Letters from the Last Apothecary - A Novel

By: Bita Behzadi

Published by Hay House Inc, 2026-06-09

EMILY WILDE meets DIVINE RIVALS in this light romantic fantasy epistolary novel about a grumpy apothecarist, the whirlwind woman who comes to save his shop, and the letters that secretly unite them. You've Got Mail with a magical twist!

Josie Pinova doesn’t believe in fate—until fate seems to believe in her.

The day after she’s fired, she wanders into the last magical apothecary in Tressport and lands an unexpected job. It’s not ideal, but it buys her time—and a paycheck—while she waits to hear if she's been accepted into the city’s prestigious Institute of Magic.

Aufidius Reid doesn’t believe in luck—and Josie feels like the worst kind.

Opinionated, charming, and infuriatingly outsmarting him at every turn, she makes him feel like he’s constantly a step behind. To her, he’s uptight and impossible. Neither suspects they’re already falling for each other—through a months-long exchange of anonymous letters as fellow Institute hopefuls.

In the shop, they clash. On the page, they fall in love.

But with the apothecary slated to close in six months—another casualty of Tressport’s rapid industrialization and rising anti-magic sentiment—they’ll have to fight for more than just their livelihoods. Josie is determined to prove that women like her belong in the world of structured spellwork. Reid is just as set on mastering his unruly magic and outrunning the past that’s held him back. Saving the shop might be their only shot—at meaningful magic, at true purpose, and at each other.

Set against the smog-choked skyline of Tressport inside a lush, green sanctuary of plants and old magics, this is a story of mistaken identity, reluctant partnership, and the quiet magic of being truly seen—on and off the page.