds to come in. 

“The Apothecary Diaries, Vol. 1” follows Maomao after she is kidnapped and forced to work as a servant in an inner palace. She is trained in the art of herbal medicine, but she does not want her captors to know that because she does not wish to earn them more money. 

I was unfortunately, very bored with this manga. I think this story has its audience, and I think people will really enjoy it, unfortunately, I am just not one of those people.

I found the plot to be very lackluster, and overall not engaging. I feel like a story that follows a young woman who was kidnapped, and who is talented in the art of herbal medicine should have grabbed my attention more than it did. I also felt like Maomao was a very flat character, and she lacked any real personality to make the reader feel connected to her. 

I do not not recommend this manga, but I will likely not continue with it personally.