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A Novel · Apprentice House Press

The Laboratory
Assistant

In a city teeming with revolution, science and passion offer their own strains of violence.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★  ·  On sale June 2, 2026

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The Laboratory Assistant book cover — a glowing green elixir bottle wrapped in black iron vines, surrounded by red roses on a deep emerald background
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The Story

PETROGRAD · 1916

In a city teeming with revolution, science and passion offer their own strains of violence.

When her aristocratic family is left destitute, Mariya grows desperate to survive - and to support her widowed mother and sisters. She finds financial relief in a job with Dr. Nikolas Rodin, a reclusive scientist. While the work makes ends meet, Mariya is soon pulled into the eerie rhythm of the laboratory: a realm of orange gaslights, whispered experiments, and a man whose genius is as seductive as it is unstable.

Tuberculosis and revolution both ravage Russia. The chants of protest ring in the streets and when consumption strikes her household, Mariya must choose between her family’s survival and a love that shatters all moral paradigms. Meanwhile, in the surreal shadows of the laboratory, both reality and sanity begin to bend. And when survival demands scientific progress at any cost, devotion itself becomes deadly.

One of the best books I have ever read. She’s a force to be reckoned with.
Readers’ Favorite — 5-Star Review Read all the reviews →
Natalia Loya

The Author

Natalia Loya

Natalia Loya writes historical fiction that explores power, desire, and the fragile boundary between reason and belief.

Her work is drawn to moments of cultural fracture, where private longing collides with public collapse.